Using Corsair SP120 RGB For Radiator? H100i V2 and C570x Case

[Meety Peety]

Hello all,

Putting together a system in a Corsair 570x case which comes with 3 SP120 RGB fans front mounted and pre-wired to their fan controller.

I wanted to mount the radiator for my h100i V2 to the front where the SP120s currently are installed. The problem is these fans are 3 pin and the fans that came with the cooler are 4 pin. Further reading has given me mixed results about whether or not I can use 3 pin fans for radiator cooling, some say it works fine and the fans stay at 100% and others say you definitely need pwm.

I don't want the stock cooler fans up front permanently (Not RGB) and I'd rather not reroute the fans up front for no reason so what I'm trying to figure out is

A) Will the SP120s work for the radiator

If not then

B) Should I get a few HD120s for the front that way I will have PWM fans on the radiator? If I plan to do this, I will likely relocate the 3 existing SP120s to top/back exhaust now and use the stock cooler fans up front temporarily until I get some HD120s.

C) Will running either of the above set ups through the corsair fan controller affect anything when used for CPU cooling? From what I'm reading it seems like the Corsair fan controller is required to use these fans effectively and the RGB can't be controlled through software? Would I just be better off getting some other RGB PWM fans running them exactly the same way Corsair intended the stock fans to be run? Does the Corsair fan controller over ride the MOBOs ability to control the speed through PWM fans?

Thanks for any advice you guys can offer. I am not opposed to using different fans, I just want all 3 up front to match.

 

[Meety Peety]

I think I am starting to get somewhat of an understanding of how the Corsair fan controller included with the C570x case works, maybe someone can check my logic.

The fans' RGB lighting effect is controlled separately from the control of the fan speed?

So in regards to question C above, I would connect HD120 fans to the corsair RGB controller, the fan power directly into the H100i V2 pump and the pump directly into the CPU_FAN header on the motherboard.

This setup would allow me to control the RGB effects with Corsair's controller, fan speed (PWM) would be controlled by the MOBO - Does this sound correct? That would leave the 3 SP120s speed control set in BIOS?

This sounds like the optimal setup for what I am trying to achieve.. just need confirmation that it will work?