[SOLVED] What controller is best for these ARGB fans?

[agentshadowolf]

Fans

I know there are different kinds of fan controllers but which best make use of these fans I got when they were still in stock. Didnt know which forum to post in

 

[kerberos_20]

if its addresable and your mainboard doesnt supports it, then u can stick with coolermaster

Cooler Master A-RGB LED Small Controller

The A-RGB LED Small Controlleris a mini size controller that controls your Addressable RGB fan for those who doesn’t have an Addressable RGB motherboard in hand. With 6 pre-set modes and 7 different single colors option, you can bring your rig to a colorful world.

www.coolermaster.com

 

[Paperdoc]

I agree about using that CoolerMaster ARGB LED Small controller. Check with their Tech Support people on this point. In a private conversation here with someone else I was pointed to a video that shows how to use it. The REALLY interesting thing in it is that they claimed that this unit has been upgraded recently by the addition of that mini-USB2 port and a cable set to attach it to an unused mobo USB2 header. Then you download and run their free MasterPlus+ software. That utility communicates with this Small Controller to generate all of the fancy lighting displays an ARGB fan can do. This is a really good upgrade, because most of the small manual Controller boxes can only work using the manual buttons on them, so you have to be able to reach them inside your case. Having control by software from your keyboard is MUCH better. So verify with CoolerMaster that this unit does that, and then be sure to get the newest version of it.

If you have these fans already, you will see that each has TWO cables from the motor case. One ends on a 4-hole standard fan connector, and that's for the MOTOR part; it goes to a mobo SYS_FAN header. If you have several fans, you may need a fan motor Splitter to connect them to a single mobo header. Separately, there is another cable ending in a connector that looks like it had 4 holes in a row, but one is blanked off. That is the cable for the ARGB lights in the fan frame, and it is what you connect to the Small Controller's outputs (it comes with an ARGB Splitter) to power and control the lights. That Small Controller also comes with a motor Splitter, I am told, so that gets you all the stuff you need.

When you do it this way, you do NOT need any mobo lighting headers to feed the lights in the fan frames. The ARGB LED Small Controller does that job.

 

[Paperdoc]

Thanks for Best Answer.

 

[Paperdoc]

UPDATE Feb 3/21
My previous post commented on using the CoolerMaster ARGB LED Small Controller. Cooler Master has two ARGB Controllers: the larger Addressable RGB LED Controller with 4 round buttons and many ports, and the smaller A-RGB LED Small Controller with 4 square buttons and three ports. Each has a mini-USB2 port, and I was not clear on what capabilities each has. I inquired about that to Cooler Master and received their reply yesterday.

They say that BOTH of these controllers CAN be adjusted and controlled to generate ARGB displays by using their proprietary Masterplus+ software tool that uses the USB port for communication with the Controller. That means you CAN control the displays without using the manual buttons on the box - you can do it all from MasterPlus+. These Controllers both come with ports and cables sufficient to control several ARGB lighting devices using standard ARGB electrical signals and the common (4-1) male output connectors (looks like 4 pins, but one pin missing). They also CAN accept input signals from mobo ARGB headers and can be set to use those control systems OR to ignore the external mobo signals and do what the MasterPlus+ software says. Thus, Cooler Master says each of these Controllers can be used as a third-party ARGB Controller independent of the mobo if you wish, even with NO mobo ARGB header, using a software utility for configuration and control and standard output connectors.

Of those two Controllers, the larger one has some additional features, one of which is the ability to accept input from a mobo PLAIN RGB header (the 4-pin 12 VDC type) and translate those into signals safe for your ARGB lighting devices to display those patterns. Now, the range of display types available from plain RGB is more limited than ARGB can do, but that would allow you to "Sync" all lights of whatever type in your system to a plain RGB signal set when you mobo does not have an ARGB output header. But then you also would have the option to switch the larger Cooler Master Controller to ignore those mobo plain RGB signals and use its own ability (set by the MasterPlus+ software utility) to generate the full range of complex ARGB displays on your ARGB lighting units.