What parts are compatible with RGB controllers and RGB-capable motherboards?

[theunliked]

Say I bought an Asus motherboard that supports Aura RGB, would I be able to hook up any 4-pin RGB LED strip or would I need to buy LED strips that specifically support Aura Sync?

Also, as I have noticed, most motherboards have have only 1-2 RGB headers.
If I wanted to plug in more than two RGB LED strips and RGB fans would a hub like this work?
https://www.pccasegear.com/products/40567?PPC=Y&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjbveBRDVARIsAKxH7vnFJTKfxT2I_7r4zqT2ZcX92j7MMOlePRwFdB4pU_SY_HW2exiO0L0aAhKbEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I feel like this is super complicated but I'm a cheapo and don't want to buy an RGB kit xD.

Also if there are other options out there that allow me to control my PC's RGB straight from Windows, please let me know.

 

[Paperdoc]

A preliminary note about RGB fans. Each such device has TWO types of electrical connections for power and control. One is for the fan motor only and ends in a 4-pin (usually, although 3-pin also possible) female connector about 1 cm wide with holes in a line. This connector has two ridges along one side to mate with a "tongue" next to the pins of the mobo male fan header. The other is for the RGB LED system only, and may end in one of several connector types. This are is relatively new and conformance to some common "standards' is not yet complete.

What has become common are two types of RGB power and control systems. And watch for a bit of confusion: Systems like the ASUS Aura Sync are software systems that may be used with EITHER of the two electrical systems following, so you need to consider the electrical connections for compatibility issues. The simpler RGB system (often called just RGB lighting) uses type 5050 RGB strips and devices. They are fed a +12 VDC power supply on one line, and control Ground lines for the three LED colours. Thus, the connector on the end has FOUR pins or holes in a straight line, and the connector body is about 2 cm wide. In this system, the entire line of LEDS does the same thing so that the whole unit shows the same colour at any one time. If you connect several strips together using a RGB Splitter to a single source header, all the strips will do the same thing.

The other more complex system is called Addressable RGB, or ADDR RGB, or ARGB. In it each RGB node in a strip also contains a control chip to manage just the 3 LED's at that node. The entire strip (or whatever lighting device) contains a large number of such nodes, and is fed by THEE lines. One is a +5 VDC supply (NOTE not 12 VDC), one is Ground, and the third carries the control signals for all the little control chips along the strip. The controller sends out on this last line the signals for each node separately, so lighting displays can be much more complex - for example, a wave of changing colours traveling down the strip. So on one strip you can have many colours at different locations at any one time. If you connect several strips together using an RGB Splitter to a single header, all those strips likely will do the same thing. The connector for these systems looks VERY much like the one for the simpler RGB system, but it has one hole (#3) blocked off so you cannot plug it into the wrong mobo header type.

Because the supply voltage and control mechanisms for these two systems are so different, they are not compatible. So you need to match the header type provided on your mobo (3-pin ARGB or 4-pin plain RGB) with the type of RGB lighting device you buy.

To connect two or more lighting devices (of the same type) together to a single mobo RGB header you can use an RGB Splitter with two or more output arms. Typically these are designed with FOUR lines in them and 4-hole connectors, but those can be used for the 3-pin ARGB systems since that simply does not use Line #3. IF you do this, you need to ensure the overall lighting system fits the limits. Typically the RGB header (of either type) can supply up to 3 A max to lighting devices, BUT make SURE to check the specs of YOUR mobo. Then the lighting devices themselves should spec the max current each draws. For RGB fans, make sure you see SEPARATELY the current max's for the fan motor and the RGB lights.

OP, the Corsair RGB Fan LED Hub you linked is an earlier device designed by Corasir for use with many of their products, and it uses connectors to their fans that are not the same as those now becoming more common. In fact, this device does NOT suit ALL of the Corsair products - they have newer devices for newer products in their lines, so you need to check compatibility IF you are using Corsair systems. But if you are doing that - Corsair RGB fans with appropriate lighting control means - they often include with them whatever is needed to connect to and use the RGB headers on current mobos. Still, you must ensure that the lighting devices you buy (plain or ADDR RGB types) match the header type on your mobo.

 

[cin19]

Say I bought an Asus motherboard that supports Aura RGB, would I be able to hook up any 4-pin RGB LED strip or would I need to buy LED strips that specifically support Aura Sync?

Yes, you need the strips that specifically support Aura Sync. You need to check the MB RGB header to see what kind the header it is. Most of them has the connectors like: +12V, G, R, B. Like https://imagescdn.tweaktown.com/content/8/4/8417_64_msi-z370-gaming-pro-carbon-ac-system-build-guide.png Then make sure you buy the strip that can fit with that header.

If you want to connect more RGB fans, you need the RGB hub, like the one you posted. It should work well, I had other one from cooler master 3 in1 kit, it is cheaper than the corsair, but it has only 4 connectors.

 

[theunliked]

I don't think I understand. You just said that I need strips that specifically support Asus Aura but I also need to check if the headers are compatible. Would I be able to use any RGB LED strip provided that the headers match (4-pin RGB lighting and 3-pin Addressable RGB lighting)?

 

[Paperdoc]

Compatibility with the Aura Sync system is not at all difficult IF you are using the 4-pin swimpler plain RGB header system. In that system, the signals coming out of the header are simple. There is a common +12 VDC line, and then three switched Ground lines - one each for the three RGB colours. Each of those latter three controls whether or not ALL of the same-colour LED's in that strip are on or off. All strips based on the 5050 design workj the same way. In that system, the Aura Sync feature is used mainly within the mobo to control which Ground lines of the output port are On or Off, and there are no signals that need some sort of "interpretation" by the RGB strip. HOWEVER, check the connectors carefully. Some RGB lighting devices have connectors on them that do not match the header that ASUS and many other mobo makers have standardized on, but the MAY come with adapters to allow a connection to such a header.

On the other hand, when you are using a ARGB (the Addressable kind) strip with THREE pins, the header (under direction of Aura Sync) DOES send out to the strip a particular code sequence for the tiny control chips at each lighting node to activate the three LED's of that node. So, those control signals need to be in a form that the strip's chips can use. Most such strips use exactly the same coding system, so it is very likely that the one you buy will work. BUT to be SURE, read the specs of the RGB strip you are considering IF it is of the 3-pin ARGB type, and verify whether it WILL work with the ASUS Aura Sync mobo system.

Of course, as I said earlier, you MUST match the header type on the mobo you buy (3-pin ARGB, or 4-pin plain RGB) to the type of lighting strip (or other device) you buy. That's the first point, and technically this part has nothing to do with Aura Sync.

 

[AwayElement]

No you don't need any type of special RGB strip for Asus Aura although sometimes it may get get colours incorrect for example asus aura uses a BRG pattern for plugging the strip in where I use GRB Led Strip so it gets blue and green mixed up but can be fixed with minor wiring work