Question What's my limit of aRGB fans on MSI? and a solution.

[Looking2Build]

On my current build, I have an MSI MAG B460M Mortar Wifi mobo. I was going to use 5 CM MF120 Halo fans (2 intake, 2 exhaust and 1 on a Hyper 212 Black) but the 4 x 8Gb of ADATA XPG SPECTRIX won't allow clearance for the CPU Halo fan. I ordered 2 (thinner) Thermalight TL-C120 15W-S aRGB fans to replace the Halo to be used in a push-pull config. Is this too many? Should I drop the pull fan? Can I use the single aRGB Rainbow header with splitters? What's my best option? Thanks.

 

[Darkbreeze]

If you're going to use a Hyper 212 Black you can just put the fan on the other side of the heatsink in a pull configuration. It will work just as good as being on the front of it in a push configuration. Temperature difference for every heatsink I've ever seen where both sides were tested was like half a degree Celcius which is not even enough to talk about. And you completely eliminate the memory interference issue.

Push pull, meaning two fans on a single heatsink, only nets about a one degree difference as well so I'd cancel the order for the Thermalight fans and just use the one Halo fan you already have, on the backside, if you are going to use the 212 cooler.

Or you could put one of the normal sized Halo fans on the backside in a pull configuration and put your thinner fan in the front, but honestly it probably won't make much difference. Maybe a little.

What are the rest of your specs? CPU? Motherboard? Graphics card? Case? Power supply model?

 

[Looking2Build]

Thanks for that advice. I wasn't sure if the pull method wouldn't make a big difference.
Here are my build specs including Halo for Hyper:
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox NR400 (w/ODD) mATX Case ; CPU: Intel Core i5-10400 ;
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition ; Motherboard: MSI MAG B460M MORTAR WIFI Micro ATX LGA1200 Mobo
Memory: ADATA XPG SPECTRIX D60G DDR4-3200 CL16 (4 x 8GB) ; Storage: WD Blue SN550 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME SSDrive
Storage: WD Blue SN550 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME SSD ; Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1630 Ventus XS 4G OC
Power Supply: EVGA BQ 750 W 80+ Bronze ; Optical Drive: Asus DRW 2014L1T DVD-RW
Case Fan: Cooler Master MasterFan MF Halo 47.2 CFM 120 mm Fan (x 5)

 

[Darkbreeze]

Did you already buy the Hyper 212 Black?

If not, what country are you in?

 

[Karadjgne]

A single argb header isn't just argb. It's 5v power and a pwm signal feed to the lighting on the fans. That pwm signal will generally support upto about 72 individual leds, so the amount of fans is determined bu the amount of leds on the fan. So a 4 led fan (with a 5v powered splitter) could handle 18 fans, whereas a 13led fan you'd get just 5 fans. So generally the argb pwm signal isn't an issue.

But that's only half the equation, the other half being the fan itself. Depending on the amperage draw, 3-4 fans is the safe limit, after which a 12v powered splitter should be used, if using a single fan header.