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Cyber Akuma
Gawd
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2009
- Messages
- 645
Wasn't sure if I should post this here or in the Cooling section since I do ask about fan recommendations too, but figured since most of it is about RGB it probably belongs here. I am new to RGB and trying to figure out how to go about this.
I had a system I built in 2012 in a Cooler Master HAF X case die on me.... (though now it's only partially dead..). When I was looking for case recommendations many suggested I just keep the HAF X as other than lacking USB-C in the front (Which I am planning to see if I can manually add myself) it's still a very good case and had everything I was looking for already, so I just built my new system in the same case.
This case came with four fans, two of them with red-leds, and I had added a fifth with red-leds as well, this was before the whole RGB thing took off. Since I am basically rebuilding a (mostly) new system in the case, and the fans are nearing 10 years old with one of them now already dead I figured it would be best to replace the fans as well. However, I noticed that the motherboard I got (Gigabyte Z490 Aorus Pro AX) has four RGB headers, two standard 4-pin RGB and two addressable 3-pin RGB, and thought if I am going to replace the fans anyway, might as well go with RGB so have something that looks nice.
So, the case right now has five fans and those are the only ones I plan to replace with RGB versions (going to leave the fans that came with my CPU cooler as-is since the position they are mounted you can barely see them anyway and I would prever the Noctua fans it came with for performance over looks) I am not planning on adding any led strips (other than one that comes with my sound card and plugs directly into it).... unfortunately two of my case fans are somewhat uncommon/notstandard:
One 140x25mm in the back (Not planning to bother with RGB for this one)
Two red-led 200x30mm on the top
One 230x30mm on the side
One red-led 230x30mm on the front
The 140mm and 200mm are common and easy to find.... the issue is the 230mm. I know they exist, but almost all of them are not lighted at all. I saw one or two that have a single-color led, but not much else. Are there any good even RGB 230mm fans? Much less ARGB?
Speaking of which, since this is my first time setting up RGB, I am still not clear on many of the details, and the whole RGB vs ARGB thing.
First of all, can I use RGB and ARGB at the same time? Or can only one be active at once and I have to go with all-RGB or all-ARGB equipment? And to clarify, I am aware you can't plug an RGB device into an ARGB header or vice-versa. Also, these ports are labelled as for "RGB Strips", but from what I read, they can be used for fans too and aren't exclusively for strips right? And yes, I know I will still need a separate plug for the fan's power.
From what I understand, ARGB lets you address each led individually instead of just making them one color. I can see why for something like a LED strip this would be nice, but will this have much of a difference on fans? Should I bother going for ARGB fans over RGB since it seems like most of them are not ARGB yet? I would like to use ARGB if possible since it seems you have more control, but I don't know how much of a difference for a fan it would make over a led strip, especially if it means my options for fans are limited to lower-performance and/or louder fan models. Also, since I only have 2 of each header but want to put in four fans, will I need some sort of splitter if I want to make all of them RGB or ARGB? And if I do that, can I still control them individually or will everything on the splitter just be the same color pattern?
Speaking of the headers, they are on opposite sides of the board as well, is it safe to use extensions to reach fans far away from the header?
And do people have any good recommendations for good quality RGB and preferably ARGB fans? I know there is a big market for the 200mm ones, but do I even have any good options for the 230mm ones? I would like to go ARGB over RGB if possible as long as all the good and/or quiet fans are not RGB-only. (Honestly, considering these fans that came with my case are 10 years old and all discontinued, just about anything will probably be better at airflow.... but I don't want to get fans that are louder, and admittedly the fans that came with my case I can barely hear at all).
As for other components, I am probably going to upgrade my RAM at one point to a larger kit as I couldn't afford to go all-out right now, and plan to go RGB when that happens. Does RGB RAM need a header too or does that get controlled off the RAM slot itself?
And that sound card I mentioned (yeah yeah I know) is going to be a Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus, it has RGB lighting that is apparently controlled with an app... but it also comes with a LED strip that you can plug directly into the card and requires an additional Molex power adapter if you use it, not really sure where would be the best place to put said LED strip either..
So that's everything I wanted to ask about. These fans, the RAM and the sound card.... is it possible to sync these together? Or no since the fans, RAM, and sound card all connect through different means (And I know the sound card has it's own software, no idea if it can sync with other software.... again, never done RGB so I am not sure how syncing them together in software works).
I had a system I built in 2012 in a Cooler Master HAF X case die on me.... (though now it's only partially dead..). When I was looking for case recommendations many suggested I just keep the HAF X as other than lacking USB-C in the front (Which I am planning to see if I can manually add myself) it's still a very good case and had everything I was looking for already, so I just built my new system in the same case.
This case came with four fans, two of them with red-leds, and I had added a fifth with red-leds as well, this was before the whole RGB thing took off. Since I am basically rebuilding a (mostly) new system in the case, and the fans are nearing 10 years old with one of them now already dead I figured it would be best to replace the fans as well. However, I noticed that the motherboard I got (Gigabyte Z490 Aorus Pro AX) has four RGB headers, two standard 4-pin RGB and two addressable 3-pin RGB, and thought if I am going to replace the fans anyway, might as well go with RGB so have something that looks nice.
So, the case right now has five fans and those are the only ones I plan to replace with RGB versions (going to leave the fans that came with my CPU cooler as-is since the position they are mounted you can barely see them anyway and I would prever the Noctua fans it came with for performance over looks) I am not planning on adding any led strips (other than one that comes with my sound card and plugs directly into it).... unfortunately two of my case fans are somewhat uncommon/notstandard:
One 140x25mm in the back (Not planning to bother with RGB for this one)
Two red-led 200x30mm on the top
One 230x30mm on the side
One red-led 230x30mm on the front
The 140mm and 200mm are common and easy to find.... the issue is the 230mm. I know they exist, but almost all of them are not lighted at all. I saw one or two that have a single-color led, but not much else. Are there any good even RGB 230mm fans? Much less ARGB?
Speaking of which, since this is my first time setting up RGB, I am still not clear on many of the details, and the whole RGB vs ARGB thing.
First of all, can I use RGB and ARGB at the same time? Or can only one be active at once and I have to go with all-RGB or all-ARGB equipment? And to clarify, I am aware you can't plug an RGB device into an ARGB header or vice-versa. Also, these ports are labelled as for "RGB Strips", but from what I read, they can be used for fans too and aren't exclusively for strips right? And yes, I know I will still need a separate plug for the fan's power.
From what I understand, ARGB lets you address each led individually instead of just making them one color. I can see why for something like a LED strip this would be nice, but will this have much of a difference on fans? Should I bother going for ARGB fans over RGB since it seems like most of them are not ARGB yet? I would like to use ARGB if possible since it seems you have more control, but I don't know how much of a difference for a fan it would make over a led strip, especially if it means my options for fans are limited to lower-performance and/or louder fan models. Also, since I only have 2 of each header but want to put in four fans, will I need some sort of splitter if I want to make all of them RGB or ARGB? And if I do that, can I still control them individually or will everything on the splitter just be the same color pattern?
Speaking of the headers, they are on opposite sides of the board as well, is it safe to use extensions to reach fans far away from the header?
And do people have any good recommendations for good quality RGB and preferably ARGB fans? I know there is a big market for the 200mm ones, but do I even have any good options for the 230mm ones? I would like to go ARGB over RGB if possible as long as all the good and/or quiet fans are not RGB-only. (Honestly, considering these fans that came with my case are 10 years old and all discontinued, just about anything will probably be better at airflow.... but I don't want to get fans that are louder, and admittedly the fans that came with my case I can barely hear at all).
As for other components, I am probably going to upgrade my RAM at one point to a larger kit as I couldn't afford to go all-out right now, and plan to go RGB when that happens. Does RGB RAM need a header too or does that get controlled off the RAM slot itself?
And that sound card I mentioned (yeah yeah I know) is going to be a Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus, it has RGB lighting that is apparently controlled with an app... but it also comes with a LED strip that you can plug directly into the card and requires an additional Molex power adapter if you use it, not really sure where would be the best place to put said LED strip either..
So that's everything I wanted to ask about. These fans, the RAM and the sound card.... is it possible to sync these together? Or no since the fans, RAM, and sound card all connect through different means (And I know the sound card has it's own software, no idea if it can sync with other software.... again, never done RGB so I am not sure how syncing them together in software works).