Breezy and blingy - new fans for my PC?

[sck451]

While I am pretty confident about most aspects of PC building, I don't really know my way around fans and RGB stuff. I have a PCS PC that I bought last year. The case is a 275R Airflow and, when I bought it, I didn't think I wanted any of that RGB rubbish. Six months or so later, I have repented and feel it could do with a bit of spicing up with some lights; I also feel it could do with some quieter fans. The Corsair ones aren't precisely noisy, but I would love something just a touch quieter. I believe this is because they are DC fans rather than PWM ones?

I already have an ARGB strip that I have connected to the motherboard header (Tuf X570 Gaming). (The other change I've made to my original order was to the cooler: I have replaced the stock AMD cooler with the Noctua NH-D15S, which is lovely.)

So what I want to do is to get rid of the three existing fans in my build and put four new fans in instead (three in the front, one as an exhaust). I would like to keep the existing strip as well. I would also like to be able to control everything in one piece of software. I don't want to muck around with remote controls or anything.

I was looking in the PCS upgrade panel and I saw the Cooler Master Sickleflow kit -- four ARGB fans and a controller for £52, which seems slightly cheaper than I expected.

Are these what I want? Will they be an absolute nightmare to fit? Is there a better solution I'm missing?

 

[SpyderTracks]

While I am pretty confident about most aspects of PC building, I don't really know my way around fans and RGB stuff. I have a PCS PC that I bought last year. The case is a 275R Airflow and, when I bought it, I didn't think I wanted any of that RGB rubbish. Six months or so later, I have repented and feel it could do with a bit of spicing up with some lights; I also feel it could do with some quieter fans. The Corsair ones aren't precisely noisy, but I would love something just a touch quieter. I believe this is because they are DC fans rather than PWM ones?

I already have an ARGB strip that I have connected to the motherboard header (Tuf X570 Gaming). (The other change I've made to my original order was to the cooler: I have replaced the stock AMD cooler with the Noctua NH-D15S, which is lovely.)

So what I want to do is to get rid of the three existing fans in my build and put four new fans in instead (three in the front, one as an exhaust). I would like to keep the existing strip as well. I would also like to be able to control everything in one piece of software. I don't want to muck around with remote controls or anything.

I was looking in the PCS upgrade panel and I saw the Cooler Master Sickleflow kit -- four ARGB fans and a controller for £52, which seems slightly cheaper than I expected.

Are these what I want? Will they be an absolute nightmare to fit? Is there a better solution I'm missing?

I love it. For anyone reading this is a prime example about how your requirements change when you get the PC, @sck451 is by no means an odd one out here, it's so normal for the way you start out to quickly change once you start playing around. Thankfully he has a great platform that can support upgrades. I know in this instance it's just fans, but the point being, don't block yourself off from a possible upgrade in the future by cheaping out on PSU or case for example, keep the doors open as you never know what's coming around the corner.

Sorry, just a prime example worth highlighting of how our opinions alter once we have the build.

Very first thing is to make sure if you need 120mm or 140mm fans, you may want different sizes at front vs back, often the back can take a 140. Basically the larger the fan, the lower RPM it needs to work at to provide the same airflow which means in turn less noise.

For fans and more importantly fan control, the king of the hill is likely corsair, both for lighting effects, and how mature iCue is.

That's not to say others aren't good too, I'm sure the Coolermasters would be fantastic as well, but you may find there's not as much compatibility with them. Weather or not that's important I don't know.

If you wanted to keep budget low, another option is the Corsair SP120 Elites which are £54 for 3 fans AND the fan controller which is the more important part and worth a lot of money on it's own. Then you could just add a further singular fan.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-Performance-Technology-Addressable-PWM-Controlled/dp/B08XJZ82Y8/ref=pd_lpo_147_t_0/261-5312786-6158823?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B08XJT8T3K&pd_rd_r=57b0d920-138a-430e-8803-837ca932653a&pd_rd_w=8kEN4&pd_rd_wg=CIHFO&pf_rd_p=d8b3a5b8-7766-4dff-b57a-24ee5d46250d&pf_rd_r=WFKK5BA0ZNW4AAPRAW0E&refRID=WFKK5BA0ZNW4AAPRAW0E&th=1

 

[AleTax]

I love it. For anyone reading this is a prime example about how your requirements change when you get the PC, @sck451 is by no means an odd one out here, it's so normal for the way you start out to quickly change once you start playing around. Thankfully he has a great platform that can support upgrades. I know in this instance it's just fans, but the point being, don't block yourself off from a possible upgrade in the future by cheaping out on PSU or case for example, keep the doors open as you never know what's coming around the corner.

Sorry, just a prime example worth highlighting of how our opinions alter once we have the build.

Very first thing is to make sure if you need 120mm or 140mm fans, you may want different sizes at front vs back, often the back can take a 140. Basically the larger the fan, the lower RPM it needs to work at to provide the same airflow which means in turn less noise.

For fans and more importantly fan control, the king of the hill is likely corsair, both for lighting effects, and how mature iCue is.

That's not to say others aren't good too, I'm sure the Coolermasters would be fantastic as well, but you may find there's not as much compatibility with them. Weather or not that's important I don't know.

If you wanted to keep budget low, another option is the Corsair SP120 Elites which are £54 for 3 fans AND the fan controller which is the more important part and worth a lot of money on it's own. Then you could just add a further singular fan.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-Performance-Technology-Addressable-PWM-Controlled/dp/B08XJZ82Y8/ref=pd_lpo_147_t_0/261-5312786-6158823?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B08XJT8T3K&pd_rd_r=57b0d920-138a-430e-8803-837ca932653a&pd_rd_w=8kEN4&pd_rd_wg=CIHFO&pf_rd_p=d8b3a5b8-7766-4dff-b57a-24ee5d46250d&pf_rd_r=WFKK5BA0ZNW4AAPRAW0E&refRID=WFKK5BA0ZNW4AAPRAW0E&th=1

As said by Spyder, with Corsair you can control everything over iCUE, having all your lights synchronized, creating custom light effects (iCUE profiles) etc. Maybe also some nice RGB RAM from Corsair would help giving that extra touch, but that's up to you

 

[JediMonsoon]

While I am pretty confident about most aspects of PC building, I don't really know my way around fans and RGB stuff. I have a PCS PC that I bought last year. The case is a 275R Airflow and, when I bought it, I didn't think I wanted any of that RGB rubbish. Six months or so later, I have repented and feel it could do with a bit of spicing up with some lights; I also feel it could do with some quieter fans. The Corsair ones aren't precisely noisy, but I would love something just a touch quieter. I believe this is because they are DC fans rather than PWM ones?

I already have an ARGB strip that I have connected to the motherboard header (Tuf X570 Gaming). (The other change I've made to my original order was to the cooler: I have replaced the stock AMD cooler with the Noctua NH-D15S, which is lovely.)

So what I want to do is to get rid of the three existing fans in my build and put four new fans in instead (three in the front, one as an exhaust). I would like to keep the existing strip as well. I would also like to be able to control everything in one piece of software. I don't want to muck around with remote controls or anything.

I was looking in the PCS upgrade panel and I saw the Cooler Master Sickleflow kit -- four ARGB fans and a controller for £52, which seems slightly cheaper than I expected.

Are these what I want? Will they be an absolute nightmare to fit? Is there a better solution I'm missing?

I completely agree that I am spending so much time now thinking about fans and RGB. Its the linking them all together that is confusing me.

 

[AleTax]

I completely agree that I am spending so much time now thinking about fans and RGB. Its the linking them all together that is confusing me.

The 3 pack Corsair SP 120 Elite fans that @SpyderTracks linked you come with a Corsair iCUE Lighting Node Core

 

[sck451]

The 3 pack Corsair SP 120 Elite fans that @SpyderTracks linked you come with a Corsair iCUE Lighting Node Core

Yeah, to be honest it's the multiplicity of standards that I find confusing! When all I wanted to do was install an ARGB strip, it seemed so easy. I was hoping there was some neat way that meant not having to install a controller, especially as iCue seems not to deal with the 5V ARGB header on my motherboard and therefore couldn't handle the strip I've bought already.

And thanks, @SpyderTracks, for all that detail. I'm looking into the Corsair fans now as well. Will report back...

 

[jamiephillips909]

While I am pretty confident about most aspects of PC building, I don't really know my way around fans and RGB stuff. I have a PCS PC that I bought last year. The case is a 275R Airflow and, when I bought it, I didn't think I wanted any of that RGB rubbish. Six months or so later, I have repented and feel it could do with a bit of spicing up with some lights; I also feel it could do with some quieter fans. The Corsair ones aren't precisely noisy, but I would love something just a touch quieter. I believe this is because they are DC fans rather than PWM ones?

I already have an ARGB strip that I have connected to the motherboard header (Tuf X570 Gaming). (The other change I've made to my original order was to the cooler: I have replaced the stock AMD cooler with the Noctua NH-D15S, which is lovely.)

So what I want to do is to get rid of the three existing fans in my build and put four new fans in instead (three in the front, one as an exhaust). I would like to keep the existing strip as well. I would also like to be able to control everything in one piece of software. I don't want to muck around with remote controls or anything.

I was looking in the PCS upgrade panel and I saw the Cooler Master Sickleflow kit -- four ARGB fans and a controller for £52, which seems slightly cheaper than I expected.

Are these what I want? Will they be an absolute nightmare to fit? Is there a better solution I'm missing?

 

[Bigfoot]

If you have an Asus motherboard, you may be able to control the lighting on that using iCue. See this article from Corsair. I haven’t actually tried it myself.

Set up ASUS Motherboard integration in iCUE

If you have an ASUS Motherboard with RGB lighting, you can use iCUE to control its lighting and the RGB lighting of ASUS GPUs. If your motherboard has an analog 12-volt RGB header, you can also use...

help.corsair.com

 

[sck451]

If you have an Asus motherboard, you may be able to control the lighting on that using iCue. See this article from Corsair. I haven’t actually tried it myself.

Set up ASUS Motherboard integration in iCUE

If you have an ASUS Motherboard with RGB lighting, you can use iCUE to control its lighting and the RGB lighting of ASUS GPUs. If your motherboard has an analog 12-volt RGB header, you can also use...

help.corsair.com

Yeah, it can only do the 12V header, not the 5V ARGB one. It's such a mess...

 

[sck451]

Update: in an attempt to explore iCue, I have now ended up with no RGB working in my system at all, even the motherboard lighting. I now cannot even re-install Armoury Crate. Apparently the solution is to reinstall Windows, so that might have to wait a little while!

(tl;dr, in an attempt to add more RGB, I now have no RGB at all.)

 

[jamiephillips909]

Have you tried uninstalling icue ?

 

[sck451]

Have you tried uninstalling icue ?

Yes, I uninstalled iCue and Armoury Crate and now can't reinstall Armoury Crate. (iCue can't control my ARGB strip - there's currently nothing in my system it can control!)

 

[jamiephillips909]

Yes, I uninstalled iCue and Armoury Crate and now can't reinstall Armoury Crate. (iCue can't control my ARGB strip - there's currently nothing in my system it can control!)

Yeah had a look myself for you seems windows full reinstall is way to go as armory crate does not uninstall properly and leaves remnants this is why I like not lights on a seriouse note tho hope u get it sorted !!!!

 

[sck451]

I might go stealth for a week or two before I have time to reinstall Windows. What a pain. Perhaps there's something to be said for subtlety after all!

 

[jamiephillips909]

I might go stealth for a week or two before I have time to reinstall Windows. What a pain. Perhaps there's something to be said for subtlety after all!

Ull notice that extra 8 frames and just everything running smoother and a new found joy in life the rgb community may turn there back on you but plenty of room in the shadow realm for another acolyte of the dark

 

[sck451]

An update: I bought four of the SP120 fans, as @SpyderTracks recommended, and have just spent two hours doing some adventures in cable management. My cable management is not perfect (I had to remove all the zip ties PCS had installed in order to remove the old fans), but I've got there. The lights are really super and the fans are significantly quieter than the old ones. I particularly like having all three fan slots at the front filled.

For anyone interested in this process, I bought the three-pack and the single pack of SP120s, then also a one-to-three PWM splitter. The cabling is all fairly logical (if we skip over the 10 minutes I spent trying to plug my GPU connector back into my power supply upside down) and the cable management isn't horrific, even if it mainly involved shoving lots of stuff behind the PSU. The rear fan is in my CHA_FAN1 header and the front fans in the splitter into the CHA_FAN2 header.

The single biggest problem I had (except the upside down GPU cable) was my silly NH-D15S, which is so vast it's hard to get you hand around it to plug into the motherboard. I will need to remove the scrapes from the heatsink at some point!

But, since I know it's what you're all waiting for, here are some pictures. (No desk pictures, because my desk is actually my dining table -- small flat in central London -- and it's a disaster zone of cables.)

 

[NoddyPirate]

Looks great @sck451 !!!

Forgive me asking - but I am a bit nervous about your three to one splitter. Do you have three SP120's running off a single motherboard header?

 

[sck451]

Looks great @sck451 !!!

Forgive me asking - but I am a bit nervous about your three to one splitter. Do you have three SP120's running off a single motherboard header?

Yes. Is that a terrible idea? I don't especially want to redo the wiring, but if it's necessary... Everything I found online seemed to suggest it would be OK!

Edit: a quick bit of Googling again (clearly using different terms to last time) suggests that the header is rated for 1A, and the fans are 0.3A each, so yes, I see it could be a problem. I presume it would be OK to run two off the splitter and one off the CHA_FAN3 header?

 

[NoddyPirate]

Yes. Is that a terrible idea? I don't especially want to redo the wiring, but if it's necessary... Everything I found online seemed to suggest it would be OK!

Edit: a quick bit of Googling again (clearly using different terms to last time) suggests that the header is rated for 1A, and the fans are 0.3A each, so yes, I see it could be a problem. I presume it would be OK to run two off the splitter and one off the CHA_FAN3 header?

It's not terrible! But yes - The SP120's are rated at 0.3A each. Your motherboard headers are rated for 1.0A maximum. But at startup fans will draw a lot more than that rating for a short period. So, for me personally, I wouldn't like three fans running off a single header.

Two on one header is fine I would say. I myself have two on one header and the other one on a single one. It's a bit of a pain fan curve wise but it's totally managable. So two into one and the third on it's own would be better I think!

Sorry! 🤦‍♂️

 

[sck451]

It's not terrible! But yes - The SP120's are rated at 0.3A each. Your motherboard headers are rated for 1.0A maximum. But at startup fans will draw a lot more than that rating for a short period. So, for me personally, I wouldn't like three fans running off a single header.

Two on one header is fine I would say. I myself have two on one header and the other one on a single one. It's a bit of a pain fan curve wise but it's totally managable. So two into one and the third on it's own would be better I think!

Sorry! 🤦‍♂️

Not remotely necessary! I want to get it right and I'm still fumbling around with this stuff. I'll get on it right now.