Fan abd RGB headers

[lawrencewilliam]

Hello,

I am getting myself well and truely confused.
I have bought the ALPHACOOL EISBAER PRO AURORA (SOLO) - DIGITAL RGB

I am very confused over three points - the connectors
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I believe that the sleeved cable is the pump header, am I correct?
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Motherboard is a ASUS ROG Strix Z790-E Gaming WiFi II that only has 4-pin fan and AIO headers on it.
How do I connect the 3-pin cables to it please?
Is it something like this  -
PHOBYA ADAPTOR 3PIN (SOCKET) TO 4PIN PWM (PLUG) 30CM - BLACK

Or perhaps this -
PHOBYA 4PIN PWM AUF 3PIN TRANSFORMER SINGLE
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The RGB headers are the following -

Addressable Gen 2 header which has 3 pins but in a 4 pin layout (if that makes sense)
Aura RGB header which has 4 pins

Again, How do I plug the 3 pin RGB cable from the pump to either of the RGB headers on the motherboard?
And which is the better choice please?
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Thank you 

[lawrencewilliam]

Think I have now figured (remembered as well from last watercooled build) that the 3 pin pump connector will only fit in one way to the AIO 4 pin pump header - yes?
But do I set it as PWM or DC in the BIOS?

Still confused re the single RGB connector though

Think I have found the adapter cable needed - Why are these like gold dust though?? 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07RM41FQ2?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details 

😞

[JohnAb]

Hopefully this will make it all clear - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFo9x18Ivqg

The ARGB connectors for fans and the cooler are 5V - those are the ones with 3 pins. The RGB headers with 4 pins use 12V. DO NOT connect to those. I didn't watch all of the video, but you should have a 3-way ARGB splitter for the radiator fan lights (supplied).  

Yes, the sleeved cable is for the pump header. Some motherboards complain if there is no connection to the CPU fan header, so if you get a warning, you should be able to disable it in BIOS. 

That ARGB cable you linked to looks correct. ARGB can also be called Digital RGB. Did you not get that cable with the cooler?

Making more sense?

[lawrencewilliam]

I watched that exact video earlier. What I have is not an AIO in the general sense, in that it was a bought complete kit. All that my set up shares with the one in that video is the pump. 

I bought the pump, radiator (45mm),connectors and noctua fans separately. Radiator and fans are far better quality I feel.

I had the same trouble with a Gigabyte AMD motherboard (aureus master) - dang near impossible to find the adapter.

Watercoolinguk.co.uk are out of stock of them atm.

Do I set the pump header to PWM or DC? 

[JohnAb]

Ok then, if you are mixing and matching parts then you'll have to work out how to connect it all, but the principle will be the same. If the fan connector has 4 wires, set it to PWM. If it has 3 wires then use DC. I think from memory that the motherboard might autodetect the fan type. I added some extra 8cm fans to my motherboard to keep the PCH temperature lower. They are only 3 wires to each and I don't remember changing anything in BIOS.  

[lawrencewilliam]

Think I will leave it on PWM for now and see how it goes.  If it runs at an annoying high speed all the time I will try DC.  I am also checking with Watercooling.co.uk re whether it would be okay to run the pump on DC

Yes I have a bracket for the VRM and got 2 of the 8cm fans as well. From various reviews it looks like USA customers got a far fuller accessories pack than we do, as that bracket was included etc.
Unsure as yet whether to install the bracket Now or wait and see how the temps are.

Did you find that it helps much?
And where did you place it, as to me it doesn't look ideal, more of an afterthought perhaps?

[lawrencewilliam]

@JohnAb Do you know if choosing DC instead of PWM for the Qfan control applies to all fan headers, or Just the one selected (thinking if the pump header can be Dc Only)?

[JohnAb]

That's strange, I replied earlier and my post isn't here. I was saying that 3 wire fans can only run in DC and 4 wire fans are PWM.

Re: your latest question, I believe I have always left my BIOS settings in autodetect and never had an issue.  I don't remember ever needing to change them. The 2x 8cm fans I added are just resting in place (and joined together) to create a little cube. I simply point them at my PCH and it drops the temperature by about 10-12C. Ambient temp also makes a big difference, so I control the case fan speed vs. ambient in iCue (I have a Corsair AIO) and that works very well. Yes, those fans are technically an afterthought, but I just like to keep the PCH lower. Maybe not an issue on your board at all.  

As far as I know, you won't damage your fans by selecting the wrong mode, but PWM is more accurate because of the extra speed sensing wire. Either type of fan should work OK, it's not really a huge deal. 

Anyway, I assume that the fan mode will apply to all fans, but not sure. I don't see why the pump can't be in PWM if it has 4 wires, then that would be better. 

[JohnAb]

My post was here, I didn't see it for looking. Some days I'm sure I'm going mad!

[lawrencewilliam]

All the fans are 4-pin, it's only the block/reservoir that is 3-pin, which I find a bit odd, as it's alphacool's most expensive AIO pump.

I believe that in DC mode, the board delivers say 75% of the, effectively making it a somewhat crude PWM effect?

I got the extra fan bracket but unsure of it's placement right now, guess trial and error there - but anything that lowers some temps inside the setup is a good thing I feel.

Your post probably was there - their servers seem to play tricks at times I reckon!