ARGB control granularity
Posted by QuincyMABrewer@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 7 comments
Trying to figure out control of the various argb devices in this build.
As far as I can tell, I will have five different ARGB plugs: One from the back fan, one from the LED on the cooler pump, one from the two fans on the radiator, one from the three pre-installed fans on the side, and one from the 26 LED strip along the left side glass.
The motherboard only has three ARGB Gen 2 headers.
Because none of the manufacturers of any of the individual parts in this build give any sort of detail as to which implementation of argb they are using, I have no idea which parts will be able to be daisy chained, and yet still have individual ARGB control.
Does anyone have either any better details on those various parts, or, failing that, a good solution for ensuring I have control of all of the individual LEDs separately?
I realize that the best solution would be to purchase only ARGB Gen 2 fans, but that's not in my budget right now.
Elsewhere, it has been suggested all three of the pre built case RGB items are on one y-chain, but even if I pull them apart, I'll still likely need something like a nollie controller . . .
Thanks in advance!
\[PCPartPicker Part List\](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/3VmMck)
Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
\*\*CPU\*\* | \[AMD Ryzen 5 9600X 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor\](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/4r4Zxr/amd-ryzen-5-9600x-39-ghz-6-core-processor-100-100001405wof) | Purchased For $147.96
\*\*CPU Cooler\*\* | \[Cooler Master Elite 84.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler\](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/3ddMnQ/cooler-master-elite-842-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-elw-d24m-a21da-r1) | Purchased For $72.42
\*\*Motherboard\*\* | \[MSI B650M PROJECT ZERO Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard\](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/9sTZxr/msi-b650m-project-zero-micro-atx-am5-motherboard-b650m-project-zero) | Purchased For $159.87
\*\*Memory\*\* | \[Corsair Vengeance RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory\](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/6gy8TW/corsair-vengeance-rgb-32-gb-2-x-16-gb-ddr5-6000-cl30-memory-cmh32gx5m2b6000z30wcb) | Purchased For $384.57
\*\*Storage\*\* | \[PNY CS3150 RGB 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 5.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive\](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/pYqrxr/pny-cs3150-rgb-1-tb-m2-2280-pcie-50-x4-nvme-solid-state-drive-m280cs3150xhs-1tb-rb) | Purchased For $158.43
\*\*Video Card\*\* | \[XFX Quicksilver 2 Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Video Card\](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/b3dMnQ/xfx-quicksilver-2-radeon-rx-9070-xt-16-gb-video-card-rx-97tqickba) | Purchased For $699.99
\*\*Case\*\* | \[Lian Li VECTOR V100R MINI MicroATX Mid Tower Case\](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/VFnXsY/lian-li-vector-v100r-mini-microatx-mid-tower-case-v100rmix) | Purchased For $64.99
\*\*Power Supply\*\* | \[MSI MAG A750GL PCIE5 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply\](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dbCZxr/msi-mag-a750gl-pcie5-750-w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-mag-a750gl-pcie5) | Purchased For $76.95
\*\*Operating System\*\* | \[Microsoft Windows 11 Home Retail - USB 64-bit\](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/hMYmP6/microsoft-windows-11-home-retail-usb-64-bit-haj-00108) | Purchased For $116.79
\*\*Monitor\*\* | \[HP OMEN 32Q 31.5" 2560 x 1440 165 Hz Monitor\](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/yyTZxr/hp-omen-32q-315-2560-x-1440-165-hz-monitor-omen-32q) | Purchased For $302.80
| \*Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts\* |
| \*\*Total\*\* | \*\*$2184.77\*\*
| Generated by \[PCPartPicker\](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2026-04-28 18:21 EDT-0400 |
BaronB@reddit
This has been an annoyance of mine since I first learned about ARGB Gen 2 existing. The only fans I know for sure are ARGB Gen 2 compliant are Arctic’s P12 and P12 Pro ARGB fans. I know this because I’ve used them, and they list it in their specs.
Everyone else … no idea. Thermalright fans do not seem to, nor do ID-COOLING. There are a handful of YouTube channels that do fan reviews, some even focus specifically on their ARGB rather than the fan performance along with various ARGB devices. And not a single one I’ve found bothers to check if any support ARGB Gen 2.
Darkflash recently put up a blog post that talks about the difference between Gen 1 and Gen 2… and ends the blog showing off their fan HUB and warning that Gen 2 doesn’t work with Gen 1 hubs… but then never actually say if the hub is Gen 2 or Gen 1!
QuincyMABrewer@reddit (OP)
Me too, but that only started yesterday!
BaronB@reddit
BTW, the solution I recommend for people who want individual control over fan ARGB is to use something like the Airgoo 16 or Nollie 16 ARGB controllers.
https://www.amazon.com/Controller-Full-Tower-Compatible-SignalRGB-AG-DRGB16/dp/B0F3VV65WD
These are 16 port USB 2.0 connected devices that give per-port control via SignalRGB or OpenRGB. This means even if you don't have ARGB Gen 2 fans, you can still control each fan individually.
This doesn't help with any device that isn't ARGB, like RAM, most GPUs (especially AMD ones), and any other USB controlled device, like that PNY RGB SSD heatsink. Those will usually need their own proprietary software and may, or may not, work with OpenRGB and SignalRGB. SignalRGB and OpenRGB can control some of them, though there are complaints that OpenRGB may sometimes cause RAM sticks to stop working entirely, even if they don't have RGB, if you let it try to control it. On the other hand, SignalRGB is a RAM hog and can end up using 1GB or more if you let it.
QuincyMABrewer@reddit (OP)
I'll be removing the heatsink and RGB from the PNY SSD (that mobo has a flat plate heatsink over the m.2 spots, and it will look cleaner).
I've seen elsewhere on Reddit that people have figured out, both with signal and open, how to recognize the Corsair RAM. I'll EVENTUALLY see how easily the three pre-installed fans on the side of the case, the one in back, the LED strip, and the two on the cooler can be broken out of their daisy chains.
Long run, I'll buy a bunch of the fans from nollie RGB, one of their controllers, and go from there.
BaronB@reddit
Nollie 16 uses industry standard ARGB connectors, as does the Airgoo 16. They work with any fan that uses the 3 pin 5V ARGB, Gen 1, gen 2, doesn't matter.
aminy23@reddit
The case fans and CPU cooler should plug into the RGB headers and sync with the MSI header.
Most non-Corsair RAM would also just automatically sync with MSI software, but Corsair RAM will be out of Sync with other RGB. This doesn't use a header.
The PNY SSD pulls a Corsair and uses a third PNY RGB program. This uses a USB header.
I would be surprised if the case doesn't include either a splitter or y connectors - most likely the case will only need 1-2 headers.
QuincyMABrewer@reddit (OP)
I suspect, however, if I want fully independent control of all the ARGB elements which have 3pin 5v plugs, I'll need to break all three pre-installed fans off of each other, and plug them into a nollie. Meh.