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Retrofitting RGB to an older build with no RGB on the motherboard

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  • 01-06-2021 7:34pm
    #1
    SeanW
    Registered Users Posts: 8,817 ✭✭✭


    Hi all. A few months ago, someone was asking how they might retrofit RGB into a computer that had a side panel but no RGB on the motherboard. There was some discussion and IIRC my advice (which I would no longer give) was to consider static-colour components. But I've done a lot of research into this to retrofit my own rig (as building a new gaming/workstation PC in this environment with chip shortages is basically not an option). And I suspect there will be more than a few people in the same boat as myself, having a windowed PC case in a build that predated motherboard controlled RGB, so I decided to write a short guide here in case anyone would like to add "bling" to an older build.

    If anyone has more information or had different experiences, feel free to make your own comment.

    The fundamentals. The first thing to understand when considering any purchase of RGB components (whether you have motherboard control or not), is that there is no single standard for RGB component control, there are about half a dozen roughly, and you have to match the RGB components that you are going to buy with the controller that you would use to drive them. The standards can be roughly grouped (in my research and limited experience) into 3 groups: Open, Proprietary and what I would call, for the want of a better term, Hybrid, and by that I mean it can be controlled either through proprietary hardware/software or open standard controllers if they are available. Each standard has its advantages and disadvantages, and if you are retrofitting RGB, you will have to accept some compromises. The biggest compromise is that aftermarket RGB controllers will only work with one standard, whereas motherboards typically control two, and the latter will give you a much wider variety of effects that you can apply across most or all of your RGB devices.

    Open standards
    Most motherboards that offer RGB control (e.g. MSI Mystic Light, Asus Aura, Gigabyte Fusion etc) will provide on-board headers for both of the "open" RGB control standards below.
    1. 12V, single colour RGB. This is the oldest & simplest of the open standards of RGB and it allows for the use of a single colour across all the LEDs on a given device. It uses 4 pins, one each for Blue, Red, Green and 12V power. Sometimes called 4 Pin RGB.
    2. 5V Addressable RGB. A newer standard, this allows much more fine-grain control of RGB fans, light strips etc, because it allows each LED to be a different colour. It uses 3 pins, 2 pins, a "blank" space and then 1 pin on the side, to have the same physical size as the 4 pin connector of 12V RGB. It can also be called ARGB (the acronym for Addressable RGB), 5V RGB, Digital RGB, 3-pin RGB etc. When you see a computer where it looks like a unicorn pooped rainbows into it, the owner was most likely using 5V/ARGB.
    If an RGB component is advertised as being compatible with any of the main motherboard manufacturers standards mentioned above, that typically means that it can be controlled via one of the above methods. Of course, in a retrofit, you have to be clear which one.

    Proprietary standards
    These are standards that will never work directly with a motherboard RGB controller.
    Corsair. Corsair has a fully proprietary RGB control system, Corsair RGB fans and light strips will never work with a motherboard RGB controller (only their own proprietary Corsair Commander PRO etc) and for that reason I don't recommend them. You're stuck in the Corsair "ecosystem" using iCUE. Forever. Or at least as long as you are using anything anything conforming to it.

    At one time, MSI offered "JCORSAIR" headers on their boards to control some proprietary Corsair components directly, but they haven't done that since the AMD B450 (and presumably equivalent Intel chipset) days.
    Others. There are (or were) some other weird standards, like 5 pin R,G,B,W,12V, and I think Phanteks has one, but in the product description they will or should be clearly marked.

    "Hybrid" or dual standards
    These are IMHO among the best you can buy, because they will work with mobo RGB control if you have it, but can also be controlled by proprietary hardware and/or software if necessary. There are two categories of devices I'd list here.
    Lian-Li UNI (for fans only). Jayztwocents did a tear-down on Lian Li's UNI fan architecture last year and demonstrated them working well with both USB control over Lian Li's software, and also integration of the hub/fans with a test bench motherboard control over the 5V RGB header. The fans themselves are a proprietary RGB type but the controller hardware that runs them can be controlled by a motherboard if you have those controls. Or, via software and I guess an internal USB header if you don't. The problem back in 2020 was that LL was only selling 120mm fans for its new UNI architecture but they now offer 140mm versions as well.

    The only downside with Lian Li UNI today is that the intermediate controller only works with fans, it won't control light strips or anything.
    AMD's Wraith coolers. With Ryzen, AMD broke with the tradition of only selling lousy coolers as "stock" and they have two coolers with 12V (single colour) RGB. Those are the AMD Wraith Prism, and one of two models of AMD Wraith Spire (the latter being cheaper and smaller than the Prism, some Spires have 12V RGB, some don't). But AMD also offers USB connections for an internal connector if you can't use 12V RGB. Presumably there's some proprietary software you can use in that case.

    What to consider:
    The first and most obvious question, is which standard to employ. As above, each aftermarket controller will only give you one standard you can use. The second is that most controllers, especially the "open" controllers, aren't going to give you a wide selection of effects you can use on the devices you are going to use with it - "open" standard controllers typically give you a physical switch or a remote control with which to select from a narrow group of options. I think 12V RGB components are becoming less common, as 5V ARGB is gaining in popularity. Aftermarket controllers will also typically cause cable clutter as they are kind of a bodge.

    The biggest thing to consider IMHO is that an aftermarket RGB/ARGB controller is likely to be an interim solution as DIY/enthusiast boards today commonly offer on-board RGB and ARGB. So you might (if you are the type to re-use components between builds) want to consider what board you might want in the future and prepare for that with buying decisions today.

    A couple of other points: first, you'd need to research a controller very carefully, make sure it does what you're thinking it will do. Second, many RGB devices will include cables for "daisy chaining" so you may be able to run many devices off a single controller port.

    In my case, I went with the 12V single colour RGB, getting an Akasa Vegas RGB "card" and 12v RGB components. The results have been somewhat underwhelming (as I expected) especially since I only got the fans I ordered, the light strip is on backorder, but it is still much nicer than my previous attempts at making a nice looking build, and it will be fine for me until it's time to make a new build after the semiconductor shortage is over. In my case, my next build will be all-new.


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