MODell XPS: Xperimental Propulsion System

[Grinder]

Thanks Hooded!

As I posted in the Colourworks build thread, I had hoped to fashion some jet engine nozzles at the back of my build. The intention was to buy an RGB strip or two and use the controller capability that I have (namely a free Aura 4 pin header on my X99-A II) to have them glow, and produce a hotter and brighter colour depending on CPU load, or temperature, to tie into the increasing RPM of the front "turbine" fans.

But it appears that even though they went to the trouble to implement colour based on load or CPU temp, they only have 3 hard coded colours :/ Green doesn't work very well for jet exhaust, and while yellow or red might be ok, it's kinda boring to have just the two with no gradient in between.

At this point I may just try to hack the proprietary Dell lights on the case into some kind of running lights.

[dknourek]

Hi Grinder I just posted in the other thread but here it is again.

I checked on 2 of my workstations with AURA installed and looks like you are stuck with the red/yellow/green, if you go with an aftermarket fan or light strip like NZXT or Corsair (Im saying these as a suggestion as I use them both on my workstations) then you could definitely set up the colours to however you like, what colours show at what specific temps and with the two I listed, do a pretty good job of graduating from one colour to the next and not a sudden switch of colour.

-dave

[Grinder]

Thanks for the info Dave. I'm sure a Hue+ would do what I want, but the controller bundled with 4 strips is $80 plus tax/shipping. Since I am doing this on a shoestring budget, I'm trying to decide how badly I want it As I understand it I pretty much need a controller for the CPU temp or load ramping. I've checked on kijiji but of course there is nothing in the Halifax area...

I'll have to look into the Corsair options. It sounds like an Arduino might be an option as well, but I'm not sure how easy it would be to interface with the CPU data. Probably more than I have time for right now.

[dknourek]

Yea Im not sure why but AURA seems to be the worst RGB controller on the market, I have a gigabyte board here and the controls for RGB are far superior as you can have a different effect between DRGB and RGB and its just way easier to control and you can save profiles... I may be wrong but I think with Corsair you can get a mini controller and light strips for fairly cheep.

[Grinder]

I don't see that the mini is available anymore, and the pro is around $90 plus tax/shipping. I saw a cheaper Cooler Master controller, but not sure it offers CPU temp or load colour. Mulletsoldier mentioned hacking some Tt lights up, but I'm not sure about controller there or whether I could do the CPU thing...

I think I've found a Hue+ for a decent price, I'll probably give that a try.

Meanwhile I'd also like to see if I can adapt the original RGB lights on the case (yes, RGB in 2007!) to either the Hue+ or the RGB header on the Asus mobo. But I'm pretty sure that they are 5V (fine if I end up getting the Hue+). Is it possible to step down from 12V to 5V without having to buy a stepdown converter? i.e. just using a resistor? I suspect you can, but I may not have enough info about the lights on the case...

[Grinder]

I've ordered a Hue+ that comes with 4 RGB LED strips and can do the CPU thing, $67.35 including tax and shipping. Since it is 5V, I should be able to adapt the two front RGB LEDS (will be above each intake fan) and another RGB LED that used to be in the rear. Hopefully it gets here in time!

[Grinder]

https://defencyclopedia.files.wordpr...&h=1200&crop=1

It has been busy here lately, so I haven't had a chance to do the cutout on the lower fan mount and paint them. However I've been thinking more about the jet engine nozzles. A margarine tub has the right kind of slope, so with the right paint and perhaps stacking a pair of them (one with some notches to simulate adjustable nozzles) it should achieve the effect I am looking for.



To add to the atmosphere of a jet engine taking off, I plan to incorporate a pair of fans that came with the original case that are the most powerful I've ever owned! They won't really be needed for cooling, but should do nicely for effect! IIRC these monsters use a proprietary Dell connection so will need to be lightly modded. They are 1.6A 3900 RPM 148 CFM PWM beasts!

[Cyclops]

Those are Delta fans. The top models are 7200 RPM 4.8A.

[Grinder]

Wow, that is insane. What is the application? Hovercraft?

Just for perspective, the 200mm Antec Big Boy fans are rated at .3A on max! And my 2000 RPM 120mm rad fans are .23A, versus 1.6A for my Deltas, or 4.8A for the 7200 RPM ones!

[Cyclops]

Server applications. Max cooling and no concern for noise.

[Grinder]

My Hue+ should be here in a few days. I'll use it for the jet engine nozzle colour ramping. But from what I'm reading, even though it is 5V, since it uses proprietary addressable RGB strips/fans it is unlikely to be able to control the 2007 Dell 5V RGB lights that are embedded in the front of the case.

Instead, I intend to try to get them to work with the Asus Aura RGB header, and set them up to strobe like aircraft running lights. AFAIK that one is 4 pin, with a 12V common anode, and R, G, and B wires that are low side switching. Rather than mess with a voltage regulator or complicated resistor calculations based on incomplete information, my plan is to make a harness that splits off three 5V wires from a PSU Molex connector to the lights, then run the returning wires to the RGB on the header.

This is similar to using a PSU Molex for high power PWM fans rather than connecting them to a mobo header, but of course the sense and PWM signal wires do run to the header. I'll likely be using this arrangement for the Delta's.

[dknourek]

Sorry I just noticed how you intended on using the Hue+ and yea dont think it would drive off brand addressable lights or standard RGB. On your solution to use the onboard header, wouldn't the 12v of the header be too much for the 5v lights? Ive seen countless videos of people hooking up 5v addressable lights to the 12v standard 12v RGB header and instantly killing the lights.

Ive been searching for a generic 5v addressable RGB controller that I can use on items (for example Team force 5v ARGB SSD) that will run on a standard 5v mobo header but no such luck yet.
-dave

[Grinder]

Hey Dave, the Hue+ will work well for the exhaust colour ramping, and the on board wouldn't have worked so that's fine.

And yes, the 12v of the header would likely fry the lights. That's why I'm not intending to use that pin on the header. Rather I will use 5V from the power supply from a Molex. Only the RGB wires will connect to the header.

[Grinder]

I just wanted to follow up. I did a quick ghetto test of operating one of the Dell RGB lights. I ran a wire from the 5V (red) on a molex from the power supply to the wire on the light that expected 5V. Also I plugged the light into the Aura header (RGB were plugged into GRB because I was too lazy to swap the wires to match, and nothing was attached to the 12V pin of the header).

It works!

[Grinder]

I used a half dead 9V battery to test and map out the proprietary Dell RGB connectors for the front top/bottom and rear of the case, and was able to confirm that they all work.

This next shot shows the hookup a little better. The middle 3 wires in the connector are the RGB, they are plugged into the header. The blurry red wire in the foreground is the 5V from the molex, and it runs to the 5V wire on the lights. The lights (lower right) are cycling through the colours along with the motherboard RGB lights, albeit with the wrong colours for now because R and G are reversed.



You can see the RGB lights in the front trim, above the upper and lower fans (just barely visible for the lower). I will now be able to set these up with the Aura header. There is another small light (the one I tested with above) that came with the case, I'll see if there is another decent place to mount it.