I have been trying to figure out if i should get a better controller than the onboard controller on my ASRock motherboard.
The only problem is that it doesn’t seem to support enough LEDs (or more than 5V/3A which is cutting it close) or direct mode.
I have been looking at the Razer Controller but the supported devices page and old Reddit posts seem to be torn on how good the support is in OpenRGB.
I mostly just need to get a working direct control since the direct control mode currently makes my ASRock motherboard unbootable (temporarily).
Any suggestions are welcome :)
Corsair Lighting Node is another good option. The real Corsair one works well but if you’re willing to DIY you can use CorsairLightingProtocol on an Arduino Pro Micro and have 2 channels of ARGB with direct mode support for like $6, and you can use multiple. I have one in my case for case lighting as I used up my motherboard headers on fans and I used this as the controller for my OpenRGB desk fan project as well.
Unfortunately, the solution with the Chroma Controller didn’t pan out, there are some probolems with the functionality of the Controller. The controller does not boot when the system is powered on only about ~20 seconds after which is nit-picky but a bit annoying. Even worse the controller doesn’t seem to respond to input from OpenRGB before resetting the controller using the Razer Plugin which is a bit of a deal-breaker.
I think I’m gonna return it, but on that note, I am a bit curious as to the solution with the Arduino Pro Micro, how complex is it to build something like that? and what are the limitations in terms of power etc?
It’s just a matter of flashing the CorsairLightingProtocol firmware (instructions on the project’s GitHub page) and then soldering the data pin of your LED strip to the appropriate Arduino pin. You can provide 5V power to the LEDs from a Molex or SATA power cable which allows as much power as your PSU can handle. You can draw 5V from the Arduino directly to run the LEDs but I would only run 30 LEDs or fewer with this power source. If you want more LEDs then connect them straight to your PSU.
It’s a hard choice, can’t seem to find the lighting node in my country. I wouldn’t be shy to DIY a bit and I do have some Arduinos lying around, but I just know myself well enough that I’m not gonna get it done …
I ended up buying the Razer Chroma mostly because of support for a massive amount of LEDs over several ports. And several other users reported that it still works well. The price tag isn’t too bad either, around $40 here in Denmark.
I really cant stretch how much i appreciate your work on this project, keeps all our linux machines looking spiffy!
I have a Razer controller and it works reliably for me. It makes it easy to control multiple RGB devices in my system, and I haven’t had issues with it and openrgb.
Nice to know that it works!
Can you use the direct mode for the individual LEDs? seems to be neccesary for the effects plugin (but i might be mistaken)
Yes. I use direct mode exclusively. I use it with the hardware monitoring plugin. I don’t need or want breathing/flashing/etc. 😅
I know this is late for OP but in case anyone else finds this question and is looking, the zalman zsync works perfectly for me using openrgb and when I bought it, was the cheapest option by far. The software is dogshit and I’d never recommend it for someone who wasn’t using openrgb, but as long as you don’t wanna use their proprietary trash it’s a good device.
Great suggestion as well, didn’t know about this one. Doesn’t seem to be easy to get in Europe tho :/
