The 53170 Farbwerk has 4-pin 12v connectors, which are standard RGB, not the same 3-pin 5v ARGB that the Halos use. It won't connect anyway, but if you try to feed 5v ARGB with 12v you will likely blow something up!

You'll definitely need that Phanteks cable, as they annoyingly use proprietary connectors on their RGB kit.

This cable has one female end, marked as the input, and one male end with the pins. I may be wrong, but I don't believe the male end can be used as an input, so with that in mind....


You have nine Halos, which can daisy-chain together. This
makes things a little easier in some respects, but more expensive and
problematic in others...

Each Halo has 30 LEDs, and an RGBpx channel can handle up to 90 LEDs. You'd therefore need to chain them together in sets of three... so you'll need three Phanteks cables.

You'll also want three RGBpx male adapters (53282), and three
short RGBpx cables. The 4cm ones (53259) should be enough, but other
lengths are available. The male adapter plugs into the female input on the Phanteks cable, and the RGBpx cable connects the adapter to an RGBpx header on the Octo.
The problematic part is that the Octo only has two RGBpx channels, as it's primarily a fan controller.

You would have been better off buying the Farbwerk 360 (53279), especially the
latest model, as it now has four standard ARGB headers (no adapters needed) in addition to four RGBpx headers. If you plan on adding more ARGB kit in the near future, I would suggest getting one of these.

However, if you just want the Halos lit up you could get the cheaper Farbwerk Nano (internal) (53280), which will give you the third RGBpx channel of another 90 LEDs. Add the three adapters, three RGBpx cables and three Phanteks cables, and you're finally sorted.

Does that make any sense, or have I just confused you and anyone else reading?

"If I just go ahead and order a Farbwerk 360 (53279) ... what if any adapters
do I need aside from said newly acquired Farbwerk 360 (53279) and my
existing Octo (53286) for fan control, to get the AC gear hooked up and
controlling fans and RGB?"
None whatsoever.

The 360 has 4 channels, each of which can handle up to 90 LEDs.


"And most importantly, how do i ensure i get the latest Farbwerk 360?"
Look at the picture - If it has four RGBpx connectors and 4 standard 3-pin ARGB headers, that's the one.

This is the pic from the shop page on here:




"I also bought a until now not mentioned high flow sensor (53292... it's compatible, right...? ...) Sure glad it doesn't ahve RGB."
It's listed as compatible with the flow port on the Octo, yes.

I expect it'd also work with the Farbwerk 360, but I'd have to check the manual to confirm.

"i have the EKWB Quantum Kinetic TBE 200
D5 PWM D-RGB - Acetal. What do I need to connect this thing to the AC
controllers? (i'm assuming i would still connect it to the motherboard
CPU_fan header...?)"
It has a standard ARGB female connector. If you're getting a Farbwerk 360, just use the fourth channel. No adapters needed.

To be fair, having standard headers is quite a new thing. Most AC kit still has only RGBpx headers, so would need the adapters. The beauty of those is that you can daisy-chain various AC kit, and at the end of the chain add in your standard RGB (again, up to 90 LEDs). In my case, I have 4 RGBpx lighting strips in a line, with a Silverstone RGB m.2 drive cooler as the final point, giving me 60+4 LEDs all one one channel, and with separate software controllers for each of them!


"In regards to future plans, after going through the absolute non-standardized dumpster fire that is RGB connectivity... I very likely will never do RGB again, until it is standardized a'la USB. Then the RGB shall flow! lol."
The problem with 'standard' RGB is that there isn't really a standard.

There are two types of connector... 3-pin and 4-pin. This is basically ARGB (aka DRGB) and just basic RGB, respectively. However, as with Phanteks, Corsair, NZXT and several other manufacturers, companies often use their own proprietary connectors, which force you to use their (large) controlllers and their janky software.

The benefit of AquaComputer is that not only are their RGBpx connectors actually quite secure, but they also supply small adapters so you can link in any standard kit as well. Their controllers are small and often have far more additional features than just RGB control. Plus it's all run through Aquasuite, which is some of the best software on the market.

"Thanks again for taking the time. It sounds like you've been down this road a few times"
I've really only done it twice, if I'm honest. However, the latest manuals are all available online, so it's pretty easy to get answers once you know what you're looking for.

"I basically need:
Farbwerk 360 (53279)
3 x https://www.phanteks.com/PH-CB_DRGB3P-MB.html phanteks motherboard cables
With
the correct farbwerk 360 above, and the three phanteks adapters to
connect trios of Halos daisy cahined together... I would no longer need
the noted RGBpx male adapters (53282) or short RGBpx cables (53259)

Is that correct?"
Yup, that's how I understand it!

Zitat von »Momonucleosis«

Thanks for taking the time to reply. We on same page now

Just waiting to hear back from AC regarding purchasing a farbwerk as shown, using the far cheaper option of Registered Airmail, which is not shown on website unfortunately, but is available for those abroad, and is only 8euro instead of 50euro.
Sent an email 6 days ago, i guess their warning about being busy / 2 weeks lead time is relatively accurate :o

I believe that 8 euro thing is for envelopes only, which does not work for the Farbwerk 360.
Don't know where in the world you are, but if in the U.S., ModMyMods has some in stock at the time of this posting.