F5F Stay Refreshed Hardware Desktop Issues with Deepcool FC120mm RGB units

Issues with Deepcool FC120mm RGB units

Issues with Deepcool FC120mm RGB units

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Elfrankix
Member
60
06-18-2021, 01:22 PM
#1
PSU: Corsair RM850x Motherboard: ASUS ROG STRIX B550F CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800x GPU: Nvidia 3070 ti Case: Fractal North OS: Windows 11 RGB Software: ASUS Aura

Hey everyone, I just purchased three FC120 fans for the front of my case. My plan was to connect them in a chain since only one more 4-pin slot remained on my motherboard, and I wanted them all to run at identical speeds. Each fan includes a splitter that connects to the fan side, then splits into a SATA power port, an RGB interface, and a standard 4-pin connector. I assembled everything, powered it up, and everything responded properly in BIOS—adjustments were easy.

However, the RGB display isn’t functioning as expected. I suspect the issue lies with the SATA connection—possibly from the PSU, the power cable, or the included splitter. The cables I received from my PSU feature three SATA ports in a row on a single ribbon cable. Changing ports on the cable or the PSU seems to help sometimes, but not always. Usually, two of the fans light up fully in RGB and can be dimmed as desired, while the third only shows one or two LEDs and remains unresponsive. The fan with just one LED stays lit, which makes me think it might be a faulty unit.

Each time I switched SATA ports in hopes of resolving the problem, the situation changed—sometimes fixing one port fixed everything, other times it worsened things. This isn’t a big deal for me since I don’t mind the RGB aspect, but even when I turned off the RGB entirely via software, the third fan kept its single red LED on, which looks bad.

I’m curious about your thoughts: could the PSU be defective, are the SATA cables faulty (I’ve tested several), or are the fans themselves or their connectors bad? The recent discontinuation of Deepcool products in the US adds another layer—if the fans are the issue, I might need to request a refund and buy a new set. I’m looking for affordable alternatives that won’t break the bank.

(Edited June 24, 2024 by Slamp – Formatting adjusted. It was a long block of text.)
E
Elfrankix
06-18-2021, 01:22 PM #1

PSU: Corsair RM850x Motherboard: ASUS ROG STRIX B550F CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800x GPU: Nvidia 3070 ti Case: Fractal North OS: Windows 11 RGB Software: ASUS Aura

Hey everyone, I just purchased three FC120 fans for the front of my case. My plan was to connect them in a chain since only one more 4-pin slot remained on my motherboard, and I wanted them all to run at identical speeds. Each fan includes a splitter that connects to the fan side, then splits into a SATA power port, an RGB interface, and a standard 4-pin connector. I assembled everything, powered it up, and everything responded properly in BIOS—adjustments were easy.

However, the RGB display isn’t functioning as expected. I suspect the issue lies with the SATA connection—possibly from the PSU, the power cable, or the included splitter. The cables I received from my PSU feature three SATA ports in a row on a single ribbon cable. Changing ports on the cable or the PSU seems to help sometimes, but not always. Usually, two of the fans light up fully in RGB and can be dimmed as desired, while the third only shows one or two LEDs and remains unresponsive. The fan with just one LED stays lit, which makes me think it might be a faulty unit.

Each time I switched SATA ports in hopes of resolving the problem, the situation changed—sometimes fixing one port fixed everything, other times it worsened things. This isn’t a big deal for me since I don’t mind the RGB aspect, but even when I turned off the RGB entirely via software, the third fan kept its single red LED on, which looks bad.

I’m curious about your thoughts: could the PSU be defective, are the SATA cables faulty (I’ve tested several), or are the fans themselves or their connectors bad? The recent discontinuation of Deepcool products in the US adds another layer—if the fans are the issue, I might need to request a refund and buy a new set. I’m looking for affordable alternatives that won’t break the bank.

(Edited June 24, 2024 by Slamp – Formatting adjusted. It was a long block of text.)

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Blacky_Prod
Junior Member
49
06-18-2021, 04:33 PM
#2
I experimented with different fan arrangements in the sequence. It seems some variations didn’t improve clarity. The long block of text was hard to parse, making it tough to follow.
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Blacky_Prod
06-18-2021, 04:33 PM #2

I experimented with different fan arrangements in the sequence. It seems some variations didn’t improve clarity. The long block of text was hard to parse, making it tough to follow.

C
Cohogtui
Junior Member
14
06-18-2021, 08:50 PM
#3
I resolved the compatibility issue by using the extra SATA ribbon-style PSU cables. After testing both cables and their ports, none of the six ports functioned properly. Switching to various ports on different PSU models worked successfully. It was a simple fix that wasn’t immediately obvious.
C
Cohogtui
06-18-2021, 08:50 PM #3

I resolved the compatibility issue by using the extra SATA ribbon-style PSU cables. After testing both cables and their ports, none of the six ports functioned properly. Switching to various ports on different PSU models worked successfully. It was a simple fix that wasn’t immediately obvious.