The Hydrus lighting connects to a 5V 3-pin header on the motherboard. Nothing about it depends on the power supply having its own software. Control comes from whatever already drives addressable lighting on the board.
A power supply with no lighting software of its own sounds, at first glance, like an obstacle to running a lit extension cable - but that concern is based on a mistaken assumption about where the lighting connection actually comes from.
The Hydrus lighting connects to a 5V 3-pin header on the motherboard. Nothing about it depends on the power supply having its own software. Control comes from whatever already drives addressable lighting on the board.
The lighting lead runs to the motherboard, connecting into a standard 5V 3-pin addressable header - not to the power supply in any capacity. The power supply's only role in this whole setup is supplying power through the 24-pin or 8-pin lead the cable is extending, a function it performs identically regardless of whether it has any lighting features of its own or not.
Colour and effect control comes entirely from whatever addressable lighting system your motherboard already provides, since a 5V 3-pin header is the standard, widely-adopted connection point for exactly that purpose across the PC hardware ecosystem - the same control software already driving your case fans or memory lighting, if any, handles this connector too, with nothing additional to install or configure specifically for the Hydrus cable.
If your specific board genuinely lacks any addressable header, there is simply nothing for the lighting lead to connect to, meaning the lighting function would have no source of control and would not illuminate - though it is worth noting this is now a fairly rare situation on current boards, most of which include at least one such header as standard.
A standalone lighting controller, separate from the motherboard entirely, would serve the identical purpose provided it presents a standard 5V 3-pin output for the lead to plug into - the connection standard matters far more than whether the signal originates specifically from the board itself or from a dedicated controller sitting elsewhere in the build. And critically, the power connection functions entirely normally even with the lighting lead left completely unattached, since the two systems are genuinely independent of each other - a cable fitted purely for its jacket finish, with lighting never connected at all, still does its core job without issue. This holds identically across both cable types in the family too: the ATX and EPS versions both use the same 5V 3-pin sync lead, so the header requirement is exactly the same whichever of the two you end up choosing for your build. None of this changes which power supply you can pair the cable with either - any standard ATX supply works, because the extension simply joins onto its existing factory lead and asks nothing further of the unit itself, lighting-related or otherwise. The wider range this cable belongs to is at cable solutions, and standalone controllers for a board that genuinely lacks a header sit at NZXT case lighting.
Not at all. The lighting lead goes to the board, and the supply only provides power through the cable it is extending.
Whatever addressable lighting control your board provides, since a 5V 3-pin header is the standard connection for that purpose.
Without an addressable header there is nothing to connect the lead to, so the lighting would have no source of control.
Any controller presenting a standard 5V 3-pin output would serve the same purpose as a board header.
Yes. The power connection is entirely separate, so the extension functions normally with the lighting lead unattached.
Both use a 5V 3-pin sync lead, so the requirement is identical whichever of the two you choose.
No. Any ATX supply works, because the extension joins its existing lead and asks nothing more of it.
Confirming your board can drive a Hydrus cable's lighting? Have a look at Evetech's power supply range and check your motherboard for an addressable header first.
Not at all. The lighting lead goes to the board, and the supply only provides power through the cable it is extending.
Whatever addressable lighting control your board provides, since a 5V 3-pin header is the standard connection for that purpose.
Without an addressable header there is nothing to connect the lead to, so the lighting would have no source of control.
Any controller presenting a standard 5V 3-pin output would serve the same purpose as a board header.
Yes. The power connection is entirely separate, so the extension functions normally with the lighting lead unattached.
Both use a 5V 3-pin sync lead, so the requirement is identical whichever of the two you choose.
No. Any ATX supply works, because the extension joins its existing lead and asks nothing more of it.
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