Well I got an AQ5 LT which I enjoyed setting up just so. (I know they make quality gear... I also got an Aqualis fountain effect reservoir which is super build quality. Some of their kit is lemon however... their D5 pump heads are very inefficient compared even to the stock Swifttech head let alone the more modern aftermarket designs). I was rather unhappy (EVGA forum safe adjective used) with their decision to limit Aquasuite support to a couple of years, unless you buy new kit from them... but that is another story.
 
I've now upgraded from mATX to a new EATX case with room for dual loops. Concurrent with your reply I decided to bite the bullet and upgraded to the AQ6 XT. I really want software sensor monitoring. Hence I stick with AQ. And I'll upgrade to the 6 series as I want 4x PWM fan outputs and an LCD display.
 
I have one of the Caselabs / Charles Harwood / Xforma RGB Luminous Panels for the SMA8-A. (And I have an X299 Dark, hence me lurking here on the forums). Any ideas what I need to drive the Luminous mid panel (given the MB has no RGB outputs... Dark, innit?). Do I need the Farbwerk and that is enough to get it working? Also, to avoid Y-cable splitters all over the place... I have a few Spilitty9: this will allow me to pool the Aquabus connections from the farbwerk and Aquabus D5s? Or is it better to get this new Aquabus X4 unit to slot into the AQ6?
 
I am sure I will figure it out eventually on my own, but if anyone else has already jumped through these hoops it would be nice to know.
 
 

SimonOcean
Well I got an AQ5 LT which I enjoyed setting up just so. (I know they make quality gear... I also got an Aqualis fountain effect reservoir which is super build quality. Some of their kit is lemon however... their D5 pump heads are very inefficient compared even to the stock Swifttech head let alone the more modern aftermarket designs). I was rather unhappy (EVGA forum safe adjective used) with their decision to limit Aquasuite support to a couple of years, unless you buy new kit from them... but that is another story.
 
I've now upgraded from mATX to a new EATX case with room for dual loops. Concurrent with your reply I decided to bite the bullet and upgraded to the AQ6 XT. I really want software sensor monitoring. Hence I stick with AQ. And I'll upgrade to the 6 series as I want 4x PWM fan outputs and an LCD display.
 
I have one of the Caselabs / Charles Harwood / Xforma RGB Luminous Panels for the SMA8-A. (And I have an X299 Dark, hence me lurking here on the forums). Any ideas what I need to drive the Luminous mid panel (given the MB has no RGB outputs... Dark, innit?). Do I need the Farbwerk and that is enough to get it working? Also, to avoid Y-cable splitters all over the place... I have a few Spilitty9: this will allow me to pool the Aquabus connections from the farbwerk and Aquabus D5s? Or is it better to get this new Aquabus X4 unit to slot into the AQ6?
 
I am sure I will figure it out eventually on my own, but if anyone else has already jumped through these hoops it would be nice to know.
 

 
You got a nice system going on here and being familiar with previous controllers will surely help you with this.  It's basically a beefed up more efficient AQ5.  AQ5's had overheating issues as that was fixed with the AQ6.
 
I had no idea they had issues with their D5s.  They don't make those D5s no more as they should be releasing their newer D5s any moment now.  I would like some day to rearrange my dual bay Maelstrom MPC35X2 pump reservoir combo to a dual Aquabus D5s with cylinder tubes for ease of filling.  It's a pain and has been for a number of years the way I do it and the AQ + farbwerks are right above it all.  Check my modsrigs link for a front shot of the case as you'll see what I mean.
 
As far as the suite goes, you don't need to purchase a kit or piece of hardware to get the software if you already have it running and want the newer updated versions of Aquasuite.  You can basically get a one year or two year renewal when it runs out.  I ran out a couple of months ago after two years and grabbed a two year package so I can be on the 2018 versions of Aquasuite and 2019.  The price wasn't so bad.  IIRC $10 for 1 year and $15 for 2 years but it converts to EUR + VAT so it will be around $17-$18 around is what I paid for the two year licensing.
 
I always liked caselabs cases but unfortunately the business went bust.  It's no more so hold on to that case as much as you can.  

As far as lighting or anything really, as you know, just be careful with connecting things.  I use two farberks (max for AQ6) for case lighting.  Below is an image of each farbwerk's limits.  So you'll just have to figure out how many LEDs (5050) can be used per and in total.  I wish they gave us that answer as it would be much simpler for everyone. lol



Don't forget, the Farbwerk isn't for addressable RGB LEDs meaning, you can now address each RGB LED as opposed to just a whole strip which the Farbwerk only does.  If you were to go with addressable's than the farbwerk isn't for you.  They have another device for addressable RGB LEDs but I'm not sure which one it is on top of my head atm.

When it comes to SPLITTY9, yes you can use that to bunch up all your Aquabus devices to the single header on the AQ.  The Aquabus X4 is basically a splitter made for the AQ instead of getting splitters or a SPLITTY9.  I believe they were mainly designed to house the new digital temp sensors called Calitemp.  It's their most accurate water temp sensor hence being almost double the price but you will need the Aquabus X4 so you can connect EACH sensor to their OWN aquabus as nothing else can be combined with it.  That's why they basically  made that so if you were to get 2 calitemps which I'm planning on doing one day to replace my regular ones, you would connect the 2 digital temp sensor to 2 of the 4 X4 aquabus headers and use the rest for w/e you like.
 
Alright, hope I didn't confuse you and you kept up with me which I think you will since you have AQ experience. lol  It can become overwhelming no matter the experience with these controllers and their whole ecosystems.  
 

Krzysztof47
One important thing to note, the XT has a Touch screen and comes with the Aquaero 6 Heatsink and Aqua Remote.  The Quadro is essentially a Mini Aquaero, with a lot of the same features, it does not have as many ports or options as the Aquaero 6, also its called the Quadro not Quadro 4.  I personally use my Aquaero 6 PRO and have the Quadro hooked up via the special JST to 4pin Aquabus cable.  I personally prefer and recommend running Aquacomputer devices on USB so they get there own dedicated tab in Aquasuite, but Aquabus is fine, they just dont get there own tab.  You really cant find a fan controller on the market today that has all the features the Quadro does at its price, let alone form factor.

None of the controllers come with a heatsink included.  They come separately as I purchased one myself.  Granted its not needed but I just wanted to help with heat dissipation as I don't have too much air flow in the area of the controller in my case but even than, I probably still didn't need it since it probably only dropped a few degrees but I really liked the fact on top of heat dissipation, it's labels everything in the back.  I guess you could say that was the selling point for me. lol
 
As far as features, you basically get the basic features of a fan controller on the Quadro and if you want to control RGB addressable LEDs, you need the Splitty4 which can control only 4 RGB fans for RGB addressable lighting control.
 
I do agree that a QUADRO is honestly a great buy for a controller + software suite.

SimonOcean
@Krzysztof47
You are right that the Aquacomputer website does list the AQ6 XT as including a heatsink. However, as far as I know none of the SKUs / variants of the AQ6 XT have a heatsink. Go figure... I have mine order arriving later today, so I will be able to update you on whether it included a heatsink as part of the accessories with certainty.
 
[EDIT UPDATE: 12 / 9 / 18 AFTERNOON
The delivery with my Aquacomputer kit arrived. I did order a heatsink separately - which arrived - but there is no heatsink included within the scope of delivery of the AQ6 XT itself].
 
@GTXJackBauer
Thanks for your thoughtful reply. In particular I was unaware of the limitations of the farbwerk that you mentioned, but for my application it looks like those limitations will not be a problem: I don't want a 1967 acid trip happening inside my case. Just some fairly subtle solid white lighting from the case bottom, mid panel and top diffused by some frosted acrylic.
 
It looks like the Aquabus X4 is worth getting: it is quite a neat installation and only EUR10.
 
Besides that, I should make clear something that I might have been unclear about originally. As far as I know Aqua Computer do not have any problems with their D5 Aquabus pumps. In fact I have two of these and they work just like any other D5, but with the added functionality of being able to communicate and be controlled by the AQ unit. What I was referring to earlier was the impressive looking Aqua Computer D5 pump tops / Aqualis D5 pump bases have a pretty naff nautilus spiral machined into them. Independent testing (I can't remember which website I was referring to which did the testing and presented the data... it was Xtremrigs, Thermal Bench, Martin's Liquid Lab or someone like that... basically not an idiot and someone data driven) did the pump head / flow rate charts for most of the D5 pump tops on the market. The finding was that Aqua Computer's D5 pump tops performed worse that the horrible little barb plastic jobs that cheapo Swiftech D5's come pre-installed with. The best performers (from memory) were the first generation EK tops (the old reclinear CSQ era jobs), which slightly outperformed their cylindrical second generation designs. 
 
And regarding Caselabs: a real shame. I am glad that I have two of their cases. (I am actually toying with the idea of getting a third before it is too late). But I feel very hesitant now about making any case mods now because of the near impossibility of finding spare parts. The ability of customers like me to adapt a case, and just order new panels to get them back to stock a few years later was part of the appeal of their expensive, premium designs. 

Sounds great yeah, I remember them being included before unless of course that has changed.  Looking forward to your update.  I bought 2x Aquabus x4's and they are cool, but I had issues with mine not being able to detect a PA3, I prefer running AQ devices on USB, but hope it works out for you.  Ended up selling the 2nd one to my friend and he too is having issues with it detecting Aquabus devises, can be very finicky.

Krzysztof47
 
Yeah I could swear the XT ones are suppose to come with it, but guess I am wrong.  I run my 6 PRO with the Aquaero 6 heatsink and the Aquaero 5 Heatsink screwed on top with a 5 m/wk pad  Got some 11 w/mk and 6w/mk pads underneath, keeps the unit nice and cool and the Channel VRM's never go over 38c, running my Typhoons on voltage control, with the the fans hooked up via 3x Splitty 9's and then connected to 1,2, and 3 fan channels, works out well.
 
 

 
That's nice that you're running two AQ controllers.  For two separate rigs or you slaving the 5 to the 6 or vise versa?

Yeah those AQ5's can run toasty.  I don't like the fact that they really heat up when you run your fans at lower speeds.  I forgot why but just know the controller only likes running things at a higher RPM as I guess at the low, it puts too much load on the controller and it runs very warm if not hot and in order to cool off, it ramps up everything on said channel.  lol  Still a nice controller though.
 
Wow, how many Typhoons (AP-15s?) are you running with x3 SPLITTY9s?  I'm guessing they're either filled up or you set them up for 3 different zones of fans with less.
 
I honestly thought about upgrading to the AP-15s which is rebranded something else but don't know if I want to spend that much or spend a tad more for RGB fans.  I just wish they made RGB AP-15s with the compatibility of AQs. lol  I'm probably asking for too much at this point.

On fans: if 1) you have the budget and 2) you don't require RGB and don't care that the fans are poop brown then these are the best performing 120mm fans on the market.
 
https://www.techpowerup.c.../Noctua/NF-A12x25_PWM/
 
I have 7 in my SMA8/A and the quality is exceptional. (The performance I can't vouch for personally yet as the build is in progress, but VSG's review has sufficient data for intelligent conclusions).

GTXJackBauer
Notcua's are nice but the GTs are the king of the hill imho.  They are the best of the best when it comes to pushing air through rads, let alone the lower audibles they have even at higher ranges

You are not looking at the data. Look at the data Jack.

For most users - for whom acoustics matter alongside cooling performance - the only logical way to measure performance is: x-axis (input) noise and y-axis (result) coolant temperature. Measuring x axis (fan rpm) against y axis (coolant temperature) is dumb. You don't care about the rpm... you care about the noise. Of course some users will want fans that spin to a bigillion (a really big number) - noise be damned. But most users care about noise normalised performance on their desk, or beneath their desk.
 
NF-A12x25 win hands down against any 120mm fan out there on a noise normalised basis. They lose ground on aesthetics. (I agree... people instinctively hate these because of the poop brown and for many people the Noctua is automatically struck off the list of contenders. And that is even before we get to the unicorn acid trip brigade with their RGBs). The other thing they lose out on is cost. The pack comes complete with Y-cables, low speed adapters (on a PWM fan... go figure) and an extension cable all of which add unnecessary cost. And they are damn expensive, especially once you start buying 4, 8, 12 whatever.
 
I totally accept why some people would veto these based on the hideous aesthetics. I bought them, and I am glad that I did. Quality is second to none and the poop brown is mostly hidden.
 
By the way Delta 5db is a really significant difference. (Delta 10db is twice the perceived noise.)

Thanks for the update.
 
1.  That's great to hear.
 
2.  Curious what was the issue and what you did to remedy it?

I cringe if I have to plug or unplug molex.  Feelsbadman for my fingers.

SimonOcean
 
 
2. Sure: I've forgotten to attach one end of the USB cable between motherboard and the Farbwerk, to initialise the Farbwerk. One end was plugged in, the other end was dangling loose. The Aquaero and Farbwerk were connected by Aquabus, so the Farbwerk could be identified, but not controlled as it had not been initialised. I was trying all sorts of things in the Aquasuite software, but nothing was changing.  Doh! 

Don't feel bad.  Been there, done that as I've done all types of silly things in the past. lol
 
Glad it's all working for you.