11 KiB
MSI MPG Coreliquid AIO coolers
Driver API and source code available in liquidctl.driver.msi.
Currently, only the K360 model is experimentally supported as more testing and feedback is needed.
This driver is for the MSI MPG coreliquid series of AIO coolers, of which currently only the coreliquid K360 has been tested and verified to be working. The usage of speed profiles for this model requires external periodic updates of the current cpu temperature. As a result, to use variable fan speeds you must be careful to make sure that the current cpu temperature gets sent to the device. An example method to accomplish this is the --use-device-controller option in yoda.py. Device configuration, including lighting and fan profiles persist until a new configuration is sent to the device, but saved settings are lost after power is lost (power state S5). Uploaded display images are saved onto the device, and so they can be accessed by their uploaded type and index even after loss of power, preventing the need to repeatedly upload the same files. The lcd display resets to the default animation when the system is suspended (S3).
LED lighting is controlled via preset modes, which are sent once to the device as a configuration, after which the device then independently commands the LEDs until a new configuration is received.
The K360 model includes an LCD screen capable of displaying various preset animations, hardware status, ASCII banners with a preset or custom background image, and preset or custom images.
Initialization
Controlling the device does not always require initialization, but some features, such as changing the display settings may not function before initialization. Initialization on its own will set default fan curves and LCD screen settings.
# liquidctl initialize --pump-mode smart
MSI MPG Coreliquid K360
├── Display firmware version 2
├── APROM firmware version 0
├── LDROM firmware version 256
├── Serial number A02020123456
└── Pump mode smart
Monitoring
The AIO unit is able to report fan speeds, pump speed, water block speed, and duties.
# liquidctl status
MSI MPG Coreliquid K360
├── Fan 1 speed 1546 rpm
├── Fan 1 duty 60 %
├── Fan 2 speed 1562 rpm
├── Fan 2 duty 60 %
├── Fan 3 speed 1530 rpm
├── Fan 3 duty 60 %
├── Water block speed 2400 rpm
├── Water block duty 50 %
├── Pump speed 2777 rpm
├── Pump duty 100 %
Fan and pump speeds
First, some important notes...
You must carefully consider what pump and fan speeds to run. Heat output, case airflow, radiator size, installed fans and ambient temperature are some of the factors to take into account. Test your settings under different scenarios, and make sure that they are appropriate, correctly applied and persistent.
The device has no internal temperature measurement to control the fan speeds, and simply running a liquidctl command to set a speed profile will not persistently provide this necessary data to the device. You can use yoda.py to communicate with the cooler, or create your own service to keep the device updated on the current temperature.
You should also consider monitoring your hardware temperatures and setting alerts for overheating components or pump failures.
With those out of the way, the pump speed can be configured to a fixed duty value or with a profile dependent on a (temperature) signal that MUST be periodically sent to the device.
Fixed speeds can be set by specifying the desired channel and duty value.
# liquidctl set pump speed 90
| Channel | Minimum duty | Maximum duty |
|---|---|---|
pump |
60% | 100% |
radiator fans (fans, fan1, fan2, fan3) |
20% | 100% |
waterblock-fan |
0% | 100% |
For profiles, one or more temperature–duty pairs are supplied instead of single value.
# liquidctl set pump speed 20 30 30 50 34 80 40 90 50 100
^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^
pairs of temperature (°C) -> duty (%)
liquidctl will normalize and optimize this profile before pushing it to the device. Adding --verbose will trace the final profile that is being applied.
The device also has preset pump/fan curves that can be applied independently for each channel with yoda.py. Perhaps most notable is the "smart" mode, which enables fan-stop for two of the three radiator fans. Fan-stop is locked by the device for custom fan profiles, likely to prevent the liquid from overheating.
The preset device profiles are:
- Silent
- Balance
- Game
- Default
- Smart
The preset, named modes are supported in the driver and they currently have experimental support in yoda.py, support in the liquidctl cli is on the way.
RGB lighting with LEDs
LEDs on the device are always synced with the same effect, so the only supported channel argument is "sync".
Colors can be specified in RGB, HSV or HSL (see Supported color specification formats). Each animation mode supports zero to two colors, and some animation modes include an additional "rainbow" mode.
Lighting effect speed can be controlled with the --speed parameter, which can vary between 0 and 3.
# liquidctl set sync color clock aa00aa 00aaaa --speed 0
# liquidctl set sync color steady ffb6c1
Some lighting modes are intended to react to the sounds currently playing on the system. These modes do not currently function as intended with this driver.
| Mode | Colors | Rainbow option | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
disable |
None | None | |
steady |
One | No | |
blink |
? | ? | Not working as intended |
breathing |
One | No | Yes |
clock |
Two | Yes | |
color pulse |
? | ? | Not working as intended |
color ring |
None | None | |
color ring double flashing |
None | None | |
color ring flashing |
None | None | |
color shift |
None | None | Not working as intended |
color wave |
Two | Yes | |
corsair ique |
? | ? | Unclear |
disable2 |
None | None | |
double flashing |
One | Yes | |
double meteor |
None | None | |
energy |
None | None | |
fan control |
? | ? | Not working as intended |
fire |
Two | No | |
flashing |
One | Yes | |
jazz |
? | ? | Not working as intended |
jrainbow |
? | ? | Unclear |
lava |
? | ? | Not working as intended |
lightning |
One | No | |
marquee |
One | No | |
meteor |
One | Yes | |
movie |
? | ? | Not working as intended |
msi marquee |
One | Yes | |
msi rainbow |
? | ? | Not working as intended |
planetary |
None | None | |
play |
? | ? | Not working as intended |
pop |
? | ? | Not working as intended |
rainbow |
? | ? | Very jittery and slow, rainbow wave is recommended instead |
rainbow double flashing |
None | None | |
rainbow flashing |
None | None | |
rainbow wave |
None | None | |
random |
None | None | |
rap |
? | ? | Not working as intended |
stack |
One | Yes | |
visor |
Two | Yes | |
water drop |
One | Yes |
Support for the rainbow option is not yet exposed by the liquidctl cli, but it is included in the driver as the color_selection flag.
>>> from liquidctl.driver import find_liquidctl_devices
>>> coreliquid_device = next(find_liquidctl_devices())
>>> coreliquid_device.connect()
>>> coreliquid_device.set_colors("sync", "clock", [], color_selection=0)
The LCD screen
The screen resolution is 320 x 240 px, and custom images uploaded with this driver are resized to fit this requirement. The screen orientation and brightness (0-100) can also be controlled. The only channel available for the K360 model is "lcd".
Uploading and choosing which images or banner backgrounds to display is experimentally supported, sometimes an uploaded file may be viewable from a different index on the device than the one it was originally uploaded to.
# liquidctl set lcd screen settings '80;0'
# liquidctl set lcd screen hardware 'cpu_temp;cpu_freq;fan_radiator'
# liquidctl set lcd screen banner '1;4;A cool message in 62 characters!;/home/username/Pictures/pic.jpg'
# liquidctl set lcd screen banner '0;1;Hello, MSI?'
# liquidctl set lcd screen banner '1;4;I can also show a previously uploaded background!'
# liquidctl set lcd screen disable
Maximum length of the displayed banner mesages is 62 ASCII characters. hardware status display functionality is limited, as the displayed data must be communicated to the device. This functionality is implemented in the driver, but currently its usage is limited to yoda.py, which is gpu-unaware so the gpu_freq and gpu_usage parameters will not display correct information without custom update services.
| mode name | action | options |
|---|---|---|
| hardware | set the screen to display hardware info | up to 3 semicolon delimited keys from the available sensors |
| image | set the screen to display a custom or preset image | <type (0=preset,1=custom)>;<index (0-5)>[;<filename>] |
| banner | set the screen to display a message with custom or preset image as background | <type (0=preset,1=custom)>;<index (0-3)>;<message>[;<filename>] |
| clock | set the screen to display system time (requires control service to send the time to the device) | integer between 0 and 2 to specify the style of the clock display |
| settings | set the screen brightness and orientation | <brightness (0-100)>;<direction (0-3)> |
| disable | disables the lcd screen |
The index field of image and banner modes denotes which of the device-stored images to show on the display, or to which save slot to store an uploaded image in. Use type=0 to display one of the preset animations, and type=1 to upload or display a custom image.
| Display orientation | value |
|---|---|
| Default (up) | 0 |
| Right | 1 |
| Down | 2 |
| Left | 3 |
| Displayed sensor data | Notes |
|---|---|
| cpu_freq | |
| cpu_temp | this is the sensor value that controls set profile fan duties |
| gpu_freq | Used by the manufacturer to display gpu memory frequency |
| gpu_usage | |
| fan_pump | |
| fan_radiator | |
| fan_cpumos | waterblock fan speed |