PC Build - How To Choose An RGB PC Lighting System - DIY in 5 Ep 88

Опубликовано 23 ноября 2018, 18:00

RGB hardware for custom PC builds has taken the world by storm in the past few years. But compatibility across manufacturers' hardware and software is still an issue. We'll give you some advice on how to choose the best RGB lighting system for your PC.

When it comes to RGB components, like liquid cooling, and other DIY PC flourishes, it’s gotten much easier in recent years than it used to be. However, systems like ASUS Aura Sync, Gigabyte Aorus RGB Fusion, or MSI Mystic Light are not cross compatible. There are, of course, simpler RGB lighting kits that you can control with a remote, but with so many high-end components available, it seems silly not to make use of it.

When picking RGB components, try to stick to hardware that can be synced by the motherboard software - things like fans, RGB SSDs, RGB RAM, graphics cards, and cases. The best way to tell if your RGB components will work with your motherboard is to check your motherboard manufacturer’s compatibility page. There is no RGB standard but there are a few main cable formats. Some use a 4-pin cable format - one pin for R, G, B, and power respectively - while others use 5, adding an extra pin for pure white light instead of maxing out all the colors to make white. Also, most motherboards have 2 RGB headers, but if you have, say, a whole bunch of RGB fans and need more than that, this could be a problem. There are other solutions to make this happen via daisy-chaining and adapters, but that will require its own separate research. Picking components that are all compatible with your motherboard usually also ensures that you can control everything from your motherboard’s lighting specific software instead of relying on different software for each individual component.

Peripherals like keyboards, mice, mousepads, headsets, and more have all jumped on the RGB bandwagon and can really set the tone in your gaming room if synced appropriately. Again, there’s no real standard here and each peripheral manufacturer usually provides their own proprietary software to control each product. For example, HyperX has NGenuity software, which lets you set up HyperX keyboards and mice lighting effects by zone, create button bindings, program macros, and create and store game profile presets. But what if you have another manufacturer’s headset, but a HyperX keyboard and mouse? You would need two different software solutions to control everything and good luck manually syncing that pulsing effect.

We want to give a huge shoutout to all the Kingston & HyperX community members who sent in photos of their sleek RGB builds to showcase in this video. It’s always so awesome to see what other people have created and draw inspiration from it. If your build didn’t make it into the video, or if you’ve RGB’d your setup for the first time as a result of watching this video, feel free to share it online using the hashtag #DIYin5 or post a link in the comments so we can give it some love.

#rgbpc #pcbuild