How to get some nice case illumination

danlightbulb

danlightbulb

danlightbulb

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Joined
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Birmingham
Hello all,

I'd like to illuminate my case with some quality, sophisticated lighting. Not sure how best to go about it or even whether my setup has the necessary requirements to make it look really good.

I don't want to just stick a load of background LED strips in... I want to get the really bright sophisticated look that you see on pro builds, but can this be done without having all the watercooling pipes etc?

This is mostly a boredom project so I don't want to spend loads replacing things that don't need replacing. I already spent quite a lot of effort making my current set up well cooled and having good open airflow and I don't overclock so temps are fine. This is purely a looks thing as my case is very dark and dingy.

My case is a Phanteks P400. https://www.overclockers.co.uk/phanteks-eclipse-p400-midi-tower-case-black-window-ca-041-pt.html unfortunately mine is the windowed version rather than having the full glass side panel.

I have two Phanteks 140mm fans at the front blowing into the case. A large Alpenfohn tower cooler with a single 120mm fan and at the rear a single 120mm exhaust fan. There are no fans on the top mesh section as I allow heat to rise out naturally from here. The PSU is in a separate compartment at the bottom with its own fan sucking from underneath and exhausting out the rear. I have a single MSI GPU with the twin frozr fans. This has a bit of lighting on the side but nothing very bright.

Here is a picture of the side. You can make out the GPU but everything else is so dark.

fh6C9cH.png


Front panel off showing fans. The panel is not meshed so you cant see these with the front on.

XO0X7kd.png



I'm concerned that by just fitting RGB fans or some RGB strips, that all I will get is background illumination rather than that pro look. I want to make it more like this which I found a few pages back on the gallery (credit B5NBM). What I like about this and others similar is that you can pick out individual elements, rather than just having everything background illuminated.

FRTgxUb.jpg
 
You can get programmable RGB lighting to set off different areas at different times using different patterns.
I recently fitted new fans all round my case replacing exist non RGB to RGB Sync fans and if you spend the time you can really get them to look good, I haven't spent a massive amount of time on these but I can do that in the future but there are lots of options.
Here are mine......
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EGXs7VtWfFQ
 
Im thinking of getting a modular power supply and then making some of my own braided cables. I can see OCUK sell some DIY stuff but I'm not sure what I need.

If I wanted to make a motherboard ATX power connector, would this 17 gauge wire be sufficient?
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/mdpc-x-17-awg-black-wire-1m-cm-06z-md.html

And then I would need a connector?
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/bitf...4-pin-atx-connector-pack-black-cm-319-bx.html

Some pins (male and female?)
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/mdpc-x-crimp-terminal-atx-male-cm-05e-md.html
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/mdpc-x-fan-crimp-terminal-female-10-pack-cm-05l-md.html

Some of these cable retention combs:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/techforge-24-slot-cable-comb-small-3mm-black-cu-00m-tf.html

Then a pin removal tool:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lamptron-deluxe-modding-tool-kit-silver-cm-051-lp.html

and a cable stripper/crimper:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/alphacool-eistools-cable-sleeving-crimping-kit-wc-09b-ac.html

Then finally some braid (does the diameter need to match the cable size?):
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/mdpc-x-sleeve-xtc-italian-red-uv-1-metre-cm-07c-md.html


Do you make a cable which goes all the way back to the PSU or do you make an extension that uses the existing PSU cables then just fits on the end for the visible section?
 
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Hi all. Im going to get some new RGB fans for my system. Should I go with white or black? Currently I have black, but ive noticed a lot of the pro builds do use white fans, and white components also. Does RGB show up better if you use white? i guess the really bright, clinical look would look better in white, and its true that white photographs better than black as well.

How is the RBG on the fans controlled? I have an Asus motherboard, which has a single RGB header, and a Phanteks case which has a controller on it where you can attach a LED strip but thats it.
 
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So my research came up with the Thermaltake Pure ARGB fans for my system which plug into the motherboard, or you could use the controller that comes with them. There are other fans which have different control methods and basically they do the same thing, control the fan/speed/lighting. With my motherboard I can go into the bios and configure the RGB from there without having to use any software but it's basic and the best it can do is colour cycle or pulse etc.
Corsair also do very nice RGB fans but also at a premium price and do a similar thing as do Cooler Master but there are also cheaper alternatives elsewhere if you search the interweb, but be wary of warranties with cheaper brands.

The official Thermaltake link to my fans can be found here https://uk.thermaltake.com/pure-20-argb-sync-case-fan-tt-premium-edition-1-fan-pack.html but are sold in other places, unfortunately not at OCUK.

Does your motherboard have onboard RGB lighting already? if it does then there is a chance that you could plug in addressable (ARGB) fans and have the motherboard control the lighting, otherwise a controller is needed.
 
evohicks said:
Does your motherboard have onboard RGB lighting already? if it does then there is a chance that you could plug in addressable (ARGB) fans and have the motherboard control the lighting, otherwise a controller is needed.
Click to expand...

It has a single 4 pin RGB header. There is a tiny bit of RGB lighting near the audio section of the board, but that's it. Ive never tried controlling it.

Maybe its best not to spend any money on this and wait until I can get a better case and some watercooling gear and do it properly.
 
I decided there is no point trying to polish a turd, as it were.

Now dreaming about a brand new setup. Its a lot to spend just to get RGB though, but it would look impressive.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,986.54 (includes shipping: £14.70)
FG00PTT_189597_105x105.jpg
FG00PTT_189597_105x105.jpg




Is that case cheap for what it is or is everything else getting more expensive :eek:​
 
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Don't over do it with RGB, its all about balance. You don't want overpowering lights, needs to be soft and evenly spread. Ideally you want the new phanteks Neon strips, they work a treat and look amazing.. i think im going to get some for my build.

LzEPFbF.jpg


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zdBF1jT.jpg
 
That looks very nice but I think what really brings it out is the pastel orange water in the loop. Its enabled you to have a subtle white background colour and then for the orange to take focus. Going for a full loop is a step too far for me so in the absence of that, I would need to make something else the focal point i.e more fans, or the AIO unit, or the RAM.

I would like to have definition within the case, which I don't think is possible without having specific RGB enabled components.
 
Here is one I found on google images that is using a fully illuminated fan:

ReWU913.png


And here is one that is using a fan with a ring design:

3Xhll68.png


The second one does look a little washed out, aside from the fan rings there is little distinction there.

The first one does appear to have more distinction Im not sure why though as the fans themselves dominate more than the second one. Perhaps its the use of the white case that's doing it, reflecting more light around?
 
danlightbulb said:
What I like about this and others similar is that you can pick out individual elements, rather than just having everything background illuminated.
Click to expand...
It looks to me as if a lot of that image is due to using UV components and lighting, rather than actual RGB, though. It's also a pretty good photo (compared to my standards), which suggests some attention has been given to sorting out thing like the light balance, positioning, making sure there's no refklections in the case window, and all the other stuff that makes a good photo.

Personally, I despise case illumination. I love having lights all over the place, but little blinking LEDs like the indicators on a motherboard, rather than having whole areas of my case lit like blazing multi-coloured floodlights.
The biggest problem you'll find with RGB (aside from the garish brand logos) is finding compatible control software, that also has decent patterns and controllable brightness.
 
Hmm a lot to think about. Another problem might be, if I went for a case like the Lian Li, that it might look very empty without the watercooling stuff in it.
 
Blimey RGB stuff gets expensive quick doesn't it.

A handful of fans are costing more than the case!


@Jay85 on your pics just up above, how come you haven't filled the reservoir all the way to the top?
 
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The Thermaltake V250 case comes with 3x 120mm ARGB fans at front and 1 exhaust fan at rear I think
It can be had for as little as £59.99
 
Some words of warning:

Firstly, many people have issues with RGB software being buggy. You might be fine. But problems aren't uncommon. It's worth being aware that you may be about to spend a fortune on a frustrating, buggy mess.

Second, it's generally difficult to get different sets of RGB software working together. In your parts list above, you have Thermaltake gear (TT RGB Plus), Kingston RAM (nGenuity), an Asus motherboard (Aura Sync), Sapphire GPU (Trixx), and a Corsair keyboard (iCue). It would be better to reduce this list as much as possible.

To give an idea of the problems that can be caused, my fans are controlled by Gigabyte RGB Fusion. While RGB Fusion can also control my RAM, it does so with only a very limited set of lighting effects (breathing, flashing, colour cycle, etc.). To get anything fancy running, I have to use Team Group Blitz. But the effects need reconfiguring every single time I boot the PC because RGB Fusion takes over. Problems like this are pretty commonplace; check Reddit.

Thermaltake, Asus, and Corsair have the most comprehensive lists of components. Of the three, I gather Asus have the weakest software. Corsair recently partnered with Asus, and are working to make iCue compatible with Aura Sync (so far they've got the motherboard lights and the 12V RGB header working in iCue). If you want most of your components working in sync, pick one of these three and use as many of their components as you can. You should be able to get down to two pieces of RGB software, tops.

And a tip: LED strips go a long way toward making case lighting look good. The LEDs in fans shine on to the fins (or on to a diffuser inside the ring for "ring" type fans). The whole point is to diffuse the light and make the fans stand out. Strips, on the other hand, are made to illuminate your case; they're shining directly in to the case. When you see a case with nice, even lighting, like the one in your first post, it's because of the LED strips (you can see the reflection quite clearly on the left side of the GPU support bracket).
 
I agree about what you say about limited effects, I also run RGB Fusion and although I can set my light config in the Bios, it is very limited and much more configurable once Windows has booted.
 
Even once Windows has booted, my RAM is limited to single colours at a time without Blitz running. And the software is pretty limited even once Windows is running, e.g. there are various "rainbow" presets, and a bunch of configurable lighting options. But you can only choose the primary colour for the latter. I can't do, for example, the purple and green in the OP. The fans can do it (they have a bunch of presets which can be accessed via a button or the remote), but the Gigabyte software doesn't have the option to set multiple colours. Bit off-topic though, as that's quite a Gigabyte-specific grumble; Asus Aura is supposedly better.

When you read around, there's loads of niggles like this when it comes to RGB. The best option seems to be to use the same company for as much as possible, because then it will all work (assuming the software doesn't have issues or crash). I'll probably move everything over to Corsair next time I upgrade. They seem quite active in developing iCue, and it seems to get some praise (compared to NZXT Cam, for example).
 
As an easier/lazier alternative, if you know the main colour that you want at all times, single colour LED fans are also a nice option with less cables and fuss.

I use 2 x ML120s blues, 2x ML140 blues, a single Akaksa RGB magnetic strip hidden so you only see the light it emits - not the strip, plus standard RGB logos on GPU card and motherboard.

I just leave all the RGB on standard RGB stock setting, so it's a subtle rainbow effect behind a dark blue that creates a kind of petrol RGB effect with a blue base. You get some really complex RGB effects still but with a darker base dominating the colour scheme.

For low effort it's a cool, understated RGB effect, it would be nice to have full RGB but I'd probably still have the fans 99% dark blue anyway, much less cable and controller hassle that way and a fair bit cheaper.

I can control the GPU and LED strip RGB but actually like the rainbow petrol effect you get through the blue so keeping it stock for now.
 
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