pimp my pc

quantumisation · 19 Mar 2007 at 22:22

i have a window and no LEDs at all currently. Its a lian-li PC7 plus with stock fans and my extent of making it look cool is to get some LED fans. I need suggestions people, good suggestions! im off cathodes as i hear they can be dangerous but an alternative would be nice

Gonzo0 · 19 Mar 2007 at 22:38

Stick a nice cold cathode in their, im using 1 in my thermaltake tsunami and its worked perfect for 8 months. Get a nice big 120mm Akasa LED fan aswell

DeeJay-Mo · 19 Mar 2007 at 22:39

Light up cables!

quantumisation · 19 Mar 2007 at 22:53

how bright are the cables? and do they just plug in as normal for light or is there an additional wire that connects to a fan connector or something?

overcl0cker · 19 Mar 2007 at 23:33

quantumisation said:
im off cathodes as i hear they can be dangerous but an alternative would be nice

Huh? I've never heard this before

.. I had 4 blue cold cathodes running in my old case (Jeantech Phong) for about 18 months, never had any problems with them.

oc.

quantumisation · 19 Mar 2007 at 23:37

dunno i heard they can blow up and mess your entire computer up, not that common i would guess but still. Also they take more power right? i heard of LED tubes that are meant to be better cant find any though

overcl0cker · 20 Mar 2007 at 09:38

quantumisation said:
dunno i heard they can blow up and mess your entire computer up, not that common i would guess but still. Also they take more power right? i heard of LED tubes that are meant to be better cant find any though

They won't blow up at all that's nonsense! And they use hardly any power, for example, I was running:
Athlon 2400+
1GB RAM
X1650 Pro
2 Hard drives
and 4 cold cathodes

this was all running on a 500w PSU easy.

oc.

z0mbi3 · 20 Mar 2007 at 09:47

overcl0cker said:
They won't blow up at all that's nonsense!

Like anything it depends on the build quality so yes they could blow up. Also the stuff inside is poisonous and a right pain to clean up if they do rupture inside your PC.

OP, don't go over the top with lights as it can very easily get tacky. 1 descent light source and excellent cable management will make your case look "pimped" instead of "chaved".

Solaris · 20 Mar 2007 at 09:53

Ive never heard of them blowing up. Snapped a fair few tho. Most have the glass cathode encased in a plastic tube so even when the glass does shatter its contained.

They use about 3w and look cooler and spread light more evenly than anything LED. You also cant get UV leds. Up to you tho...

overcl0cker · 20 Mar 2007 at 10:13

z0mbi3 said:
1 descent light source and excellent cable management will make your case look "pimped" instead of "chaved".

I totally agree with you, there's a limit to how many lights you can put into one case, and sometimes, the less is more! If you know what I mean

oc.

SpudMaster · 20 Mar 2007 at 12:35

its not the cathodes that cause the problem, but the inverters that are often sold with them as they have been known to burn out and kill parts in the past.

Saying that problems seem to be few and far between and i personally have never had any probs

krisboats · 20 Mar 2007 at 17:42

Solaris said:
Ive never heard of them blowing up. Snapped a fair few tho. Most have the glass cathode encased in a plastic tube so even when the glass does shatter its contained.

They use about 3w and look cooler and spread light more evenly than anything LED. You also cant get UV leds. Up to you tho...

Errr... Yeah, you can!

DeeJay-Mo · 29 Mar 2007 at 03:42

quantumisation said:
how bright are the cables? and do they just plug in as normal for light or is there an additional wire that connects to a fan connector or something?

Nah there's no additional wires. Dunno how bright tho.

caister · 29 Mar 2007 at 11:00

I would say to have a look in the case gallery for inspiration if you havn't already done so. Everybody has different tastes on what looks good so you need to go with what you like after all your the one who is going to be using it.

One thing I would say is definately make sure your wires are very tidy as this makes a huge difference to looks and should hopefully help improve airflow. The rest is up to you.

Maybe post some pictures of what your case looks like now?

Darren1987 · 29 Mar 2007 at 13:15

DeeJay-Mo said:
Light up cables!

there are cables you have to plug it into a molex connector.

also the pads you get with the cathodes are poor. but as said dont put too many different coloured ones in

Paolo · 29 Mar 2007 at 13:40

From experience, i would for sure recommend Cathodes from a certain Mr Ryan.By far the best i`ve used in any build,Braided Cables and good Inverters,but as mentioned,and it`s the same with these,the sticky pads are crap.

w3bbo · 29 Mar 2007 at 14:27

Don't let the cathodes be visable - just the light they give off. Also be carefull of mixing colours - sometimes it works but more often it dosn't.

Heres mine with 4 UV cold cathodes and LED fans - not everyones taste but I like it and thats what counts tbh.

yoda · 29 Mar 2007 at 16:05

w3bbo,
you got black light / UV in their... just trying to work out how you make the green and blue coolent both glow....

http://comwarrior.110mb.com/pcpix/pc5.JPG
http://comwarrior.110mb.com/pcpix/pc4.JPG
http://comwarrior.110mb.com/pcpix/pc6.JPG

For some reason it won't display my pix....

w3bbo · 29 Mar 2007 at 19:53

You need UV reactive dye to make it glow - coolant on its own wont glow unless it is UV reactive.

Use imageshack or photobucket to host and display your pics

DeeJay-Mo · 29 Mar 2007 at 20:44

OFF TOPIC

w3bbo said:
Don't let the cathodes be visable - just the light they give off. Also be carefull of mixing colours - sometimes it works but more often it dosn't.

Heres mine with 4 UV cold cathodes and LED fans - not everyones taste but I like it and thats what counts tbh.

That Case is a beast! What is it?