Which LED’s do I need, 12volt or 5volt?

WhereHere1 · 29 Apr 2018 at 14:31

i am after led strip for in my case, but I have seen some are 12v and some are 5 which do I need?

My board is a msi mpower gaming titanium Z270.

Tealc · 29 Apr 2018 at 19:47

Depends what you want to do with them.

Single addressable RGB LEDs mounted on a strip are generally 5v. With this tppe, assuming you have the right controller, you can have rainbow effects running through your case.

All same colour LED or RGB LEDs tend to be the 12v variety.

WhereHere1 · 29 Apr 2018 at 22:46

Well I have an led light strip left over for use in houses. This strip is 12v, if I buy a 4 pin connector will this be ok to add to my case?

Tealc · 30 Apr 2018 at 13:39

I expect so.

If it is an RGB type then you'll need a controller.

Habakkuk · 1 May 2018 at 19:56

It depends which controller you'll be using with them.

I've only seen RGB strips used in computers with 12V - they get to use the 12V rail for the lights, which is the main one used in post-2006 computers - but the logic for the microcontroller will still be 5V, if not 3.3V for newer post-2011 chips.

Check the pinout - some are RGB, others are GRB. This is to put the higher resistor in the middle (red), and the two lower resistor values on the outside (blue and green).