Never go full RGB!

[Defiant Squirrel]

I like RGB, it acts like an idiot flag, I know that when I meet someone at a LAN party who cares more about how his rig looks than how it performs, and feels the need to draw attention to his set up (like one of those prats who plays their car stereo at speaker distorting volume levels with the windows down), then the best thing to do is save myself some valuable time and effort and immediately disengage.
　
Halfwits do RGB, total imbeciles overdo RGB and real PCMers eschew the pointless counter productive tinsel and focus their resources upon achieving the best results.

Remember - RGB costs money, eats power, increases heat and interferes with airflow, and no matter how slight those negative effects may be, RGB absolutely goes against everything that building a rig is supposed to be about, and excessive RGB glows like a neon sign advertising the owners sheeplike trend following stupidity.

[RAMChYLD]

I guess I'm one of those who agree, but yeah. There's no escaping RGB. Even workstation motherboards like X399 and X299 chipset for workstation CPUs have RGB. Why that is so, my mind boggles, but apparently manufacturers think they know better.

In fact, the only reason I put lighting in my case is so I can check on the capacitors and take action if they start to bulge. Usually I use a static colored light fan for that. Imo RGB makes any serious rig look unprofessional.

[Defiant Squirrel]

Originally posted by RAMChYLD:

I guess I'm one of those who agree, but yeah. There's no escaping RGB. Even workstation motherboards like X399 and X299 chipset for workstation CPUs have RGB. Why that is so, my mind boggles, but apparently manufacturers think they know better.

In fact, the only reason I put lighting in my case is so I can check on the capacitors and take action if they start to bulge. Usually I use a static colored light fan for that. Imo RGB makes any serious rig look unprofessional.

A little unobtrusive lighting that is there to serve a practical purpose is fine.

But I am disgusted with the major manufacturers, I get that there's a market for RGB like there's a market for Justin Beiber and Big Macs, but the way they have decided to put RGB into everything is so disappointing, it's like they themselves have forgotten the core principles that underpin this great hobby.

Someone needs to call this BS out for what it is, and the manufacturers need to understand that the #1 concern for right thinking PC designers is getting the best bang for their buck and extracting the best possible performance that they can from the components, and making things bigger in order to accomodate useless RGB lighting and the extra wiring etc that is required (as well as added heat and expense) is a mugs game, and we can only hope the mass hysteria that is the RGB delusion epidemic ends as abruptly as it began.

Personally I will not buy any component that has RGB, it's as simple as that and I am sure there are many more of us out there, we don't care about how a PC looks, we care about how well it runs software, we care about keeping costs and temperatures down while pushing the limits of the hardware to the very edge of what's possible, we are not the least bit interested in displaying the interior like a baboon displays it's mulitcoloured rear-end when trying to attract a mate. Of course we appreciate a clean uncluttered aesthetic, but only because that increases airflow efficiency and functionality.

A PC is a tool, and anyone who prioritizes how a tool looks over how well it performs whatever functions is required of it is as mad as a hatter, they'd probably attach tinsel to a power drill and silver glitter balls to a garden spade.

A well designed PC has a beauty all of it's own that emanates not from some wacky light show, but from the way the components have been artfully selected, with the perfect balance between cost and performance being expertly struck, in the way the limited space within the case has been imaginatively utilized and how effectively temperatures are being managed while maximum performance is extracted with minimal power draw.

That is where the true beauty resides, in the pure craft of top tier PC design, and ridiculous fairy lights not only detract from your engineering efforts and diminish potential results, they also conspire to make you look like a fool.

[Beartracks]

I think they are nonsensical as well and avoided the component light show completely on principle but until this thread i didnt realize they chewed up so much power.

I equte the pc light show to a construction worker dressing up his hammer with ribbons and bows P---See how long that lasts on the const site! lol, he wont even make it home P

PC building in my minds eye is much like Psionic constructs.
No sorcerer in their right mind dresses these purely functional powerhouses up with superficial nonfunctional frills

[TwinShadow]

I do like a little bit of lighting in my tower, but really I'd only go as far as my motherboard and GPU and that's about it. The lighting on RAM is getting ridiculous though, I can agree on that. I do have some additional lighting in my tower, but they're not directly connected to my PSU, and are also out of the way to continue letting airflow through the tower itself.

Anyone who cares about their PC will know airflow is very important. I just need to do a slight re-take on a bit of my cable management at some point since I'm realizing now its not the best, but it could be better.

[Defiant Squirrel]

Originally posted by Impending Rentacle Tape:

e can have looks, AND high performance at the same time

There's always a trade off, you can have more of one or less of both.

[Defiant Squirrel]

Originally posted by Impending Rentacle Tape:

snip

Negligible or not RGB's = extra wiring, extra heat emission, extra power draw and reduced space, all of which will have a negative impact upon the overall efficiency and performance of the machine.

Therefore by filling your PC with RGB crap you're quite literally paying for reduced performance, you are deliberately trading results for eye candy, and even if we're talking about a negative impact in the region of only 0.00000001% it's still a very stupid thing to do.

And let's not forget about the money all this RGB nonsense costs, money that could have been better spent on superior components or cooling solutions, this factor alone could account for significantly impoved performance.

Where exactly are you looking when using your PC? Seriously think before you answer, where are your eyes pointed right now? You see? No matter which way you look at it only a dummy decides to go full RGB, never go full RGB!

[Noire Black Heart]

Originally posted by Red Squirrel:

Originally posted by Impending Rentacle Tape:

snip

Negligible or not RGB's = extra wiring, extra heat emission, extra power draw and reduced space, all of which will have a negative impact upon the overall efficiency and performance of the machine.

Therefore by filling your PC with RGB crap you're quite literally paying for reduced performance, you are deliberately trading results for eye candy, and even if we're talking about a negative impact in the region of only 0.00000001% it's still a very stupid thing to do.

And let's not forget about the money all this RGB nonsense costs, money that could have been better spent on superior components or cooling solutions, this factor alone could account for significantly impoved performance.

Where exactly are you looking when using your PC? Seriously think before you answer, where are your eyes pointed right now? You see? No matter which way you look at it only a dummy decides to go full RGB, never go full RGB!

so you're saying that Corsair Value Select dimms are much more faster than Corsair Vengeance LPX dimms? stock intel coolers are better than the Wraith cooler? and the H110/A320 mobos are better than Z370/X370 mobos?

[RAMChYLD]

Well, I find RGB lacking in practicality. It adds no functionality to the system. Also its really distracting. As a function-over-form type of person, that bothers me.

[Defiant Squirrel]

Originally posted by Noire Black Heart:

so you're saying that Corsair Value Select dimms are much more faster than Corsair Vengeance LPX dimms? stock intel coolers are better than the Wraith cooler? and the H110/A320 mobos are better than Z370/X370 mobos?

No, I'm saying that Corsair Vengeance LPX dimms without RGB would be better functionally and cheaper to buy than Corsair Vengeance LPX dimms with RGB, I'm also saying that a Wraith cooler without RGB would perform better and cost less than a Wraith cooler with RGB, and of course PC's based on Z370/X370 mobos without RGB will be more efficient and cheaper than PC's based on Z370/X370 mobos with RGB.

RGB adds cost and negatively impacts efficiency and performance, that's just a fact, if you took the money you wasted on RGB you could spend it on better components and not be fighting against the added heat generated by RGB. It's really not rocket science, paying extra to even slightly warm the PC interior with inferior hardware is very very foolish indeed.

[Noire Black Heart]

Originally posted by Red Squirrel:

Originally posted by Noire Black Heart:

so you're saying that Corsair Value Select dimms are much more faster than Corsair Vengeance LPX dimms? stock intel coolers are better than the Wraith cooler? and the H110/A320 mobos are better than Z370/X370 mobos?

No, I'm saying that Corsair Vengeance LPX dimms without RGB would be better functionally and cheaper to buy than Corsair Vengeance LPX dimms with RGB, I'm also saying that a Wraith cooler without RGB would perform better and cost less than a Wraith cooler with RGB, and of course PC's based on Z370/X370 mobos without RGB will be more efficient and cheaper than PC's based on Z370/X370 mobos with RGB.

RGB adds cost and negatively impacts efficiency and performance, that's just a fact, if you took the money you wasted on RGB you could spend it on better components and not be fighting against the added heat generated by RGB. It's really not rocket science, paying extra to even slightly warm the PC interior with inferior hardware is very very foolish indeed.

if you're worry about heat generating by some less than 1W leds then you can turn them off using software, you can also not plugging in RGB strip if you want. it's to each's own.

[Defiant Squirrel]

Originally posted by Noire Black Heart:

if you're worry about heat generating by some less than 1W leds then you can turn them off using software

That's true, but who paid for them to be there in the first place? You seriously think manufacturers are putting RGB's into components and cases for free? And are you also saying that the additional lighting, circuitry, wiring, tubing etc doesn't add otherwise unnecessary bulk here and there that eats into airflow efficiency?

There's no question that (except in extreme cases) the levels of additional power draw, increased temps and reduced airflow are very small, but they do exist and they do cost money.

My point is a simple one, how much are these extra materials costing? How much research and development is invested into converting perfectly functional components into a blinking mess? And who has to pay for all that (and not just financially) but in terms of overall performance and efficiency?

The idiot consumer, that's who.

So sure, I can pay more for a component that carries extra bulk and then turn off the very reason for the added expense, or I could just realise that it's all a silly pointless fad, a childish trend aimed at the easily fooled, and instead choose to put performance, efficiency and value for money over the disco light show, I could make the tool better rather than worse and pay less for it.

[Noire Black Heart]

Comparing the price of mid-class mobos from 2 different generations shows that although there is RGB lighting in the later generation, the cost is actually lower. not to mention the later generation mobo has more connections. about the airflow: manufacturers use printed circuit, not exposed wiring -> no airflow interference, the heatsinks also not affected since they're in similar sizes, LEDs power draw is pretty much nothing, compared to other components (even ways lower than RAM dimms)
https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2386600,00.asp
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813119071&cm_re=asus_h370-_-13-119-071-_-Product

[Defiant Squirrel]

Prices fluctuate for all sorts of reasons, most connected to things like market forces. I would suggest that AMD's recent assault against Intel's dominance has much more to do with it, the fact remains putting RGB into a component costs money and adds weight, and without RGB the product would be cheaper to make, cheaper to ship and therefore cheaper to buy.

[Jacknm2]

You do realise that LED's used for RGB consume very little power and produce no heat right? thats how they work, its why Lightbuilbs are now being made out of LED's to save power by not wasting power in heat generation you have an extra couple of wires max and there is the OFF button.

They only interfer with airflow in which fans have been designed around the RGB feature, so fully fledged RGB Fans from the early days yes will have a lower CFM but they gap today is closing.

Any way, thanks for calling myself and others who have High performance RGB Systems "Idiots" simply because I like to light up my rig and change the colours on a whim when i feel like it, because you disagree with the aesthetics because lets be real, you have no idea how a light emitting diode works, evidentally you think they are all 40w incadenscent bulbs shooving enormous amount amounts of heat into a system through wasted energy. Despite still having a fairly high end performance today that was built primarily in 2014.

[Defiant Squirrel]

Originally posted by Jacknm2:

You do realise that LED's used for RGB consume very little power and produce no heat right? thats how they work.

The current flowing through the wires that power them, and the additional load placed upon the PSU absolutely generates extra heat .

Originally posted by Jacknm2:

Any way, thanks for calling myself and others who have High performance RGB Setups "Idiots" simply because I like to light up my rig and change the colours on a whim when i feel like it.

And what would you call someone who pays more to make a tool less efficient?