Oooooohhhhh....
Ahhhh....
I mean look at the RAM!
And the storage - it’s like a PC feast for your eyeballs!
Hey folks and welcome to DIY in 5!
My name is Trisha Hershberger and if you’ve ever ogled a custom PC setup that’s lit
up like the grand finale on the 4th of July, then you maybe, just maybe,
have been sucked into the PC hardware RGB craze.
Whether you love or hate the color vomit that’s taken the hardware world by storm
in the past few years, it’s hard to deny that adding light and color to your gaming PC build
can really help customize the aesthetic.
And in the world of DIY PCs, it’s all about customization.
If the info in today’s video lights up your motherboard, then please go ahead and hit
that like and subscribe so you don’t miss out on any future tech tips.
When it comes to RGB-ing your life, like liquid cooling and other DIY PC trends,
it’s gotten MUCH easier in recent years than it used to be.
That being said, customizing the lighting in your build
is still not as plug and play as one might think.
That’s because there is no real standard that would allow for RGB lighting compatibility
and not every manufacturer’s cool new RGB component works with everyone else’s.
This adds another layer of complexity when picking compatible PC components.
There are, of course, RGB lighting kits that include LED strips you can stick in your case
with double sided tape and control with a remote.
These are by far the simplest way to go.
But, with so many high-end components built nowadays with RGB built-in,
it seems, silly not to make use of it.
So if you are going to pick out some fancy RGB components, try to stick to hardware that
can be synced by the motherboard software - things like fans, SSDs, graphics cards, cases, etc.
The best way to tell if your RGB components will work with your motherboard is to check
your motherboard manufacturer’s compatibility page.
Remember before when I said there’s no real RGB standard - that’s true,
but there are a few main cable formats.
Some use a 4-pin cable format - one ping 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 specific component.
Now we’ve talked a lot about RGB lighting inside your PC, but it’s important to
look at your setup cohesively, and the tower is only one part of the whole picture.
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, here there’s no real standard and each peripheral manufacturer usually provides
their own proprietary software to control each product.
As an example, HyperX has NGenuity software, which let’s you set up and control
lighting effects by zone, and set button bindings,
and program macros and create and store game profile presets.
But what if you have another manufacturer’s headset but a HyperX keyboard and mouse?
Guilty as charged!
You would need two different software solutions to control everything
and good luck manually syncing that pulsing effect.
I 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 & 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 so we can give it some love.
Thanks for watching everyone and I’ll see you next time with some more DIY in 5!