6 things to consider when buying RGB hardware for your PC

If you want your PC to glow like it’s radioactive, the good news is that almost every component in your computer can be found with some level of RGB lighting. That extends to peripherals like keyboards and mice, and also monitors, mousepads, and more. The bad news is that when you prefer form to function, the number of different RGB solutions on the market makes it tricky to plan out your build. You’ll want to check a few things before you start piecing together your parts and building that PC.

6

Compatibility

You’ll need to check for motherboard headers and make sure every cable will fit

While both RGB and ARGB seem to use the same cables and connectors, electrically they are very different. You don’t want to plug them into the wrong header or push two cables in the wrong orientation because you could burn out the LEDs or otherwise damage your components. The differences are as follows:

• RGB: 4-pin header, with all four pins present and uses 12V to power the LEDs. Pins are for power, red, blue, and green.
• ARGB: 4-pin header with one pin blanked out, or sometimes a three-pin header with all three pins present, and uses 5V to power the LEDs. Pins are for power, data, and ground.

It’s not just the headers on the motherboard that you need to consider. Many systems, like those from Corsair, use a hub to link all the RGB or ARGB components together. Then it’s a matter of plugging that hub into power, a USB header, and often a fan header for controlling the PWM signal for speed. The thing to pay attention to here is whether the different hubs will be compatible if you buy a particular manufacturer’s system, as the hubs have changed over the years.

Some companies like Aquacomputer have RGB and ARGB hubs that aren’t manufacturer-specific, but it’s worth checking if the fans you want to use are compatible because some of the components and hubs use proprietary connectors that will only work with that manufacturer’s hardware.

5

Brand consistency

It’s far easier to stick to one brand’s RGB offerings, and the look will be more coherent

The current state of PC RGB is such that proprietary connectors abound, as do control hubs and fans that won’t connect to other systems. But those are only part of the considerations for why it’s just easier to pick components from the same manufacturer’s ecosystem to get a coherent look.

The design language around the lighting will be consistent. You’ll not have to worry about connector issues, and the lighting levels will be similar. Plus, different brands use a different number of LEDs on each component, with the more premium brands using far more LEDs, leading to a better glow. The more budget offerings might only use RGB LEDs, or have few of them on each fan and other component, meaning your desired effect is harder to accomplish.

4

RGB vs ARGB

Do you want colored glow or fine-tuned control over lighting and effects?

PC lighting comes in two varieties these days, since we moved away from cold cathode tubes. While they’re both provided by LEDs that can display multiple colors, they differ in how much control you have over each individual LED in the chain. Those two types are:

• RGB provides Red, Green, and Blue lighting from a single LED, but every light has to be the same color when it’s linked together.
• ARGB provides Addressable Red, Green, and Blue lighting, meaning that every LED can be controlled individually.

The version of ARGB that most people will immediately be familiar with is keyboards with per-key lighting. That’s different to any solid backlit keyboard, as you can change the color behind each key. But the majority of RGB hardware on the market now is ARGB, because companies have decided that more control is better. That is true enough, but it does mean that ARGB components are more expensive because of the added circuitry that’s needed.

3

How to control it

Manufacturer software only goes so far, and you have third-party options

To control the lighting in your new glowing PC, you’ll need some software. Very basic effects can be handled by your motherboard’s BIOS firmware, but these are limited to things like breathing and color cycle effects. The BIOS is also handy if you want to turn off all RGB, but that’s another discussion. To get fine-grained controls, you’ll most likely want to stick with the software package that matches the components manufacturer you picked. For example, Corsair has iCUE, and Razer has Synapse.

You’re not limited to first-party software control though. Windows 11 has Dynamic Lighting, which gives you some control, depending on if the fans and other hardware are compatible. Third-party software like SignalRGB can control multiple manufacturer ecosystems but will serve you ads and lock some features unless you sign up for a subscription. And OpenRGB is free works on Windows, macOS, and Linux, but it might not be able to control every device you might want to add.

2

How it will mesh with your other components

RGB shines when it’s matched with accentuating components and cases

My take on adding RGB lighting is that it’s often harder to figure out which components will look best together than it is to figure out how to control them. Keeping a coherent design language is easier when you stick to one manufacturer’s system, but that’s not always possible or what you feel is the best look.

Things to consider include if you want the lighting to be accent pieces, like on dark components, or if you want your PC awash in color, in which case you want as many white components as possible to provide a backdrop to reflect the light. Some of this also depends on which components you are able to source, since things like graphics cards are often in short supply, and the best looking motherboards might not have all the features you crave.

1

Cable routing

RGB and ARGB components double the number of cables you need to hide

While modern motherboards often have headers for both 5V ARGB and 12V RGB, you might only get one or two of each type, or they could be in positions that make it tricky to route cables. Plus, you might run into limitations on how many LEDs each header can support. To get around this, many manufacturers have RGB or ARGB hubs to plug all their cables into, and then one cable to the motherboard for fan control and another cable to a USB header for lighting control.

But even with that solution, adding RGB or ARGB means additional cables between components. For example, you’ll need one signal and power cable for fan control, and another power plus lighting control for the LEDs. This means you’re going to have to route twice as many cables to the control hub, even if you only need to worry about one or two to the motherboard. This can be cramped in smaller cases, or in those that don’t have enough space in the cable management channels on the back of the motherboard tray.

To simplify things somewhat, several brands now have daisy-chainable fans, which either use magnets and pogo pins to connect or very short standard connectors. This makes routing the fans in your build easier, as you only have to worry about one power and one control cable from the line of fans, which can then go to an ARGB hub for easy routing and control.

RGB lighting can be beautiful with a little bit of planning

Whether you want full-on ARGB glow or a few accent pieces to bring attention to parts of your build, RGB lighting is a popular choice for many PC builders. It’s also one that’s fairly easy to run into issues with, as different manufacturers use competing standards and can run into compatibility issues. But if you keep to individual ecosystems, you can make your PC glow with brilliant light.