Results 1 to 9 of 9

Thread: Lighting effects advice required

  1. #1
    Seriously casual gamer KeyboardDemon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    London
    Posts
    3,013
    Thanks
    774
    Thanked
    280 times in 242 posts
    • KeyboardDemon's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus Sabretooth Z77
      • CPU:
      • i7 3770k + Corsair H80 (Refurbed)
      • Memory:
      • 16gb (4x4gb) Corsair Vengence Red (1866mhz) - (Because it looks good in a black mobo)
      • Storage:
      • Crucial M550 SSD 1TB + 2x 500GB Seagate HDDs
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA GTX 980 SC ACX 2.0 (Warranty replacement for 780Ti SC ACX)
      • PSU:
      • EVGA 750 watt SuperNova G2
      • Case:
      • Silverstone RV03
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • Asus Swift PG278Q
      • Internet:
      • BT Infinity (40mbs dl/10mbs ul)

    Lighting effects advice required

    I built my current rig with a black and red theme, I thought it would be a good idea at the time, but now I think it is too red and that the red cathodes make it harder to see the colour scheme of the components.

    I am planning to open up the rig to see if I can improve my the look by applying some cable management, particularly with the cables that go into the case headers as these are very messy and I find them distracting when I look into the case, see for yourselves.



    I have moved my cathodes to horizontal positions now, but I was thinking about getting some extension cables to move my GPU to a slot that's further away from the CPU (bottom slot on the mobo, usually!) and then adding a blue cathode at the bottom to contrast with the red cathode at the top.

    Does anyone know if mixed coloured lighting works at all? I'm hoping where the light colours meet, they will blend to create an interesting effect, but have not seen anything like this and can't find a good example.
    Last edited by KeyboardDemon; 28-08-2012 at 01:23 PM.

  2. #2
    Senior Member Pob255's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    The land of Brum
    Posts
    10,128
    Thanks
    605
    Thanked
    1,220 times in 1,121 posts
    • Pob255's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus M5A99X EVO
      • CPU:
      • FX8350 & CM Hyper 212+
      • Memory:
      • 4 x 2gb Corsair Vengence 1600mhz cas9
      • Storage:
      • 512gb samsung SSD +1tb Samsung HDD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EGVA GTX970
      • PSU:
      • Seasonic GX 650W
      • Case:
      • HAF 912+
      • Operating System:
      • W7 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • iiyama XB3270QS-B1 32" IPS 1440p

    Re: Lighting effects advice required

    Sorry coloured light doesn't work that way, esp when lighting up coloured surfaces
    You have to remember you're playing with both reflection and refraction
    basically, a surface that is red is absorbing all light colours but red which is being reflected back, so if you replaced the lights with blue ones all the red bits inside would just look black, making the inside of your case be just black, with anything white or blue being blue.

    You could get a blue to red fade with a blue and red light if the insides of your pc was white.

    I think your best bet would be to replace the CCT with some LED lights, some red and some white.
    The white to provide general illumination the red to help boost the red components and make them stand out more.
    http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop/...pid-14435.html
    bit long but it's cheap.

  3. Received thanks from:

    KeyboardDemon (03-07-2012)

  4. #3
    Seriously casual gamer KeyboardDemon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    London
    Posts
    3,013
    Thanks
    774
    Thanked
    280 times in 242 posts
    • KeyboardDemon's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus Sabretooth Z77
      • CPU:
      • i7 3770k + Corsair H80 (Refurbed)
      • Memory:
      • 16gb (4x4gb) Corsair Vengence Red (1866mhz) - (Because it looks good in a black mobo)
      • Storage:
      • Crucial M550 SSD 1TB + 2x 500GB Seagate HDDs
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA GTX 980 SC ACX 2.0 (Warranty replacement for 780Ti SC ACX)
      • PSU:
      • EVGA 750 watt SuperNova G2
      • Case:
      • Silverstone RV03
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • Asus Swift PG278Q
      • Internet:
      • BT Infinity (40mbs dl/10mbs ul)

    Re: Lighting effects advice required

    I think that would give me more of the look I'm after, would the white LEDs work alongside the red CCTs to produce the same effect? That way I'll only need to get the white LEDs.

  5. #4
    Seriously casual gamer KeyboardDemon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    London
    Posts
    3,013
    Thanks
    774
    Thanked
    280 times in 242 posts
    • KeyboardDemon's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus Sabretooth Z77
      • CPU:
      • i7 3770k + Corsair H80 (Refurbed)
      • Memory:
      • 16gb (4x4gb) Corsair Vengence Red (1866mhz) - (Because it looks good in a black mobo)
      • Storage:
      • Crucial M550 SSD 1TB + 2x 500GB Seagate HDDs
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA GTX 980 SC ACX 2.0 (Warranty replacement for 780Ti SC ACX)
      • PSU:
      • EVGA 750 watt SuperNova G2
      • Case:
      • Silverstone RV03
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • Asus Swift PG278Q
      • Internet:
      • BT Infinity (40mbs dl/10mbs ul)

    Re: Lighting effects advice required

    Right, I think I will go with the 2m NZXT Sleeved LED Kits in Red and White. These come with PCI-e controllers but the bracket to attach them to the back of the case is removable so they can be mounted elsewhere and the are a lot more flexible than many of the other LED kits I've looked at this evening. If I used these then I could get rid of my CCTs altogether.

    NZXT Sleeved LED kit in Red
    NZXT Sleeved LED kit in White

    The next part would be working out how to manage my cables, so I was planning to sketch what cables go where, take everthing out of my case and then replace it all with the cables properly cable tied and managed so I don't have those untidy loops and bundles all over my rig.

    Can anyone offer any advice before I proceed with ordering?

    *** edit *** The sort of thing I'm interested in finding out about, are things like how I can hide the controller cards, whether or not I need to mount them onto something so that they don't short circuit against my case or each other.

    I'm not new to building PCs, I'm just a noob when it comes to making the work look good.
    Last edited by KeyboardDemon; 03-07-2012 at 11:12 PM.

  6. #5
    Senior Member Pob255's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    The land of Brum
    Posts
    10,128
    Thanks
    605
    Thanked
    1,220 times in 1,121 posts
    • Pob255's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus M5A99X EVO
      • CPU:
      • FX8350 & CM Hyper 212+
      • Memory:
      • 4 x 2gb Corsair Vengence 1600mhz cas9
      • Storage:
      • 512gb samsung SSD +1tb Samsung HDD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EGVA GTX970
      • PSU:
      • Seasonic GX 650W
      • Case:
      • HAF 912+
      • Operating System:
      • W7 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • iiyama XB3270QS-B1 32" IPS 1440p

    Re: Lighting effects advice required

    the nzxt thing doesn't power off a pci-e slot, it just has a pci back plate for easy mounting, to power it you get a short cable to plug into it the controller pcb an a molex off your psu
    see here http://images.tweaktown.com/content/...55_03_full.jpg
    the advantage is you can control the brightness and turn it on or off from the back of your pc.

    the little led strip lights are good, it's a strip of thick film with surface mount led's, double sided tape on the back, so you just peel off the backing to stick it into your case.
    You can buy it in bulk rolls for about £5-10 a meter, and you just cut it into the needed lengths with scissors, the down side is you'd need to make up your own cables and add in the correct resistors yourself.
    Which is why I'd suggest buying the pre-made pc kits.

    Your best bet is probably going to be experiment and try, get some white led lights, see what it looks like, try with the red CCT's
    It's almost impossible to say what you'll be happy with because I'm not you

    The advantages of them over CCT is that they are smaller/easier to hide, more accurate colour esp with led fans (most CCT's are a different shade compaired to led's, eg so called purple CCT's are actually closer to pink and blue tend to be more cyan than blue led's)
    Simpler wiring, you just have a single two strand wire running into a molex plug, no need for an inverter box.
    And while they are called cold cathode tubes they still get a bit warm which led's don't.

    I've picked up some amber ones I plan to use in Project otherhalf (yes that case isn't dead yet) I got it off fleabay from this guy http://stores.ebay.co.uk/The-TOPLEDS...=p4634.c0.m322
    the ones I got are 20cm long with 12leds and have 25cm wires, have 3M double sided tape on the back and the front side is covered in clear silicon, must say I've been impressed with it

    he's got 9led white ones http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BRIGHT-WHI...1#ht_920wt_952 for just over £5 inc p&p I'd say it was worth a shot.
    He also does custom orders.
    (just to be clear I'm not associated with him in any way, just bought from him and pleased with the quality of the work)

    EDIT: as to cable management, I've found it's more of an art than a science, I can easily spend an hour or two on cable management, often getting 50-80% done then realising it's not quite right and unplugging everything to start again.
    One tip would be bag-ties/twist-ties every time you get hardware the cables are tied up with them, so I generally keep hold of them, even if you just use them to hold cables in place, the advantage is that they can be undone and re-positioned easily.

  7. Received thanks from:

    KeyboardDemon (04-07-2012)

  8. #6
    Seriously casual gamer KeyboardDemon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    London
    Posts
    3,013
    Thanks
    774
    Thanked
    280 times in 242 posts
    • KeyboardDemon's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus Sabretooth Z77
      • CPU:
      • i7 3770k + Corsair H80 (Refurbed)
      • Memory:
      • 16gb (4x4gb) Corsair Vengence Red (1866mhz) - (Because it looks good in a black mobo)
      • Storage:
      • Crucial M550 SSD 1TB + 2x 500GB Seagate HDDs
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA GTX 980 SC ACX 2.0 (Warranty replacement for 780Ti SC ACX)
      • PSU:
      • EVGA 750 watt SuperNova G2
      • Case:
      • Silverstone RV03
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • Asus Swift PG278Q
      • Internet:
      • BT Infinity (40mbs dl/10mbs ul)

    Re: Lighting effects advice required

    I did start with the twist-ties before, but this time I might swap them out for cable ties once I'm satisfied.

    I might also take out the plastic strips on my case, which will require dismantling the front of the case, so I can spray them red to match the theme I want. Lastly my case has a logo embossed into the front, I want the embossed bits in red too, not sure how I will do that yet, but once my case has been taken apart I'll see if I can figure that out.

    Probably means I'll be using my laptop for the next few days, maybe longer.

  9. #7
    Senior Member Pob255's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    The land of Brum
    Posts
    10,128
    Thanks
    605
    Thanked
    1,220 times in 1,121 posts
    • Pob255's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus M5A99X EVO
      • CPU:
      • FX8350 & CM Hyper 212+
      • Memory:
      • 4 x 2gb Corsair Vengence 1600mhz cas9
      • Storage:
      • 512gb samsung SSD +1tb Samsung HDD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EGVA GTX970
      • PSU:
      • Seasonic GX 650W
      • Case:
      • HAF 912+
      • Operating System:
      • W7 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • iiyama XB3270QS-B1 32" IPS 1440p

    Re: Lighting effects advice required


    This is how my pc ends up when I mod, now I keep a spare case

  10. #8
    Seriously casual gamer KeyboardDemon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    London
    Posts
    3,013
    Thanks
    774
    Thanked
    280 times in 242 posts
    • KeyboardDemon's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus Sabretooth Z77
      • CPU:
      • i7 3770k + Corsair H80 (Refurbed)
      • Memory:
      • 16gb (4x4gb) Corsair Vengence Red (1866mhz) - (Because it looks good in a black mobo)
      • Storage:
      • Crucial M550 SSD 1TB + 2x 500GB Seagate HDDs
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA GTX 980 SC ACX 2.0 (Warranty replacement for 780Ti SC ACX)
      • PSU:
      • EVGA 750 watt SuperNova G2
      • Case:
      • Silverstone RV03
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • Asus Swift PG278Q
      • Internet:
      • BT Infinity (40mbs dl/10mbs ul)

    Re: Lighting effects advice required

    lol. I might end up with something like that so that I can continue using it while I tinker with the case. Would it be safe to leave a heavy GPU like my HD6990 in that state?

    This is the effect I'm after for the outside. Ignore the side panel colouring, but I want to do almost all of the rest of it.
    Last edited by KeyboardDemon; 04-07-2012 at 01:47 PM.

  11. #9
    Seriously casual gamer KeyboardDemon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    London
    Posts
    3,013
    Thanks
    774
    Thanked
    280 times in 242 posts
    • KeyboardDemon's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus Sabretooth Z77
      • CPU:
      • i7 3770k + Corsair H80 (Refurbed)
      • Memory:
      • 16gb (4x4gb) Corsair Vengence Red (1866mhz) - (Because it looks good in a black mobo)
      • Storage:
      • Crucial M550 SSD 1TB + 2x 500GB Seagate HDDs
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA GTX 980 SC ACX 2.0 (Warranty replacement for 780Ti SC ACX)
      • PSU:
      • EVGA 750 watt SuperNova G2
      • Case:
      • Silverstone RV03
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • Asus Swift PG278Q
      • Internet:
      • BT Infinity (40mbs dl/10mbs ul)

    Re: Lighting effects advice required

    I have been trying everywhere but I can't see to find a picture of a case feature white lighting, it would be great to see this as a reference point before I start ordering components. Does anyone know where I can find such as picture? Either with white LEDs on their own or a mixture of white and another colour.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •