Case Lighting

[Vertigo]

Hello guys, my current build is a black/red theme with a window, and I've decided that I want to add non LED fans (Be Quiet Silent Wings series) for good airflow and low noise. I want to add some lighting inside the case, but I want to go with white, I want to actually showcase the components not wash out everything with red LEDs or Cathodes. Ideally, I'd like to have some control over the intensity too, as I'd like to be able to turn the lights off at bed time (it's sharing the room with me and my wife). And also because I don't necessarily want it full blast, just a soft light that allows a clear view of the internals.

As I think about it, I'm actually wondering about tying the intensity to the processor activity. Under higher load the light gets more intense, etc. Similar to how my fans are already controlled through an NZXT Grid+. Ideas would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

[OvRiDe]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/201144239354?lpid=82&chn=ps

If your not in a hurry, these are a pretty good deal.

Also if your adventurous, you could use an Arduino to vary the brightness. You will need a mosfet since the 5V pins on the Arduino won't drive the strip.

And if your super adventurous, you could use a Processing script to read the CPU usage and translate it to the brightness of the LEDs.

Here is an example video.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVyi7yWuXxs

[Konrad]

I've had great success combining RGB LEDs, an ARM board, some MAX8688 parts, and Corsair's Link Dashboard software. The software was the most problematic component (and I'd like to put the blame squarely onto Corsair, lol) but - once you can get it wokring - it looks pretty slick.

A good drop-in solution is the NZXT HUE RGB LED Controller. No advanced electronics/microcontroller/soldering knowledge needed.