I just bought some Blue LED lighting for my case, and I was wondering if there are any drawbacks.

I know alot of people use cold cathode lighting, but I did not have the room in my case for a 12" + tube, and was a little concerned about power consumption (I have that wicked power hungry Geforce 6800Ultra)

Does anyone have any particular experiences with LED? The really light up the case nicely, and make my glass etch H2 logo really stand out, but I am concerned about heat, power consumption, and any flaws that I might be overlooking when using LED's.....like keeping it away from certain components?

Please post your thoughts....much appreciated!

Heat is negatiable, so dont worry about that. Power wise they dont use near as much as a cathode. Cathodes usually run off a 12v and LED's off a 5v.

Hope that helps a bit

I like your signature a lot.

Quote: Originally Posted by teh_spazz I like your signature a lot.

Whose? Mine?

LEDs are great for case lighting, they use less power, can be brighter, and are directional. Thats really the only drawback, that they're directional, unlike cathodes, which'll really light everywhere very brightly. There are ways around this, fancy stuff with acrylic, sanding down the lens for a more diffuse light etc...

How do you connect a bunch of them? Are there things you can get that hold like 6 of them and connect to a 12v?

Here are some good links for you...

http://www.lsdiodes.com/tutorial/

http://www.dansdata.com/caselight.htm

http://metku.net/index.html?sect=vie...oppi/index_eng

http://forums.pcapex.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=882

http://forums.pcapex.com/showthread....hlight=LED+FAN

Most LEDS, at least the good ones that have a high mcd, run off of lower voltage but higher current. Such as 1.7vdc and about 30ma to 40ma. You can run a series circuit of LEDS off of your 12v line but remember to do the math on what each LEDs foward voltage otherwise your gonna see bright lights and then nothing. Another positive thing about LEDs is that they can last for 10 years if their hooked up right, ie correct voltage. Ive had my homemade usb light with 1 white led running for about a year and a half now it hasnt dimmed or anything on me.

If you were to want to hook up 1 LED off of a 5v line or even a couple and were worried about blowing them and your not quite sure on what your doing than refer to this LED INSTALLATION link. It does a good job of explaining it. If your still lost go to google and look up Ohms law, and if your still really confused ill be on later tonight or you can ask someone like twizted or lokie.

the best thing about leds are that they are the color they say they are. like some red cc that are really pink i just hate a pink cc when they say its red,bloody liers if its pink just say so

The only negative about LEDs is their viewing angle. They aim a very direct light that doesn't spread much, so if you want to light a large spread-out area or want a diffuse light instead of a direct, bright light, LEDs don't work too well--or you need a bunch of 'em, all aimed slightly different.

They output very little heat, they're fun, bright, and colorful.

Quote: Originally Posted by Dragons_Voodoo_Fire the best thing about leds are that they are the color they say they are. like some red cc that are really pink i just hate a pink cc when they say its red,bloody liers if its pink just say so

Heh, that's not true. I have a bunch of blue LEDs, and a number of them each output a different color of blue. Some are aqua, some are the typical royal blue, and some are a dark, dim blue. Until you try them all with the amount of current you plan to be using, you don't really know how intense or the exact color they will be.

Coelacanth whats up with the scrolling sig? What is that written in?

Quote: Originally Posted by Coelacanth Heh, that's not true. I have a bunch of blue LEDs, and a number of them each output a different color of blue. Some are aqua, some are the typical royal blue, and some are a dark, dim blue. Until you try them all with the amount of current you plan to be using, you don't really know how intense or the exact color they will be.

Not a problem depending on where you order from, if its a real supply place and not just a modding store, they do differentiate between blue, superbright blue and aqua. Also i've seen too different types of green, the yellow green thats second in popularity only to red LEDs (look at just about anything, monitor, stock cases, router, etc) and a darker "true green" green thats really cool looking.

Quote: Originally Posted by Dreyco Coelacanth whats up with the scrolling sig? What is that written in?

It's actually nothing really impressive, just a link to a webpage with a marquee tag. Go here and check the source:

http://www3.sympatico.ca/coelacanth/coelsig.htm

Quote: Originally Posted by Coelacanth It's actually nothing really impressive, just a link to a webpage with a marquee tag....

... with a typo. That's ampersand nbsp _semicolon_, Coel

Thanks gents.

I am such a flippin' noob. I appreciate all of you guys and hope someday I can return the favor.

I had no idea the LED's I bought had adjustable stands! I moved them and have them angled perfectly at my proc and vid card.

Looks very nice.

I will post pics when I get my digital camera back.

LED Fans rock! But personally I like both LED fans and cold cathodes. Thats just me though. Good luck!

I would say led's are the way to go. I had some red led fans in my case, and I wanted to light it up more. I bought a few "red" dual cold cathode kits, and they don't match very well. I wrapped them up in red celophane and they are ok now, but for future mods I plan on just using led's

You can't sleep with the computer in the same room, atleast I can't.