Adding RBG lights to case

[joedisplayname]

I built my computer earlier this year and I decided to add RGB lights later during the year. As I was watching through some videos I came across this one that stated you needed to purchase a converter cable otherwise the wrong voltage would be sent to the lights and it could damage it or worse. I was hoping to have some clarity on that because my motherboard supports Asus Aura and when I bought a basic LED strip it plugged into the motherboard and the lights worked fine. I didn't need to cut any wires and plug them into the power supply, I forgot what the port was referred to as, but I connected the LED strip directly into the motherboard. It did feel a little warm after a bit, so I unplugged it just in case. Is this something I should be worried about? Is there anything else I need to know prior to installing RBG LED strips? Which would you recommend?
Case: Corsair Obsidian Series 750D Airflow Edition, Full Tower ATX Case
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Maximus IX Hero LGA1151 DDR4 DP HDMI M.2 USB 3.1 ATX Motherboard
Basic LED strips I used: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EFEUZPQ/
Video I saw (with timestamp): 

 

[DrMikeNZ]

Most RGB strips are 12V, which is what the motherboards use. As long as the strip uses the same connector as the motherboard it will be compatible.

If you use too long strips (or too many) you could draw more current than the circuit on the motherboard is rated for blowing it up. The motherboard should specify what it is rated for (potentially in the useless unit of metres, as LED wattage and light densities vary from strip to strip). I would recommend either cutting the strip to the minimum size required for your case , or using a dedicated controller or repeater for the LEDs.

[OddsCrazyStuff]

If you are worried, Asus lists some products that are guaranteed to work: https://www.asus.com/campaign/aura/us/Sync.html

[joedisplayname]

5 minutes ago, DrMikeNZ said:

Most RGB strips are 12V, which is what the motherboards use. As long as the strip uses the same connector as the motherboard it will be compatible.

If you use too long strips (or too many) you could draw more current than the circuit on the motherboard is rated for blowing it up. The motherboard should specify what it is rated for (potentially in the useless unit of metres, as LED wattage and light densities vary from strip to strip). I would recommend either cutting the strip to the minimum size required for your case , or using a dedicated controller or repeater for the LEDs.

Thanks! Very useful to know. I'll likely cut the strip since it's 5 meters. That likely explains why it was getting warm. 

[joedisplayname]

5 minutes ago, OddsCrazyStuff said:

If you are worried, Asus lists some products that are guaranteed to work: https://www.asus.com/campaign/aura/us/Sync.html

I'll definitely keep that in mind. Thanks for the recommendation! Hoping they have some discounted on Amazon today. 

[Salacious B Crum]

I have the Crosshair hero VI x370 it has 2 RGB headers and they recommend no more than 2 meters I have 2 small strips in my case and my desk has 2 meters on the 2nd header and I've had no problems and they are synced with the board and my GPU with great affect, and yes I get an extra 100Mhz of additional performance from them

[joedisplayname]

33 minutes ago, mrbilky said:

I have the Crosshair hero VI x370 it has 2 RGB headers and they recommend no more than 2 meters I have 2 small strips in my case and my desk has 2 meters on the 2nd header and I've had no problems and they are synced with the board and my GPU with great affect, and yes I get an extra 100Mhz of additional performance from them

Just got around to cutting the strip to about 2 meters I believe and got everything to work. Thank you!