UV lights or RGB

[TrueCanadian]

Hi I'm looking for some Uv led lights for my computer so i can take advantage of my UV reactive fluid but im not sure if it will be worth it? Anyone have any experiences with this? I looked into getting cablemod widebeam RGB/UV but since im actually making a desk and plan to cover the whole interior in less to light up my pc. 

[SoraN32]

personal i dont  like rgb iv got two rgb fans on my case and i feel it 2 much  

[Bl00dgod]

jay2cents used UV strips in his builds, i tried it too and it looks fancy

there are also combo strips with RGB or white light and UV, i bet this great guy can help you too @CableMod or other brands/ companies

 

there are some risks of degrading hardware over time because of the UV

[Spotty]

1 hour ago, Bl00dgod said:

there are some risks of degrading hardware over time because of the UV

This is something you should consider before using UV lighting.

In an older build I used UV lighting to make the most of the UV reactive PSU cable sleeving I had. It looked fancy, but it wasn't long before the acrylic(?) window in my case was permanently discoloured to the point where it was no longer transparent and instead a cloudy white colour where it was exposed to the UV light.

UV lighting can also degrade some other plastics and rubbers prematurely. Coloured plastics or stickers, such as things perhaps found in your case, GPU shroud, PSU stickers, etc, may fade or wear more quickly when exposed to direct UV lighting. For the most part this will be limited to cosmetic changes such as discolouration and fading or stickers losing adhesive rather than anything that will kill hardware or effect its performance (Using UV lighting won't fry your CPU).

I would also recommend keeping an eye on the plastics in the case and replacing any cables that appear to become hardened and/or brittle as I did experience this with some SATA cables that became hardened and would crack when flexed or twisted after prolonged exposure to UV lighting. Just add it on the list of things to check whenever you do your regular dust clean.

[Voxels-Box]

12 hours ago, Spotty said:

-Snip-

Did you notice any changes to tempered glass, brushed aluminum, painted metals, or sleeving materials? Im adding some UV lights soon, and Im curious if I need to watch out for that?

[CableMod]

@TrueCanadian our RGB/UV are actually able to be dimmed on each individual LED (RGB or UV) if you need to.

 

@Bl00dgod @Voxels-Box our UV strips aren't harsh or damaging to components the same way that some others are actually.  

[Spotty]

4 hours ago, Voxels-Box said:

Did you notice any changes to tempered glass, brushed aluminum, painted metals, or sleeving materials? Im adding some UV lights soon, and Im curious if I need to watch out for that?

I can't see any reason why it would cause any issues with glass. This was before cases had tempered glass (thus acrylic side window) so I can't say I have any experience with it. Brushed aluminium and painted metals should be fine as well, but the last one depends entirely on the quality of the paint. If it's the manufacturer paint then it should be good. If it's a home paint job, just check the type of paint you're using and if it's rated for outdoor use or not as that will often provide better UV protection, though for the most part I think you will be fine. Cable sleeving should be fine as well.

I should also mention I was using UV Cathode, rather than UV LED strip. This was 5+ years ago and LED strips weren't as available/cheap as they are now. As far as I'm aware, UV LED strips will be far less damaging than the cathode.

[Bl00dgod]

8 hours ago, CableMod said:

-snip-

@Bl00dgod @Voxels-Box our UV strips aren't harsh or damaging to components the same way that some others are actually.  

couldnt see any difference with cables or other components while using UV for 4-5h when its getting dark since late december when i got it not using it 24/7

[Tech22]

If you have UV fluid, the effect only lasts a few days/weeks. Then it won't look nearly as great. 

[d3adc3II]

Haha, Before the era of RGB, UV was the king for all desktop setups 5 years ago.

 

That was before the bling bling took over the world

 

 

[bling]

I bought two UV cold cathode (which should grant a better effect than led) but I was really disappointed about it. The UV effect is very nice only if very close to the reactive material. What I've found out is the blue light from the RGB fans and led grant a better UV effect, even if it's different than UV cathodes. Take a look at my build to have an idea

[Revan654]

2 hours ago, bling said:

I bought two UV cold cathode (which should grant a better effect than led) but I was really disappointed about it. The UV effect is very nice only if very close to the reactive material. What I've found out is the blue light from the RGB fans and led grant a better UV effect, even if it's different than UV cathodes. Take a look at my build to have an idea

 

Some CCFL are not the best when it comes to UV, Just depends on the brand. I have a few from different brands, one brand did a great job and from another brand there horrible at UV.

 

When looking for UV I personally look for UV that are blacklight enabled and operate in the wavelength of 400nm.

 

On 3/1/2018 at 2:22 AM, TrueCanadian said:

Hi I'm looking for some Uv led lights for my computer so i can take advantage of my UV reactive fluid but im not sure if it will be worth it? Anyone have any experiences with this? I looked into getting cablemod widebeam RGB/UV but since im actually making a desk and plan to cover the whole interior in less to light up my pc. 

 

Why not both? I created a dual lighting system in my case which allows me to switch from UV to RGB. Everything is controlled by software.

 

UV works best without any other LED colors and in darker environments. I have no idea what wavelength Cablemod LED run at. You should be getting something in the 395 to 405nm range. It also helps if there blacklight enabled. If your in the US I can link you to what I bought from Amazon and works great.

 

Going anything below 360nm range can be dangerous for your eyes.

 

 

No Glow

 

 

The Coolant is a bit old (around 2 years+). It still create a good enough glow to check the UV LED's.

[MeDownYou]

On 3/1/2018 at 1:22 AM, TrueCanadian said:

Hi I'm looking for some Uv led lights for my computer so i can take advantage of my UV reactive fluid but im not sure if it will be worth it? Anyone have any experiences with this? I looked into getting cablemod widebeam RGB/UV but since im actually making a desk and plan to cover the whole interior in less to light up my pc. 

Really depends on what you want and what you're willing to pay. 

 

I love UV lighting, but that's my personal preference. RGB might look just as good to you. Now when you're talking about UV you want to make sure you know what you're buying. Here are some ideas that generally hold true if comparing good quality components to one another. UV (black) lights>cold cathodes>LED's strength of effect. Keep in mind that the first is pretty impractical in the PC case, while the second you need to have an inverter to make work, and the third is the easiest. So, if we're comparing cold cathodes to LED's we look at a few things, that pesky inverter, how much UV effect we want, and How that effect is displayed. LED's have a narrow cone shaped light distribution compared to Cold Cathodes, where they produce 360 degrees of lighting. Ask Revan mentions above, the wave length is what makes this distinction in effectiveness of the lighting. Buying from good brands is well worth it for UV lights. UV lighting generally degrades adhesives at an accelerated rate as well. Cathodes while providing in general a better effect, come in only set lengths typically and can be a challenge to hide or incorporate into your case (Hint there was a reason that we didn't have full side panels back in the day where we put cold cathodes, non-modular psu's and didn't have dedicated space for hiding cables ect. Even cases like the H440 hold true to this to some extent today. Well that's the skinny on UV lighting choices and challenges, and I feel like you know what RGB lighting is in comparison, if you're considering UV lighting as well. I have still yet to see someone take me up on my idea where you run cold cathodes in your system with UV fluid and Spiral your hard tubing around the Cold cathode, so if you want to see how that looks for me that would be great