RGB/Aesthetics trap (Am I the only one?)

[Annual Toe]

I have been suffering from a current dilemma concerning RGB and price. Get parts that look nice and cost more? Or get parts that look ugly and cost less than the better looking counterpart? I only ever use products that "Look nice" but a lot of the time are not necessarily better than those that "Look bad". Sometimes I end up spending STUPID amounts of money finding parts that are DECENT but look AMAZING. EVEN if the system is good, I cannot stand it looking GREY and DULL. Is it really worth it? I do not know. But my question is am I the only one that falls for this trap made by corporate SCUM???? (okay maybe strong words but seriously, i have wasted hella money on aesthetics).

[userzero]

You're either into form over function, or function over form. Pretty shiny flashy tosh does nothing for me. Airflow and layout yes. It's sad imo.

[ZeouLs]

Yes I prefer the looks of product and lets say product a cost 100€ and product b costs 200€ and looks better BUT both do the exact same job, I'm most likely going to take the 100€ product and mod it myself as I like it. Stuff like getting a bland black keyboard, taking it a apart and painting the top cover instead of going for a flashy custom cherry mx keyboard.

 

BUT if product b would be lets say 120€ and that most likely is just about how much I would pay for the paints or any extra materials I might get, I would go for that one. It's not about better looking = better performance, it's rather it should fit into my theme.

[Txe]

I almost payed 20-50 $ because i was getting the ryzen 5 1600 and there was no rgb so i almost bought a different processor because the stock cooler on the more expensive one had rgb on the fan

[ZeouLs]

In that case you couold get an rgb stripe for like 10-20 bucks and rgb the whole case. Would have been my approach @Txe

[MaktimS]

6 minutes ago, ZeouLs said:

BUT if product b would be lets say 120€ and that most likely is just about how much I would pay for the paints or any extra materials I might get, I would go for that one. It's not about better looking = better performance, it's rather it should fit into my theme.

Totally agree with you. When the price difference is big, I pass on the RGB. However, when it's comparable, RGB EVERYTHING!

 

[Txe]

15 hours ago, ZeouLs said:

In that case you couold get an rgb stripe for like 10-20 bucks and rgb the whole case. Would have been my approach @Txe

I realized a few months later that i hate rgb look so i glad i dodged that bullet

[kilgore_T]

my case is black it has no windows

[voiha]

People spend a lot of money so they can have flashy houses with beautiful scenery. You can have dull looking Fridge that will have some features, or you can have nice looking fridge with features that you kinda never gonna use, in end of the day they have the same function and they do the exact same stuff but people still gonna spend a lot more money for the flashy one rather than the dull one..... if they can afford it.

That's the question in your case. Can you afford the beautiful design costs that they charge for or you can afford just the functionality ?

 

 

I prefer to get the functions first, then if possible the design

[Ryujin2003]

I wouldn't say I fall for any trap, I purchase what I want because I like it. I could've purchased cheaper version of the RX 480 when I got mine.. But I like the looks AND cooler on the MSI GamingX cards. I put RGB in my case because I like the look of it, but my case was also new to me in 2014. So spicing things up while not getting a new case. I like the airflow in it, so why replace it. I buy black PCB Motherboards because I don't like the look of the shiny aluminum and green/blue PCB of other boards... But also, because the "flashier" boards come with the features I'm looking for. I don't need printer serial port, and want the USB C.

 

To label it a "trap" I think is inaccurate. I have a "theme" I go for with my PC, because one of the great things about PC's is to make things your own. If I'm paying more for looks, it's generally minimal like 20 bucks, not $100.  $100 is a lot to pay for form over functionality, but if it's much less, then generally isn't such a big deal.

 

But calling it a trap makes it sound like we are unaware. Those of us that are aware, but make an informed and purposeful decision in our purchase choice aren't being "trapped".

 

Look @ARikozuM, it's your favorite topic: traps!

[Annual Toe]

I usually do put money towards looks because I am not really limited by money. (Of course I have limitations so I cant have my own quantum computer).

When I say falling for the trap I mean that you did not intend to purchase RGB or aesthetic products, but could not resist the the urge and chucked an extra bit of money to get the better looking one.

[ARikozuM]

I love RGB! 

Spoiler

As long as it's blue and white. 

 

[dcgreen2k]

I do like RGB, but I won't pay significantly more for it over the standard price. However, I would pay a tiny bit more for a nicely colored heatsink, like black or red instead of silver or gray.

[Mooshi]

I dunno man, my eyes tend to be focused on this thing in front of me called a monitor and not at my computer's lights. 

[Evanair]

Yes... Too many times 

[aezakmi]

I look for the best performance, case is all black so no one is gonna see the mess inside.

[Guest]

RGB is cool and all, but I prefer minimalistic. You don't buy a computer to look at the case, you buy to look at the screen. 

[UnwantedLinks]

RGB Always looks better. But i'd like having it on the cheap (ETC. No Hardware Controlled Component or Only 1 Color) Compared to having to pay the premium to get those features. That too, I can save money. Plus, Coolermaster is the best at Budget-RGB on their Masterbox series. Hardware-Controlled fans only for $80.

[PlayStation 2]

My rig's not a looker, and that's to say the very least. I wanted a muted rig that did exactly what I want it to, rather than a flashy pile of shit that can't even run Team Fortress 2 properly.

[Tog Driver]

There is a bit of money sunk into the case aesthetics on my build, but it looks bloody amazing, and because I don't plan on replacing it any time soon I will enjoy it for a looong time to come, but if it is something you are going to replace soon, graphics card, Cooler? (What do you replace the most often?) the I say not worth it

[Automobili3XF]

I usually not, my computer does have the most ridiculous RGB device ever, the power supply, but after that, nothing else has RGB but the peripherals (which i keep lighted up white and very dimm).

Bonus point that it also looks mean and purposefull inside the CM 915R case i bought for the project, i think the only way it be better is if the case was a Lian-Li model, but i'm not rich.

[Amazonsucks]

Have a case without a window for better EMI shielding so the RGB lights on my motherboard and GPU cant even be seen.

[RollTime]

I try and find a nice balance. If something costs $20 more for same performance and RGB, I'll probably go for the RGB. But $100 more? Absolutely not.

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

I tend to choose PC components without RGB or too much LED lighting, then put them in a nice windowless case. 

That saves me the hassle of having to deal with RGB programs eating resources, not having to decide which manufacturer's RGB implementation to use, not having to clean the system every 2 days because there's a spec of dust somewhere inside the case, etc etc etc. 

[JettaGetUpandGo]

On 8/29/2018 at 6:13 AM, voiha said:

People spend a lot of money so they can have flashy houses with beautiful scenery. You can have dull looking Fridge that will have some features, or you can have nice looking fridge with features that you kinda never gonna use, in end of the day they have the same function and they do the exact same stuff but people still gonna spend a lot more money for the flashy one rather than the dull one..... if they can afford it.

This clip immediately came to mind:

I tend to be a form over function guy, but prefer both where possible.  Looking for a new keyboard with what I thought were reasonable criteria was next to impossible:

-Not gamery looking

-Backlit mechanical keys

-Dedicated volume wheel or buttons

-No "floating" key caps like Corsair and many others do.

 

As I was about to give up looking Logitech released the G810.  Pretty much perfect, but in less than a year the black on the WASD keys wore off and the LEDs for multiple keys turned from white to pee yellow. Logitech graciously replaced it but now my second one is also having the same LED issues.  There simply isn't another keyboard matching the criteria at seemingly any price.

 

I do tend to gravitate towards RGB products for the sole ability to dial in the color I want (white).  That being said, it sucks having 5 different software utilities to control it and it's nearly impossible to get them all to the same shade of white:

Logitech - keyboard

Corsair - AIO (disabled because it can no longer produce white after the RGB LED partially failed)

EVGA - Video card

Asus - Motherboard (disabled because the white looked like garbage)

NZXT - Hue strips

 

My next case won't have a window.  It's not worth it.