LED strip or Cold cathode? (UV light)

[Wort]

Hey guys. Im thinking about modding my rig a bit.

I'm thinking about getting either REVOLTEC cold cathodes or LAMPTRON LED strip. Which one would you go for? Who is better manufacturer?

Also, will my white parts inside my Fractal Design R4 (Black Pearl) glow under black light? http://img.hexus.net/v2/news/fractaldesign/R4-3b

 

[mcdonh]

get LED's they are easier to work with and provide a similar lighting experience, Cathodes are a bit of a pain to install sometimes as they have no flex and sometimes weird connectors, don't have time to advice brand now although I know Lamptron is a great brand

hope this helped

 

[Ra_V_en]

Well I'd give totally opposite answer then the one above, Ive used Revoltec and its very good solution. When i see how those led strips works, cold cathode will give more smooth area of light while LED solution is rather directional with some limited arc of lighting direction. Btw there is nothing hard with power connecting. It was few years ago while i had that Revoltec lights, but at that time it used a minibox (splitter) where you could connect up to 2 cathodes. The splitter itself was powered by molex or 3/4 pin connector from the mobo (obviously only 2 power pins was used)

 

[Wort]

Well I'd give totally opposite answer then the one above, Ive used Revoltec and its very good solution. When i see how those led strips works, cold cathode will give more smooth area of light while LED solution is rather directional with some limited arc of lighting direction. Btw there is nothing hard with power connecting. It was few years ago while i had that Revoltec lights, but at that time it used a minibox (splitter) where you could connect up to 2 cathodes. The splitter itself was powered by molex or 3/4 pin connector from the mobo (obviously only 2 power pins was used)

I've heard it's quite dangerous to have inverter inside a case. Is that true? I mean, I don't want anything set on fire...

 

[Ra_V_en]

Well I have to answer LOL for that question.... how about setting fire the room due to GPU being overheated? Cmon 😉
Who said its dangerous, he must get back to the primary school and learn some basics of electronics then, because I guess for him its still a black magic.

 

[Wort]

Well I have to answer LOL for that question.... how about setting fire the room due to GPU being overheated? Cmon 😉
Who said its dangerous, he must get back to the primary school and learn some basics of electronics then, because I guess for him its still a black magic.

Well, I'm not saying it is dangerous, I'm just saying what I've read on different forums across the internet about smoke coming our of an inverter, or pc case getting lit up on fire. I know one shouldn't believe every "bullshit" found on the internet, but when it comes down to your own safety, you must consider every possible scenario.

If GPU gets overheated, it should shut down to prevent further damage. About 7€ cold cathodes with inverter...I'm not sure they have a "safety switch"

 

[mickypheonix]

Hi Wort ,
Don't be put off by any of this ,
Cathodes , led lights , el wire/strips ,bubble lights etc etc are all fine to use , inverters in your case are no problems at all and all of these use little wattage , I have about 6 inverters in one case , led strips , cold cathodes ,bubble lights sound activated lights etc, for fun i did this i even put a plasma display and a led sound level meter in the same case , el strips and el wire, a complete waste of money but i did it for fun because i could, there is no probs with any of these ,choose what effect you want and go for it , at the end of the day it is your pc you can dress it up however you want, because you can ! , there is nothing to say it is wrong or wont work

 

[Ra_V_en]

@UP its exactly what i wanted to say... if anyone have any knowledge how those cold cathodes works should know the power used in the inverter is so small it would be easier to set a fire due to the GPU overheating.
And yes GPU has a safe switch but over a 100deg temperature, while to put a propane-butan on fire u need less than that. So if your case is not filled with a mix of an air and propane the fire is the least think to worry about. Besides short circuit on power cables from power supply can do some sparks also and in that scenario this could be more risky... but still light years far from actually being dangerous.
So if you imply there is a chance inverter can smoke out and set a fire there is the same possibility those LEDS will do the same due to some failed construction.
Use some common sense 😉

 

[Wort]

Thank you all for your answers.

I do realize that any component that neet needs electricity can fail and potentially cause fire, but regarding pc components, there's just so many posts about "inverter setting a fire" that cases like this seem much more common than any other component smoking out or setting a fire. That said, I'm not implying anything. I just felt like it was better to ask someone myself, than reading bunch of crap on other forums.
You know, better safe than sorry 😛

 

[mickypheonix]

Like i said earlier m8 i have all these components in one case and have had them in it and working for over 2 years now , i have had a few cathodes die but that is all and they are cheap to replace , they are in no way unsafe , feel free to have some fun

 

[reedy777]

Hi Wort ,
Don't be put off by any of this ,
Cathodes , led lights , el wire/strips ,bubble lights etc etc are all fine to use , inverters in your case are no problems at all and all of these use little wattage , I have about 6 inverters in one case , led strips , cold cathodes ,bubble lights sound activated lights etc, for fun i did this i even put a plasma display and a led sound level meter in the same case , el strips and el wire, a complete waste of money but i did it for fun because i could, there is no probs with any of these ,choose what effect you want and go for it , at the end of the day it is your pc you can dress it up however you want, because you can ! , there is nothing to say it is wrong or wont work

I went with
Leds, died after 6 months so dim look bad are cathodes the same