In the world of personal computers, there is a fashion that has found its place in a few years: that of colorful lobbies. The popular RGB LEDs are already found in all kinds of equipment. And this mode is so important that Microsoft will integrate its support into Windows 11, under the name Dynamic Lighting.
This is ugly
RGB LEDs problem, she is ugly Is that it is often useless. More precisely, interest often remains very limited. Having a backlit keyboard can be important, of course, but the ability to display millions of colors or moving waves of color under the keys doesn’t seem necessary. And above all, this trend is not limited to consoles. You will find LEDs on case faces, in fans, on motherboards, graphics cards, sound cards, SSDs, heatsinks, mice, mouse pads, SATA cables, monitors, RAM or helmets.
In addition to being more than a limited benefit, they often present many problems. The first is purely physical: LEDs consume energy and heat up. In the case of RGB SSDs, for example, they have lower performance than classic models because the LEDs heat up and take back part of the power that should go to the SSD. On a full computer, the consumption of LEDs can approach that of a full Mac mini, for example. The second comes from standardization, which Microsoft is trying to fix with its new option.
Windows 11 will soon be able to control the LEDs of gamers’ accessories
she planned first For users of an Insider version of Windows (i.e. the beta), so device manufacturers can prepare the ground. And here’s the problem: There are different sockets for connecting accessories (including fans) and different protocols. Each brand handles LEDs in their own way, without necessarily considering that anyone with a Gigabyte motherboard might have an Asus graphics card and a Crucial memory.
For now, Apple had a good idea to stay out of this fad, perhaps too glamorous for the brand. Macs don’t shine brightly, backlighting disappeared from Macs years ago, and only certain keyboards are lit up, with no option to choose a color. Which isn’t so bad, even if it’s an eminently personal opinion.
“Evil thinker. Music scholar. Hipster-friendly communicator. Bacon geek. Amateur internet enthusiast. Introvert.”