Custom lighting for PC (HELP)

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SirAngry
 
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Custom lighting for PC (HELP)

Post by SirAngry »

Hi all,

Hopefully some of you can help a complete n00b out. I've set myself the task of building a few custom PC's in an attempt to explain how to do so from the viewpoint of a complete novice... I used to build PC's ages ago, but haven't done so for over a decade now. In terms of building, overclocking and well, pretty much anything to do with the hardware or painting the case I'm totally sorted.

Where I have run into trouble is with custom lighting solutions. I've decided I want to go for LED's because I want to 'highlight' specific parts of my builds, as opposed to the more indirect and diffuse lighting provided by CCFL. Having made this simple aesthetic choice I've been somewhat disappointed by the poor off the shelf customization offerings available. So I set about looking up custom RGB LED stuff and stumbled across this site. Firstly I'm blown away by some of the things people are able to do with all this stuff, and secondly I think various NeoPixel rings would be perfect for my builds.

What I would like to do though is power a group of NeoPixels off of my PC(s) PSU's. I know full well that the PSU's would be able to more than adequately supply a suitable power source. My issue is how would I do that? What connectors and cables would I require. More importantly how would I go about controlling the LEDs themselves to provide different coulors and cycle different patterns? In short what components would be best.

Now please assume I'm a complete idiot (I am) and that I know nothing, because it's better to be 100% certain on these things and cover all bases.

Thanks in advance

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Custom lighting for PC (HELP)

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Neopixels run on 5v, so you will need to tap off from the 5v supply on your PSU. If you will be working with Neopixel rings or discrete Neopixels, there are no standard connectors, so you can go with whatever works. 3-pin fan connectors work well.

For control of the pixels, you will need some sort of microcontroller. The Arduino Micro is compact and pretty easy to work with: https://www.adafruit.com/search?q=arduino+micro&b=1

The best place to get started with Neopixels is to read through this guide: http://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-neopixel-uberguide

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SirAngry
 
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Re: Custom lighting for PC (HELP)

Post by SirAngry »

Thanks for the reply. I am currently wading through the NeoPixel guide... It's long... But quite good fun. I was wandering about fan connectors myself. It's not like I don't have a boatload of them kicking about the place. Cheers. Once I've familiarised myself with some of this stuff I might pop back with some really stupid questions.

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