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OpenRGB: Open-source RGB lighting control

openrgb.org

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Re: OpenRGB: Open-source RGB lighting control

#11

Post by tachyonbeam »

scoopertrooper wrote: post #6

Not to detract from this project, but what's the deal with RGB lighting? It just seems garish to me. I also imagine it must be quite distracting to have a bunch of lights flashing out of your PC.

It seems a lot of the marketing for PC cases and hardware is targeted at young teenage boys 10-16. I wanted to buy a computer case for my mom, and I couldn't find an affordable one without a window on the side.

IMO it can look nice if it's done subtly. I definitely don't want fast animated LEDs on my computer, I think that would just make it harder to concentrate.

Re: OpenRGB: Open-source RGB lighting control

#12

Post by cptskippy »

_Microft wrote: post #8

Does anyone know how LEDs built into RAM modules are controlled from a hardware point of view? Can you just send control information over the channels that data to be stored in memory also uses to get into the module? Does it mean that you need to install drivers for them? What happens if you do not? Update: DDR4 modules seem to have pins for a built-in SMB/I2C bus. Maybe this is used for controlling the LEDs. // It…

I don't know but it could be something as simple as a reserved memory space that you write to.

They have a ROM that can be read to retrieve the the JEDEC and XMP Profiles, so perhaps there's some I/O there?

Re: OpenRGB: Open-source RGB lighting control

#13

Post by rblatz »

toyyodas82727 wrote: post #7
scoopertrooper wrote: post #6

Not to detract from this project, but what's the deal with RGB lighting? It just seems garish to me. I also imagine it must be quite distracting to have a bunch of lights flashing out of your PC.

They're fun! Something about soft pulsing colors is just...nice. Properly diffused, they go well with art, to accent rooms, etc. I've never seen them used inside of a PC, though, which made this project page a bit confusing. Is that a thing now? Because that does sound like a garish and distracting place for them.

Case/component lighting has been a thing for at least 20 years. 20 years ago it was cold cathode tubes lighting your case. For about the past 10 years RGB lighting has pretty hard to avoid if you wanted to build your own PC.

Re: OpenRGB: Open-source RGB lighting control

#14

Post by otter-in-a-suit »

The state of RGB is such a nightmare, and I am very glad OpenRGB exists.

If I wanted to control all LEDs on my relatively new "Gaming" PC (Windows 10), I'd normally need software from Gigabyte for the GPU (which straight up doesn't work [0]), Ducky for the keyboard, a no-name Corsair knockoff software where the name escapes me for the mouse, actual Corsair software for the fans, and NZXT for the AIO.

All of them are not only proprietary, they also use a ton of resources and often times cannot be run in parallel, presumably because they try to talk to the same devices (but never all of them!) - analog to an I2C device that only allows one process to access it at a time. Difference being, there is nothing stopping me from trying - everything will just freeze.

It's fascinating - for something as simple as a bunch of LEDs, these companies must have spent millions of developer hours to produce such heaping piles of garbage - and OpenRGB proves all of them wrong.

[0] If anyone knows of a way to control at least the LED backlight on a Gigabyte Auorus XTREME 3080 (ideally the little LCD as well) - please let me know - OpenRGB can't do it. The Gigabyte software is so unbelievably broken that it doesn't even recognize the GPU, and I feel like I've tried every workaround under the sun. I am unfortunately not very well versed in the Windows world.

Re: OpenRGB: Open-source RGB lighting control

#15

Post by zozbot234 »

scoopertrooper wrote: post #6

Not to detract from this project, but what's the deal with RGB lighting? It just seems garish to me. I also imagine it must be quite distracting to have a bunch of lights flashing out of your PC.

It's all about how you use it. With a generic driver like OpenRGB, it might be easier to make the RGB blinkenlights on your hardware respond to stuff you might want to monitor in the background but not distract too much from whatever is being displayed on your screen. System load, temperatures, notifications (e.g. incoming mail), whatever you think is best.

Re: OpenRGB: Open-source RGB lighting control

#16

Post by cptskippy »

tachyonbeam wrote: post #11
scoopertrooper wrote: post #6

Not to detract from this project, but what's the deal with RGB lighting? It just seems garish to me. I also imagine it must be quite distracting to have a bunch of lights flashing out of your PC.

It seems a lot of the marketing for PC cases and hardware is targeted at young teenage boys 10-16. I wanted to buy a computer case for my mom, and I couldn't find an affordable one without a window on the side. IMO it can look nice if it's done subtly. I definitely don't want fast animated LEDs on my computer, I think that would just make it harder to concentrate.

> I wanted to buy a computer case for my mom, and I couldn't find an affordable one without a window on the side.

I had the same problem when I went to upgrade my server chassis. Fortunately the side panels on the chassis I settled for were interchangeable so I could swap the glass around to the rear facing side and hide it.

Re: OpenRGB: Open-source RGB lighting control

#17

Post by rblatz »

So I found this about a year ago because I hated that I had 4 different programs running constantly managing led lights.

I read through some of the docs and saw how the devs bricked their devices multiple times sending incorrect lighting commands, while reverse engineering the communication protocols. I decided that it was not worth the risk to consolidate down to one program if it meant I might brick my system.

Re: OpenRGB: Open-source RGB lighting control

#19

Post by enchiridion »

scoopertrooper wrote: post #6

Not to detract from this project, but what's the deal with RGB lighting? It just seems garish to me. I also imagine it must be quite distracting to have a bunch of lights flashing out of your PC.

I think there is a disconnect between advertising and what a nice setup can look like.

IMO the ads have all the colors cycling etc as a way to communicate that the device can turn any color you want.

Re: OpenRGB: Open-source RGB lighting control

#20

Post by jpsalm »

_Microft wrote: post #8

Does anyone know how LEDs built into RAM modules are controlled from a hardware point of view? Can you just send control information over the channels that data to be stored in memory also uses to get into the module? Does it mean that you need to install drivers for them? What happens if you do not? Update: DDR4 modules seem to have pins for a built-in SMB/I2C bus. Maybe this is used for controlling the LEDs. // It…

Yea its i2c.
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