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Cold Cathode or LED Case Lighting

D

dusty550

n00b
Joined
Sep 23, 2010
Messages
6
Hi,

I recently bought a HAF X case and I decided I want to put some form of lighting inside the case because of the window on the side.

After searching around I found out that CCFL inverters can explode or damage components inside the case, but most of these reports were from a few years ago. Is this still the case, or are there any better brands that are safe to use?

To me, it sounds like LED lighting may be the safer way to go, but I can't seem to find any good LED light sticks (Similar to the casing Cathodes have) that connect straight into the PSU without a PCI bracket and don't have LEDs die within the first few days.

Any recommendations?
I would also like to know where I can buy them from. Most places seem to only carry the cheap ones that reportedly don't last long.


Thanks!
 
CCFLs can explode? Probably if you heated them while covering the holes they could...maybe i'm lucky I have a full steel case with a thick side panel... But seriously its a low powered tiny plastic block, even if it did "expolode" id doubt it would damage much.

Other things that can explode; Laptop batteries, laser printers, PSUs, harddrives, pumps, phase change units, fake ps3 controllers, iphones, ipods, etc. I've never heard or had any CCFL invertor explode. Ever.

Cheap LEDs tend to break often, and dont really give the same quality of coverage. CCFLs produce a wall of light that bathes everything. LEDs tend to be more spotlight. CCFLs are easy to unplug and replace, whereas LED are often hardwired.
 
nzxt will have led case lighting out in the near future. in lengths of 1 or 2 m
 
LED's don't really light evenly. Cathodes look much nicer, imo. I've been using some CHEAP cathodes for years with absolutely zero problems...
 
I've used Cathodes and LED for my cases. Cathodes are brighter and give an even light, while the LED is a little softer. Depends on your taste really. Right now I am using a 12 LED bar in my case and it's fine. I bought from Performance-PC's.
 
I'm using a red logisys led strip and it gives off a nice soft subtle red glow, Just right IMO.
 
Thanks for the input, how are the A.C. Ryan cathodes vs the Logisys ones? Is it worth the money?

Also has anyone tried any of the true-color "inverterless" CCFL's that Logisys makes? These looks interesting and appear to be new to Performance-PCs.
 
Just search for "led strip" on eBay and get 12 to 18 inch long led arrays for about 10$. Pre wired for 12v, they push out alot of even light. Cathodes suck, theyre too hard to hide And the rf interference they can inject into your audio line out... Not fun.

I have had a double 6" uv cathode set blow on me before too
 
The key to lighting with LEDs is the viewing angel of the LED. Typical LEDS have a viewing angle of 15 degrees. You can find single 5mm LEDs with viewing angles of 30 degrees that "flood" the area much better then standard LEDs.

Those flex strips tend to have around a 120 degrees viewing angle and make for great case illumination.

I stopped using CCFLs several years when the inverter for the UV set I had caught fire, like black burnt plastic smoke rolling out of my case fire.
 
Yes CCFL inverters do fail. Have had it happen in a couple of my builds. However, it has been my observation that a great many such failures can be attributed to install issues. Like a crappy PSU for instance. A cheap CCFL inverter lacks the ability to correct for fluctuations like some of your more sophisticated component, like your Mobo or vid card. Then there are those who modify the high tension lead (wire between inverter & light) in an attempt to clean up their wiring. Not a good idea.
zacrobmer said:
The key to lighting with LEDs is the viewing angel of the LED. Typical LEDS have a viewing angle of 15 degrees. You can find single 5mm LEDs with viewing angles of 30 degrees that "flood" the area much better then standard LEDs.

Those flex strips tend to have around a 120 degrees viewing angle and make for great case illumination.

I stopped using CCFLs several years when the inverter for the UV set I had caught fire, like black burnt plastic smoke rolling out of my case fire.
Click to expand...
Precisely! LEDs come in a myriad of viewing angles, from 8° to 120°. I have built a few LED systems. A 15° 5500mcd blue LED will make a roughly 1 foot round pattern on a wall 6 feet away. Such spot lighting is great for highlighting small areas, but poor for overall coverage.
 
The beauty of those strips is that they are flexible. I have not used the logisys ones, as I buy mine from Mouser, but they are flexible enough that you could run one strip across the top and done the side a bit and do the same with the bottom and get pretty good lighting for your whole case.

If you are handy with a soldering gun, those strips can be cut also, the ones I am using have 3 LEDS per leg, with a +/- terminal on each end of the leg. You just cut on the line (it kind of looks like this :I: ) and attach a 12v and ground to one end.
 
So the NZXT Sleeved LEDs came out, but after looking at the LED strips, they look much easier to install (Peel and stick!) except I ran into a potential issue. How wide are the Logisys LED Strips? In parts of the case I only have about 22 mm of clearance and one part where its only about 10 mm of clearance.


The inside of the case looks something like this:
http://www.coolermaster.com/upload/product/6653/featured/top5.jpg

I was thinking about putting the lights along the top and bottom of the case (From the back to the bay drives), but I fear the PSU and the plastic case piece there will block most of the light from the LEDS
 
DeathPrincess said:
But seriously its a low powered tiny plastic block,
Click to expand...
Inverter still has 680V output voltage, which isn't really "low power".

I would use cathodes, but with quality inverter - e.g. not Sunbeam, mainly because they're crappy and I can't feel safe with their inverters in my pc- I had six wobbly inverters from sunbeam and most of them have failed (not exploded, they just stoped working)...
 
heres the ones from oznium,

dsc08536o.jpg
 
l33t3r said:
Inverter still has 680V output voltage, which isn't really "low power".

I would use cathodes, but with quality inverter - e.g. not Sunbeam, mainly because they're crappy and I can't feel safe with their inverters in my pc- I had six wobbly inverters from sunbeam and most of them have failed (not exploded, they just stoped working)...
Click to expand...

Just out of curiosity which would be a high quality cathode/cathode inverter?

I'm going to order a strip of LEDs this week to try that out.
 
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