Most LED case to ever LED

[BitPoet]

My nephew is planning on building his first desktop, an I am providing the case for him for Christmas.

So what I’m looking for is something mid-tower or smaller that has a lot of controllable LEDs. The more the merrier, but I also want it to work and be relatively quiet.

So wise denizens of C&CF, what are my options here?

 

[whoisit]

Really the case will probably just come with RGB fans, maybe a fan controller, and a window. The motherboad is generally what controlls all the RGB leds. And then people can get led strips to hook into the headers on the mobo, or other accessories.

Long way to say, you need to look more into accessories than the case.

 

[Nauls]

Go ham!

RGB Extension Cables
RGB Motherboard Backlight
RGB Strips
RGB GPU Support

Amazon user images and videos are good way to see how deep the rabbit hole goes.

 

[whoisit]

Maybe the Fractal Torrent Compact? I like my NZXT H7 Flow, but I can't recommend them with all their shady shenanigans as of late.

The Hyte cases can be amazing to look at, but seem more oriented to watercooling vs. air cooling.

 

[Semi On]

Cases do not generally have much RGB built into the case itself. There are a few that integrate a strip around the side like Lian-Li's 011-Dynamic but that tends to be bigger cases. Beyond that, it's mostly just included RGB fans. Personally, as an RGB enthusiast, I prefer no fans at all so I can choose the fans. Included fans may not play nicely with other ecosystems. From there, you can add whatever RGB stuff he wants as @Nauls suggested.

 

[grommit!]

Antec C5 comes with a bunch of RGB fans, a LED strip and a hardware button to cycle through preset lighting patterns without the need for software: https://www.techpowerup.com/322148/antec-constellation-c5-argb-black-white-now-available

 

[R4360]

I'd go with a Lian-Li Evo and SL140 fans top and bottom (and side, if you want). Plus strimmers for the ATX and GPU cables. That will be an eye-searing amount of RGB.

 

[Jeff3F]

It’s out of date (2017) but this is what I got for my PC build. I believe it plugged into power supply and I just used the remote it came with to control light color and on/off (auto powered on with computer and powered off with computer). I’m sure there are much better options in 2024 that plug into USB headers and are programmable. This one was dirt cheap and easy to operate without software though, and remains in service 7 years later. Also, UV mode with fluorescent stickers/tape is amazing!

Enjoy! While I sympathize with the folks who prefer a sealed, dark case/slab, I myself like a little bit of changeable bling. If holograms were a thing I could install, I would be very, very interested.

 

[grommit!]

PSA in case Windows Defender has been flagging your RGB software as malicious: https://www.theverge.com/report/629...er-fan-control-pc-monitoring-alert-quarantine

 

[Lupuss]

I would second the RGB version of the NZXT H7 Flow despite their current nonsense. You'll be safe as you're only buying the case. You can add a few more RGB fans inside but what I would particularly recommend is completing the setup with a RGB AIO if that's your nephew's wish. The RGB Liquid Freezer 3 is a great model.

 

[Pont]

Zach Friedman did this.

Pt 1:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkSMSlhVRnw


Pt 2:
View: https://youtu.be/PebUhzrZpyE