Once you've finished with your festive tree and house decorations there's only one thing left to light up this Christmas - your RGB PC. If you use Corsair, ASUS or MSI RGB software, this process is simple enough, and there's even light themes you can download. For those of us with generic RGB lighting and ARGB capable motherboards, we've included a short guide for festive Christmas lighting, too!
Contents
What You Need For PC RGB Lighting
Ideally you will need a motherboard or case that supports ARGB. The 'A' in ARGB stands for Addressable, and that means you'll be able to control more elements in your RGB setup. Motherboard software such as Gigabyte RGB Fusion, ASUS Aura Sync, MSI Mystic Light and Corsair iCUE are all very well-known, and will work with RAM, RGB LED strip-lights, fan case RGB lighting and CPU cooler RGB lighting amongst others.
Credit: u/CattusKittekatus (Reddit)
If you don't have this capability, don't worry, because there are still options. You can pick up some of the best selling RGB cases for under £60 right now, made by some of the best brands out there. The difference between lesser-known cases and the bigger brands is ease of use and compatibility. The best cases have built-in options for RGB (for fan RGB etc.), such as the Phanteks Eclipse P400A - one of the best selling cases of 2021 - which has integrated RGB control and is compatible with most motherboards for an entirely illuminated aesthetic. Having a controller in the case itself will enable you to easily adjust the case lighting using supplied software.
Your motherboard is where all the magic happens, though. The options available in the Corsair iCUE software, for example, is dizzying:
This may look complicated, but the software has been engineered to provide access to all compatible ARGB components, and give you the option of custom or preset lighting for each one. Corsair are just one example of how this is done, but you have the following options with each of the major main board brands: -
- MSI - Mystic Light
- ASUS - Aura Sync
- Gigabyte - RGB Fusion
- ASRock - RGB Sync
Each one has its strengths and weaknesses, but they are all generally easy to use once you get them hooked up to your various RGB components via the RGB or ARGB header.
Some components are controlled without the need to plug in any fiddly plugs. For example, your RGM memory will not need to hook anything up to the motherboard, other than slotting in your memory modules as usual. RGB memory uses System Management Bus (SMBus) for communication and customisation, and simply requires BIOS support on the motherboard. If you have an RGB CPU cooler or AiO liquid cooling system, they will need to be plugged into the header, and full instructions are always supplied.
If your motherboard does not have many open sockets on the ARGB/RGB header, you can always upgrade to an RGB controller such as the XSPC 8 Way 3 pin 5V Addressable RGB Splitter HUB (below), which allows you to power 8x 5V addressable RGB products at once, yet you will only be taking up one RGB header on your motherboard.
Let's Get Lit (Up)!
The majority of brands below have RGB themes which you can download, rather than set everything up manually. This will save you a lot of time, but also give you a starting point if you want to tweak and customise the lighting setup and sequencing. Along with the RGB profiles, themes and instructions, we have included links to some of the most popular RGB cases out there, so if it is time to upgrade your case, these are definitely worth looking at.
You will get full control of the RGB lighting for your components, but you'll also find that Corsair, Gigabyte, MSI and others also include many options for their matched peripherals such as keyboard and mouse. These are usually included in any profile downloads, but if they are not, you can start with the case profile and create any extra lighting options for your RGB MnK!
We hope you enjoy this guide and have fun lighting up your PC!
Corsair iCUE
Corsair iCUE cases have been the epitome of cool RGB lighting these last few years, and none more so than the Corsair iCUE 220T RGB Airflow case, which has a real focus on aesthetic and cooling. The case is a mid-tower ATX, and includes three SP120 RGB PRO fans for an amazing light-show that can be controlled by their intuitive & easy to use iCUE software.
Corsair iCUE Christmas Profiles
Option 1: You can find a profile created by Lewis Gerschwitz here: Corsair iCUE Christmas Profile, which you can use as-is, or tweak to your heart's content.
Option 2: HisEvilness also created a classic Christmas iCUE profile, which can be downloaded from their website.
Option 3: Check out the Corsair RGB profile instructions here to create your own!
MSI Mystic Light
MSI have some of the best value cases and motherboards on the market right now, and their Mystic Light RGB software continues to be extremely easy to use and with few problems reported by users as far as compatibility. The MSI MAG VAMPIRIC 100R RGB case is one of our most popular cases from MSI, and comes with ARGB sync with Mystic Light software.
MSI Mystic Light Christmas Profiles
Option 1: Sadly there is somewhat of a shortage of custom MSI Mystic Light RGB profiles, but the company has provided a very easy to follow instructions page for new users - https://www.msi.com/Landing/mystic-light-rgb-gaming-pc/how-to. You will need to set up your components and peripherals with the MSI Dragon Center / Mystic Light software, providing they are compatible.
Option 2: YouTuber, JackNet RGB Sync, posted a video showcasing the MSI Dragon Center and Mystic Light functionality, including a very detailed tutorial on how to set up components with JackNet RGB sync - a FREE and open source third party RGB controller software which has a very active community and developers.
Gigabyte RGB Fusion
The unfortunate thing about Gigabyte Fusion 2.0 is that owners do not have a lot of confidence in it, and often complain that it has issues and bugs that prevent it from being used with components. That said, if you have predominantly Gigabyte components, you may not have too many problems.
Gigabyte offer many motherboards with ARGB support, and also have an enviable reputation for PC modding with their AORUS product range.
Gigabyte RGB Fusion 2.0 Christmas Profiles
Option 1: Gigabyte have provided a guide for their customers here - RGB Fusion 2.0 instructions.
Option 2: YouTuber, TechStream, has created a short video that details how the RGB schemes and profiles work, allowing you to change colour options for components in the software:
ASUS Aura Sync
The ASUS Aura Sync software is advanced, yet very easy to use, and is compatible with a variety of components and peripherals. For those who want more options, there is Aura Sync Creator, which allows you to create "unique lighting profiles for stunning effects that are totally your own".
ASUS Aura Sync Christmas Profiles
Option 1: The easiest way to create a red and green Christmas profile in Aura Sync is to choose the "Starry Night" then select Background as "Red" and the Effect as "Green".
Credit: ASUS
Generic RGB Christmas Profiles
If you have a number of components that are not compatible with your motherboard ARGB controller/software, there are options! There are some open source projects that will offer support and often have Reddit subreddits set up where you can request specific profiles.
OpenRGB
https://openrgb.org/
JackNet RGB Sync
https://rgbsync.com/
BetterRGB
https://betterrgb.verity-network.de/
Artemis RGB
https://artemis-rgb.com/
Merry Christmas!
We hope you enjoyed this article, and look forward to seeing some of your creations on Reddit. Be sure to mention this guide if it was helpful! Merry Christmas!
