Enhance your PC Gaming experience with smart lighting

If there’s anything PC gamers love almost as much as hefty frame counts, it’s ambient RGB LED lighting. When you put as much effort into building a PC as you do playing your games, a little flair comes naturally. Check out some of these great options for decking out your gaming rig (and more) with smart lighting.

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Saturate your gaming space with ambience and style

PC gamers are among the earliest adopters of RGB LED lighting. Everything from gaming peripherals to PC components are available with built-in lights. In a sense, the rest of the entertainment world is just now catching up to what PC gaming enthusiasts already know—smart lighting looks great.

It’s easy enough to add some intensity to your gaming rig with a sharp LED backlit keyboard or RGB computer case. However, with smart lighting the options extend well beyond parts and accessories. These days it’s possible to bathe your entire gaming space in a colourful and customizable atmosphere.

In Erin Lawrence’s earlier post she delves into methods for expanding your smart home with smart lighting for your home theatre. Here’s how you can incorporate many of those options into an incredible PC gaming experience.

Smart lighting strips

Light strips are an easy and effective way to add some allure to your PC setup. These thin strips are often applied to the edges on the rear side of PC monitor or screen. From there the light appears to seep out from all edges, reflecting off nearby walls as well.

The resulting peripheral glow will enhance the aesthetic charm in your field of vision as you play. Framing your monitor with smart lighting strips also gives your gaming setup a futuristic sci-fi appeal even when you aren’t deep in your latest adventure. It’s the perfect bit of extra atmosphere for anyone who loves losing themselves in brilliantly radiant digital worlds.

Of course you can apply smart lighting strips just about anywhere you please. You need not limit their application to monitors and screens alone. Consider as well the option of tracing the lines and curves of your desk, walls, or nearby shelving to add even more visual pop to your surroundings.

Smart bulbs and light bars

The quickest way to immerse your entire space in ambient smart lighting is to use the light fixtures already in place. Simply replace the regular bulbs in your existing fixtures with smart bulbs and you’ll have control over a wealth of possibilities. When the entire room is full of 16 million potential hues, you can set the mood however you please.

One obvious benefit is the ability to choose your lighting with consideration toward the mood of the game you are playing. Are you preparing to raze the gates of Hell in an epic Doom Eternal marathon? Consider bathing the room in deep crimson red! Taking to the skies of Microsoft Flight Simulator? A light blue may just set the proper mood.

If you want to add even more ambient light, or place a light in a strategic location, light bars are the perfect solution. You can set up light bars just about anywhere around your gaming space. Place them horizontally or vertically on shelves, position them on the floor, or even mount them to walls or screens to wash the room with even more appealing light.

A perfect strategic placement for light bars in a PC gaming setup is on either side of your PC monitor. This will flood your peripheral vision with mood-setting hues while you immerse yourself in the latest hot new releases.

Smart lighting panels for your walls

Another way to increase the overall synergy of your smart lighting is with wall installations. LED panels such as these Nanoleaf smart lights affix directly to your walls. Each panel connects in sequence to create an overall dazzling display.

The best part is that wall LED panels can be set up in any configuration or design you choose. This adds an extra element of personal creativity when planning out your PC gaming space. Not to mention that with the ability to continue adding new panels to the mix, your creation can be as broad and expressive as your imagination.

Sync up your vision

Many of the smart lights and devices above link to a hub device for easy control and synchronization. By utilizing companion apps or similar interfaces on your PC, you can program your smart lighting environment to to suit your current mood or overall style. And of course, the more smart lighting sources you have, the more complex and colourful settings and combinations you can create!

In addition to controlling your smart lights via smart phone, tablet, or PC, some devices are also compatible with voice control options. This is the perfect scenario if you wish to change your smart lights on the fly while your hands are otherwise occupied with a keyboard and mouse or gamepad.

You can also take things a step further with products such as the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box. This handy little device can connect directly to your PC gaming display via an open HDMI input. Once in operation, the sync box will create a custom light show, affecting the speed, intensity, and brightness all in relation to the action it detects on screen.

Step your game up with incredible smart lighting options for your PC space

PC gamers already know a thing or two about the desire for customization and control. That’s just another reason why smart entertainment lighting fits so well in the realm of PC gaming. Just like the components inside of a carefully-crafted build, smart lighting elements can contribute to the brilliant overall package of an amazing PC gaming experience.

Naturally, it doesn’t hurt that smart lighting really boosts the ambient aspect of a PC gaming rig either. True PC enthusiasts often have the urge to craft a personal PC build that they can boast about with pride. As such, it stands to reason that they would consider the visual appeal of not only their rig but their entire gaming space in equally reverent measure.