When setting up lighting for your PC, there are mainly two choices: ARGB (Addressable RGB) and RGB (Red, Green, Blue). Both methods can make your PC look like a disco or a Christmas tree. At first glance, you might not be able to tell them apart, but you should be aware of some subtle differences between them.
Both can achieve lighting effects, but one provides more control options. Adding lighting effects to your PC has become very popular, and many components now come with built-in lighting. This includes cases, fans, coolers, graphics cards, motherboards, memory, and even some SSDs with RGB lighting.
01
What is RGB?
Red, Green, Blue (RGB) are the primary colors used in LEDs and can be combined to create almost any other color, typically offering up to 16 million color combinations. The desired effect is achieved by adjusting the percentage of each color. Using 100% of each color emits white light, while turning them all to 0% results in black. Different color combinations can be produced through various percentage adjustments, allowing you to achieve the color you want.
The main drawback of RGB is that it does not offer much control. In most cases, users can only choose pre-programmed lighting effects by the manufacturer. This can usually be different effects of a single color, such as static, breathing, or even flashing. Users can also set multi-color rotations within these effects, but that’s about it.
02
What is ARGB?
This type of lighting is similar to RGB but with more functionality. The “A” stands for addressable, which allows you to have more control over the lighting effects. While you can still choose preset effects, you can now also control each LED individually, providing more options and combinations.
With ARGB, the effects are almost limitless. You can make each LED flash a different color, have them dance to music under various colors, and more. Additionally, you can sync different ARGB lighting products to match colors and create unique effects. If you wish, you can synchronize a single LED to change colors from the keyboard to the fan, to the CPU cooler, and back to the keyboard. Of course, you need to set up the order of the products to achieve this effect, but once you are familiar with it, everything becomes easy to implement.
03
Connectors and Voltage
While the connectors look very similar, there is a major difference between them. RGB uses a 4-pin plug, while ARGB uses the same type of connector but with one pin blocked, so it’s a 3-pin connector instead of 4-pin. These connectors also require different plugs on the motherboard or control hub and use different voltages.
RGB 4-pin plugs/connectors use 12V to power the LEDs. In this way, all the LEDs are on the same circuit, so as mentioned earlier, you cannot control each LED individually. Instead, each LED must use the same color and effect as all the other LEDs connected to that connector. The four pins are for power, green, red, and blue. The first pin powers the LEDs, and the rest control the LED color settings.
ARGB connectors are somewhat different, using a 5V 3-pin plug. The three pins are for power, data, and ground. This allows each LED to be controlled independently. This way, not only can you change the color of each LED, but you can also control brightness, lighting effects, and more.
04
RGB Control Software
There are several different ways to connect and control your LEDs. In most cases, you can connect them to the 5V or 12V plugs on the motherboard, or use a hub to connect all the LEDs. If connected to the motherboard, you can use software to control the LEDs. If you connect them to a hub that isn’t connected to the motherboard, there’s usually a button to change the different lighting effects.
In terms of software, there are many choices. Most motherboard manufacturers have their own RGB software, as do peripheral manufacturers. Typically, different types of software don’t work well together, so you may need to choose one to use. Not all manufacturers’ software can control other manufacturers’ RGB LEDs. There are also third-party solutions like SignalRGB, designed to allow users to control all RGB lighting with one software.
05
Which is better, RGB or ARGB?
Overall, standard RGB is usually the cheaper of the two. However, as mentioned earlier, ARGB offers you more control over lighting. So, from this point of view, ARGB is better in terms of equivalent richness and customization.
RGB lighting, whether standard RGB or ARGB, does not affect your system’s overall performance. Though some joke that it can provide more FPS for your gaming PC, RGB lighting does add to the overall aesthetics of your case setup.
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