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Is there a gaming PC hardware aesthetic besides RGB lighting?

signal

signal

Member
Oct 28, 2017
40,279
I know the obvious answer to this is "hardware without RGB lightning" but I mean besides that. I'm not sure why lightning everything is such a dominant trend (as in not sure if it's a manufacturer-pushed thing or if the market actually overwhelming likes it) but is there some type of common look / theme / aesthetic / design trend for PC hardware besides "stuff with RGB lightning" and "similar looking components but without the RGB lighting"?

This isn't a criticism by the way, just curious. I'm not that into PC hardware so wondering if there is some other common hardware design trend that I don't see, since most of what I do see is fairly similar.
 
M.Bluth

M.Bluth

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,321
I'd say lots of sharp angles, black PCBs, and something like GAMING or EXTREME written all over along with a cheesy graphic of a dragon or some sort of aggressive creature.

It's all really fucking tacky.
 
vestan

vestan

#REFANTAZIO SWEEP
Member
Dec 28, 2017
24,757
This is becoming the hot new thing, bit too much for me though.

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whiskas_fanatic

whiskas_fanatic

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,248
When I think about aestetic of PC hardware I imagine something clean and minimalistic, and there is a lot of manufacturers doing hardware this way. Fractal Design cases, premium mechanical keyboards, Noktua fans etc. etc. When I was into PC hardware, I had no single rgb light (or a case window at all tbh). There is definitely market and design trends for such users, but it's not so big as RAZOR RGB GAMING EXTREME RGP part.
 
OP
OP
signal

signal

Member
Oct 28, 2017
40,279
M.Bluth said:
I'd say lots of sharp angles, black PCBs, and something like GAMING or EXTREME written all over along with a cheesy graphic of a dragon or some sort of aggressive creature.
It's all really fucking tacky.
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I think I worded the OP poorly but I mean besides the really stereotypical stuff like that lol. Although aside from the lightning, a lot of stuff seems more subtle nowadays.

vestan said:
This is becoming the hot new thing, bit too much for me though.

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aHR0cDovL21lZGlhLmJlc3RvZm1pY3JvLmNvbS9aLzUvMjY5NTM3L29yaWdpbmFsLzExLjE3LjEwLXdhbGwtcGMuSlBH


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Good airflow at least!

whiskas_fanatic said:
When I think about aestetic of PC hardware I imagine something clean and minimalistic, and there is a lot of manufacturers doing hardware this way. Fractal Design cases, premium mechanical keyboards, Noktua fans etc. etc. When I was into PC hardware, I had no single rgb light (or a case window at all tbh). There is definitely market and design trends for such users, but it's not so big as RAZOR RGB GAMING EXTREME RGP part.
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Yeah as far as more minimal stuff goes, cases seem to be the most diverse. Perhaps they just want to be unobtrusive so people can RGBify it the way they like!
 
TeenageFBI

TeenageFBI

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,324
This RGB nonsense just confuses me. I'm very happy with a silent, opaque Fractal case.
 
Vulcano's Assistant

Vulcano's Assistant

Member
Oct 29, 2017
13,608
The Color Black

The most obvious one is that Black PCBs are seen as cooler and better looking than green, red, or blue PCBs.

The fact that people has been crying for Noctua to make Black fans for years

That computer cases are made of steel or aluminium, but gaming cases are all at least black no matter how cheap to the point that white is a premium just as naked aluminum is a premium.

Manufactures leave Green PCBs and silver cases in the enterprise space and make sure their gaming products are black.
 
Mozendo

Mozendo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,238
Pacific North West
M.Bluth said:
I'd say lots of sharp angles, black PCBs, and something like GAMING or EXTREME written all over along with a cheesy graphic of a dragon or some sort of aggressive creature.
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Pretty much. Even Asus adopted an owl and Gigabyte has an eagle.


vestan said:
This is becoming the hot new thing, bit too much for me though.
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I wouldn't say so, wall mounted PCs have been around for a while before the RGB craze, they were cool at first but never really took off.
 

Deleted member 43872

Account closed at user request
Banned
May 24, 2018
817
I'm still waiting for beige to come back TBH. Absolute travesty that 90s nostalgia happened and I don't have a beige brick on my desk. I'd also accept fake wood.
 
Rickenslacker

Rickenslacker

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,415
I was in the market for new PC parts recently and boy have things become an aesthetic catastrophe. I've done my best to avoid superfluous LED lighting ever since learning my lesson with my 2004 PC and its constant illumination of my room. I buckled a bit with my current setup in that I went with some LED fitted RAM (why?) because it had the most reviews and information to look over. Turned out to actually come in handy when my system wouldn't post with the only visible culprit inside my case being the RAM not lighting up. Ended up being the RAM wasn't properly seated, oops.

Anyways, my case helps with my distaste for the weird gamer marketed rave aesthetics. This sleek black obelisk keeps it all contained and out of sight.

lVpd6KZ.png
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I miss the PC era of yore where the market wasn't so divided into niches. You didn't have your GaMuR gear and your business stuff cordoned off from one another, PCs just looked like PCs and it was nice. Even your top end Alienware of that time was just a regular lookin' PC but in black.
 
Vulcano's Assistant

Vulcano's Assistant

Member
Oct 29, 2017
13,608
Both Tempered Glass and RGB light go hand in hand, and are the strongest trends right now, if CES and Computex for the last two years suggest anything.

The other big trend in computer cases today are side intakes. Mesh fronts are not getting much love anymore, and have been replaced in the mainstream by the flat minimalist front, so now air has to come into the case from smaller apertures at the sides of the front panel.

NZXT was one of the big players responsible for that trend:
EujDMja.png
 
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vestan

vestan

#REFANTAZIO SWEEP
Member
Dec 28, 2017
24,757
Mozendo said:
Pretty much. Even Asus adopted an owl and Gigabyte has an eagle.



I wouldn't say so, wall mounted PCs have been around for a while before the RGB craze, they were cool at first but never really took off.
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It's been around but I'm starting to see it pick up traction with more enthusiast builders going the wall mounted approach
 
OP
OP
signal

signal

Member
Oct 28, 2017
40,279
GibdoInferno said:
I'm still waiting for beige to come back TBH. Absolute travesty that 90s nostalgia happened and I don't have a beige brick on my desk. I'd also accept fake wood.
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lol that'd be interesting. Is there a single modern ironic retro beige case?

Aztechnology said:
The gaming PC aesthetic can be almost anything, that's part of the beauty.
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I'm sure it can be but that's why I'm asking, since the majority of what I end up seeing is pretty similar.
 
Vulcano's Assistant

Vulcano's Assistant

Member
Oct 29, 2017
13,608
Aztechnology said:
The gaming PC aesthetic can be almost anything, that's part of the beauty.
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it has its limitations, one may be forced within certain ranges as a consumer because manufacturers run a risk if they find themselves straying too far from where the money lies. Like CaseLabs, giant computer cases are a really niche product and is a real shame that they are gone. Thermaltake offers options, but it is not the same aesthetics.
 
Orayn

Orayn

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,058
I have a Fractal Define R5 and it's just a big nondescript black box, works for me.
 
Mechaplum

Mechaplum

Enlightened
Member
Oct 26, 2017
18,930
JP
My friend has his rig wired up with so many RGB flickering lights with tempered glass that his room looks like a rave party. I cannot understand this at all. If possible I want my machine out of sight entirely but retain good airflow and ease of access.
 
Zelda

Zelda

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,079
Rickenslacker said:
I was in the market for new PC parts recently and boy have things become an aesthetic catastrophe. I've done my best to avoid superfluous LED lighting ever since learning my lesson with my 2004 PC and its constant illumination of my room. I buckled a bit with my current setup in that I went with some LED fitted RAM (why?) because it had the most reviews and information to look over. Turned out to actually come in handy when my system wouldn't post with the only visible culprit inside my case being the RAM not lighting up. Ended up being the RAM wasn't properly seated, oops.

Anyways, my case helps with my distaste for the weird gamer marketed rave aesthetics. This sleek black obelisk keeps it all contained and out of sight.



I miss the PC era of yore where the market wasn't so divided into niches. You didn't have your GaMuR gear and your business stuff cordoned off from one another, PCs just looked like PCs and it was nice. Even your top end Alienware of that time was just a regular lookin' PC but in black.
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Hey that's my case! Nice taste :)
 
Vulcano's Assistant

Vulcano's Assistant

Member
Oct 29, 2017
13,608
If I had to come up with a summary of what the end-game computer people seem to wish for, I would probably say that it is one of five.

1) The pristine custom loop that shows its components from as many angles as possible.

2) The entirely minimalist small form factor that wastes no space.

3) The exaggeratedly rugged workstation.

4) The computer that isn't there, blends with the room.

5) The completely custom case, may even be made of wood, or look like a plane, the point is that it is one of a kind.
 
XR.

XR.

Member
Nov 22, 2018
6,628
signal said:
I know the obvious answer to this is "hardware without RGB lightning" but I mean besides that. I'm not sure why lightning everything is such a dominant trend (as in not sure if it's a manufacturer-pushed thing or if the market actually overwhelming likes it) but is there some type of common look / theme / aesthetic / design trend for PC hardware besides "stuff with RGB lightning" and "similar looking components but without the RGB lighting"?

This isn't a criticism by the way, just curious. I'm not that into PC hardware so wondering if there is some other common hardware design trend that I don't see, since most of what I do see is fairly similar.
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People love customization so the market for RGB LEDs is definitely thriving.

Although, LED isn't really an aesthetic in and of itself. It can be part of one but the idea is to create your own aesthetic with them.

If we're talking trends in aesthetics it's hard to ignore things like tempered glass, aluminum and open design.

81sebBQSUiL._AC_SL1500_.jpg
 
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Xiaomi

Xiaomi

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,237
I'm about to build a new ITX machine in the white version of this guy:

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It does have RGB on the bottom but I plan to set it to a soft white or off. Clean aesthetics are my goal on this thing, but it's so small that I'm fine as long as it doesn't look like a rainbow UFO by the time I finish.
 
the7egend

the7egend

Member
Mar 6, 2018
356
Lighting has been around for a while in computers, before RGB it was solid colored leds, before solid colored LEDs it was cathodes and UV.

Good thing about RGB is you can use any color, change it based on holidays, moods, games, etc. but you can also turn it completely off.
 
Man God

Man God

Member
Oct 25, 2017
38,375
While I'm not a hipster on console designs as most modern ones blow away the ones from the last four decades I can't say the same about PC cases, which clearly peaked around 1988. Beige boxes rule. I'm serious. Even the non beige boxes had cool future looks but with function first.
 
degauss

degauss

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
4,631
Huge heavy sheet metal boxes hidden under the desk, filled with dust and dead insects.

Tiny disappointing small form factor cases that cause no end of thermal / noise problems, with a bit sawed off the inside to fit your rather large graphics into.
 

Sandersson

Banned
Feb 5, 2018
2,535
TeenageFBI said:
This RGB nonsense just confuses me. I'm very happy with a silent, opaque Fractal case.
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There are definately some issues. Like I need to have NZXT's cam, Galaxy's OC software and that shitty g.skill ram software and none of them are compatible between each other and infact, they actively warn you not to install other rgb software.

Its pretty much a huge shitshow in my opinion. Even though they I havent had much problems (apart from the g.skill software), it is annoying af when one of these programs require an update.
 
PopsMaellard

PopsMaellard

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
3,367
vestan said:
This is becoming the hot new thing, bit too much for me though.

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Imagine inviting someone over to your place for like, a dinner party, and you have one of these fucking monstrosities on the wall.

The steampunk/industrial one that unironically contrasts modern PC parts drive with bits of copper rubbish picked from a Home Depot clearance aisle is particularly offensive.

Also, why does everything need to glow? Before I get jumped on I'm fully aware that you can easily adjust intensity, color and even shut it off entirely, but goddamn is having a glowing rig in the corner of the room a horrific eyesore in any context, no matter how "tasteful" you might claim your own setup to be. I can only hope that in 5 years the enthusiast PC crowd and manufacturers will finally shift over to the organic tech aesthetic the rest of the world has rightfully moved towards over the last two years.

Nintendo said:
Because they can look great when done right.
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Genuinely, do you have an example of this? I've never seen good RGB lighting in a PC setup. Ever.
 
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Atolm

Atolm

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,846
Are there PC cases finished in wood or with something that at least looks like it?
 
OmegaDL50

OmegaDL50

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,746
Philadelphia, PA
Vulcano's Assistant said:
it has its limitations, one may be forced within certain ranges as a consumer because manufacturers run a risk if they find themselves straying too far from where the money lies. Like CaseLabs, giant computer cases are a really niche product and is a real shame that they are gone. Thermaltake offers options, but it is not the same aesthetics.
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I am looking for some kind of breakthrough with thermal conductivity. Space is a premium, so rather than focus on style, I want super efficiency.

Right now I have Rosewill Black computer case which claims to be a mid-tower but might as be semi-full. The thing takes up a lot of space. It also doesn't move either the thing weighs nearly 60 lbs with all of the hardware inside of it. Of course case being made of steel probably has something to do with that.

rosewill_blackhawk_3.jpg


At the time I bought it, I had a fondness for blue LEDs but I got over the case lighting fad and prefer minimalistic setups now.

My next build I want to do something smaller but not without the sacrifice of performance. Which becomes the crux of the issue of dealing with smaller cases which have more compact volume for heat not dissipating as much and less airflow.

RGB rainbow lighting looks neat, but knowing me, it would be eventually something that just loses its appeal over time because a circus light show is only attractive to a certain degree, until it becomes garish and you want it just go away.
 
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