Lights and heat...

I pulled this from the footnotes in someone's link to a product, but I think it applies to just about all lighting products...

"Notes: (1) Do not mount power neon cable on the surfaces that're subject to extreme heat. "

Hence they are adding to the ambient temps. It may not apply to all types of lighting, but still. i a world where we're trying get rid of heat, seems odd to me that we'd want to add more of it just for looks. Don't get me wrong, I think the lights look awesomely cool. But, I don't think I'll be adding them to my case.

Yup, thats what I've been saying . . . .

Maybe find an inconspicuous spot to hide an on/off switch for the light. Then you could turn it on when you're showing off the computer and have it turned off when you're just using it by yourself.

Crazy Jayhawk said:

Maybe find an inconspicuous spot to hide an on/off switch for the light. Then you could turn it on when you're showing off the computer and have it turned off when you're just using it by yourself.

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Or run it one a temperature controlled cycle using a thermostat, so it shuts off when the case temps rise to 10 degrees above ambient. Of course then you have to know how to build a thermostat . . . .

dimmreaper said:

Or run it one a temperature controlled cycle using a thermostat, so it shuts off when the case temps rise to 10 degrees above ambient. Of course then you have to know how to build a thermostat . . . .

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And then at the Lan party, someone might say "Hey dimmreaper, why does your light keep turning on and off?"

Crazy Jayhawk said:

And then at the Lan party, someone might say "Hey dimmreaper, why does your light keep turning on and off?"

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If it cycled on and off rapidly, It would draw extra attention to a well modded case wouldn't it? Anyway, I'm not the "lights and windows" kinda modder. I mod to make temps go down, and CPU speed to go up.

i don't know what you guys are talking about, i have 2 mounted in my full tower case with extensive window mods, they are 8 inch green lights, they look awesome, when i put em in i noticed maybe a +3-5C increase, i fixed that with some 60mm's pointed at the lights

Like I said 'I don't think I'll be adding them to my case". I did paint my friends bass guitar with "glow in the dark" paint for him. Looked really cool on stage. I was thinking of painting the inside of my case with the stuff, but I can't seem to find it anymore. Got it a Canadian tire originally, but they don't seem to carry it anymore.

why don't people use nice LEDs? they are cool looking fit in easy/anywhere adn use less power. You could put ten green ones in a row adn it would be really nice. the blue ones will cost you but ten blue one still about the same as one neon light(30bucks).

CrystalMethod said:

I pulled this from the footnotes in someone's link to a product, but I think it applies to just about all lighting products...

"Notes: (1) Do not mount power neon cable on the surfaces that're subject to extreme heat. "

Hence they are adding to the ambient temps. It may not apply to all types of lighting, but still. i a world where we're trying get rid of heat, seems odd to me that we'd want to add more of it just for looks. Don't get me wrong, I think the lights look awesomely cool. But, I don't think I'll be adding them to my case.

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Now that you have thoroughly scared everyone out of owning neons for their computer, let me correct you.

Read the statement again, and read it carefully. It isn't saying that neon add heat to your computer. It is saying not to mount neon lights in area that have extreme heat. Basically it's telling you don't mount a neon light in your BBQ grill or in your engine bay. Take the temp of a neon light up to extreme levels and it will burst violently.

I run a neon in my computer 24/7. It adds no heat. And a computer is hardly an "extreme heat" area......

Insert profanity here...
Thank you for reminding me to READ what things say. I was wrong, and it's the neon lines that are subject to extreme heat, not the other way around. But, I was thinking along the lines that this is a car product, and not really meant for computer systems. Any of the neons that I've installed (on cars) generate a bit of heat, not enought to burn you, but enough that you can feel it when the light is on for any length of time in a confined space. Yes, I did make mistake in quoting the product's footnotes, but my intentions are the same. Car products, don't nescessarily work for all applications. In this case computer decoration, or whatever you want to call it. I just want to make sure people don't run out and buy the cheapest lighting solution they can find. They all run at 12V, and some will work, just not all of them. In this case, I was wrong and I apologize for my error. Just be careful what you buy to stick in your system.

in refrence to that glow in the dark paint, i found it at one of the local canadian tires in my area, check again they might be able to order it in

To be honest, neons aren't even supposed to go on cars. They are made for industrial signs and advertisement.

They just happened to find their way to cars, and are finding their way to computers just the same. They don't belong in either place. But technology is changing enough to make it safe for mounting in either place.

Although I haven't heard of one bad thing from neons in computers, I have had stories of bed things in cars. Like the frequency of the power inverter screwing up a Corvette's computer that controls the brakes and ignition related issues.

But I have been using mine for over 6 months and it hasn't hurt a thing. Draws about the same amount of power as a hard drive, and generates little heat. I am getting case temps in an air conditioned room of around 70-80 degrees depending on the setting of the AC. (Wife doesn't like it cold, and turns it up, I'll fix that later.)