Modern case fans can do more than just cool gaming PCs. A DIYer connects nearly 200 ARGB fans into a screen to display classic games and internet memes.
A colorful LED lighting in gaming PCs today is more than just a simple color that continuously radiates from the PC case. For some time now, due to fans and other components with RGB technology, one can find elaborately staged color changes and light shows.
A DIYer has now taken this trend to the extreme. With the advancement of ARGB (addressable RGB), he has combined almost 200 fans to create a screen. On it, he shows impressive animated effects and color displays that have never been seen before.
1 month of work to be able to “play” Tetris and Doom on 192 fans
What kind of screen is this? The presented screen is made up of a total of 192 ARGB fans. Each individual fan has 20 LEDs. This totals 3,840 LEDs that can collectively form different color effects.
In a video, Reddit user DaKrazyKid showcases various animations displayed on the screen. Game scenes from Tetris and Doom can be seen. But fans of internet memes also get something to enjoy.
What technology is behind it? With ARGB, an advancement of RGB technology, each LED is individually controlled. This allows for many more color combinations than with standard RGB. In this way, even moving images can be displayed.
To combine multiple ARGB fans and coordinate their colors, additional software is needed for configuration. In this case, SignalRGB was used. The motherboard in the computer must also support ARGB technology.
How much effort was involved? DaKrazyKid mentions a full month of uninterrupted work. The required effort is divided into various tasks. The 192 ARGB fans were manually combined into 12 rows with 16 fans per row and connected to each other.
In addition, there is the programming effort to bring the total of 6 game and meme animations in the video to life. The respective sounds and songs were also synchronized with the color effects.
What does the community say about this project? In the comments under his post, there are many appreciative words. His statement that this screen construction has a power consumption of around 1000 watts, however, remains uncommented.
- JohnnyB_0438 comments via Reddit:
I am blown away.
- Rreizero writes, alluding to similar things done on illuminated keyboards:
Last year there were keyboards. This year fans. What will it be next year?
Criticism is only directed at the poor resolution of the screen. Some people have trouble recognizing the animations at first glance. The synchronized sound effects and songs make it at least a bit easier to recognize the content of the pixelated images.
- Juusthetip explains:
If you squint your eyes and then watch the video, it becomes clearer.
- And Zinc finds:
It also works if you need glasses, just take them off.
The outcome is literally impressive. Of course, not everyone has the support of a manufacturer to carry out such ambitious projects. However, even with smaller equipment, similar animations can be created. In this case, the entire RGB lighting of a computer is used as a canvas: Gamer invests a lot of time and patience in his RGB lighting, creating an animated image, thereby honoring a piece of video game history
