Saving money by skipping RGB?
Posted by Sir_Maxwell_Effort@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 78 comments
My PC is under my desk and I do not have any need for RGB at all. Yet most PC components boost RGB lights. Is possible to save considerable money skipping all of the RGB features?
PraxicalExperience@reddit
I managed to completely accidently build an almost RGB-free PC ... I just went for the cheaper of equivalent options.
Downtown_Number_2306@reddit
I think blacked out and whited out are becoming more minimalist builds so sometimes it tends to be more expensive. Especially the white outs. Now fans isn’t really the price range where it can chop off a decent amount. Really I think it’s just the motherboard. GPU’s could but that’s the high end expensive ones where most buyers don’t have a particulate price for it still it won’t be that much of a price difference. Now RGB features like a hub you can probably skip. Really won’t change too much on pricing plus the cable management can be more messier.
nerdious_maximus@reddit
Idk what everyone is saying about RGB being cheaper than non RGB. Perhaps finding a non RGB version of a very specific part might be extensive due to rarity, but here's experience:
Thermalright PA 120 is cheaper without RGB than the same model with rgb
Arctic liquid freezer III 360 is cheapest without RGB (only $90 for a top grade AIO, great deal if you really need the cooling. RGB version is around $120)
Non RGB ram from companies like silicon power and teamgroup are among the cheapest ram for their specs.
The non RGB versions of cases are either cheaper or the same price, and you don't need to pay for a hub if you don't want any RGB
These experiences are from me specifically looking for non RGB parts, which it sounds like is a different experience from many of the other prior responding here. That's not their fault but I wanted to give my experience as well
ioiplaytations2@reddit
RGB has become really cheap that the amount you would save is negligible. Some cases even come with it's own set of RGB fans... Unless you plan on doing like a full set of custom RGB setup using an led controller or something, RGB fans isn't that much cheaper.
seajay860@reddit
personally rgb is fucking ugly but no u wouldnt save money
MrMahName@reddit
RGB makes your PC run faster for an extra buck or two, it’s worth it imo.
bejito81@reddit
well it depends
I got non rgb corsair vengeance 6000 cl30 because it was cheaper than with rgb
but I got a rgb peerless assassin 120 se cooler because it was cheaper than the non rgb one
so if you want to save some bucks, just check everything
SwordsAndElectrons@reddit
If you don't care how it looks then your best strategy is to just not pay attention to whether it's RGB or not.
Sometimes the part with RGB will be the cheapest option. A few LEDs and maybe some light pipes don't really add much manufacturing cost, especially at scale, so it doesn't necessarily influence the price that much and in some cases the manufacturer may not even have a non-RGB counterpart.
AGFuzzyPancake@reddit
Since others have exhaustively explained the costs of RGB vs no RGB, I just want to note that if you insist on having no lights in your case but some of your components have RGB lights on by default, use an open-source utility called OpenRGB to manage and turn off all of them
Unless you buy all your components from one manufacturer, you will otherwise need multiple utilities to manage the lights, and some of them are extremely slow, bloated, not user friendly, require frequent updates and must run on startup (MSI CENTER!). OpenRGB will likely have to run on startup, but you can configure it to turn off your lights and close itself 100% in the background without any Windows appearing.
Informal-Value-9784@reddit
You can definitely save a buck or two.
Triedfindingname@reddit
The only time I've seen a real difference is rgb ram sticks of like 360mm fan setups vs non lit
Oh and GPUs I guess
nesnalica@reddit
or100
hiebertw07@reddit
Counterpoint: economics of scale make some RGB components cheaper than non RGB parts, particularly in the gamer/enthusiast sphere.
KazumaKat@reddit
confirming: all my 6 case fans are all silly RGB because non-RGB generics costed more than a literal 6pack of these holiday lights.
funktion@reddit
Non-RGB used to be the norm, then they started selling RGB fans at a markup. Then RGB fans became the norm at a higher price, and they started selling non-RGB fans at a markup. Capitalism at work.
TradeSekrat@reddit
yeah the only real cost savings from going non-RGB is buying bulk packs of non-RGB fans vs say higher end RGB fans. Even that doesn't apply if one gets Noctua fans.
pretty much everything else is barely any savings. 32 gigs of 6000 Gskill ram is $99 or same states on RBG is $112. I guess it all adds up but it's not like there is a $500 RGB version of a GPU and then the same card with no RGB for $390. RGB just isn't worth a big premium anymore.
Heavymaytal@reddit
Best exemple of this is the Arctic p12/p14 fans pack. 5 good fans for the price of a Corsair rgb fan or a high end Noctua.
AnxiousBiped@reddit
That 5 pack of P14 Max fans is the GOAT.
Kent_Knifen@reddit
In fairness, that's not a great comparison because Corsair is atrociously overpriced even compared to other RGB fans.
majoroutage@reddit
Thermalright's ARGB fan packs are even cheaper and haven't let me down yet either.
mostrengo@reddit
Or not. The point is OP has disregard RGB as a factor and see what is most appropriately priced for their needs.
Glad_Wing_758@reddit
Fans are probably the biggest saving point
NecDyteOFFICIAL@reddit
It's completely opposite if you are buying parts in Amazon I've wanted to get clean parts without RGB but it they were more expensive than RGB ones for some reason so yeah it's weird but non RGB parts are slightly more expensive than the RGB ones
Archernar@reddit
In my experience building a pc: Not much.
I tried to get everything without RGB, even tried getting a case without glass side, but without glass the same case would've been more expensive, so I went with glass panel instead.
The RAM without RGB was a tiny bit less expensive, but on RAM the RGB seems to be pretty pointless anyway except for RGB nerds. The fans without RGB cost like 2€ less or so. Everything else was RGB-less out of the box anyway.
So I saved perhaps 20€ in total or so.
CrustyBatchOfNature@reddit
Maybe, maybe not. Explicitly hunting for items that have no RGB at all may be more costly than accepting that some things will have it and some will not. Just go with the cheaper option of two equivalent items whether it has RGB or not to get the best value.
NickCharlesYT@reddit
There's not much money to be saved. Just buy the best performing/quality parts for their budget. If it's RGB, it's RGB, if it's not, it's not. Doesn't matter either way.
Several_Ad_3106@reddit
Absolutely i spent about 1200-1300 on my "budget" build and to be honest if I had gone 0 rgb I probably would have spent about 1k.
diegoplus@reddit
A little. But i'd give a priority to Quality/Price over if it has RGB or not.
skyfishgoo@reddit
i wouldn't go out of my way to avoid RGB, just don't seek it out or try to color match all your components....just buy what does the job for least money.
RGB is likely unavoidable at this point, and you may actually have to buy inferiro components just to avoid it... its not worth the effort.
you can always just disable your RGB lights in the firmware.
Tobias---Funke@reddit
It’s cost me more because the case I wanted already had rgb fans.
So I had to buy all new black!
RamaTheVoice@reddit
A bit, yeah. For cases that have non-RGB variants, those are usually a bit cheaper. RAM is a toss-up depending on current sales or deals. Other components, in my experience, don't really make any difference.
CanderousXOrdo@reddit
Isn't the demand for RGB higher due to its popularity that it'll cost OP more to get non-RGB? I mean it is everywhere now.
Acrylic_Starshine@reddit
I saved money by going for the RGB for my peerless assassin.
UsedToLurkHard@reddit
I don't think there is a real answer to that question. If you mean "are there non RGB versions of components that are cheaper and perform the same?" it won't necessarily be true. Sometimes the RGB version will go on sale or something and it will be cheaper to get it.
Like say there are 3 versions of a CPU cooler, black with RGB, white with RGB and grey with no RGB but the grey one is more expensive. In that case you want to RGB version purely for the price.
You have to look at your local prices and compare for yourself. I would simply ignore if something has RGB or not and buy the one which has an acceptable price for its features. You can usually turn if off anyways so it's not like you're locked in to having a strobe light in your room.
paulisaac@reddit
RGB parts can sometimes be worse than stock. Iirc there’s SSDs that overheat because of RGB lights on their heatsinks.
mostrengo@reddit
And sometimes they can be better. That's the whole point of the parent comment. RGB by itself tells you very little about the product's relative price or quality.
TentiTiger11@reddit
Oh wow never heard of rgb ssds lol. That’s a new one for me
paulisaac@reddit
Yeah there’s at least two DO NOT BUYs on the Sheet because of RGB adding heat
importflip@reddit
Instead of spending $30+ per RGB fan, you can spend $30+ per 30mm thick fans.
LonelyLokly@reddit
Depends on what you deem considerable. You can shave off 5-20$ across your entire system, is it considerable? It can be more depending on your entire system price range, if you go high end there might not even be options without RGB avaiable.
AMv8-1day@reddit
Sure. Just buy the cheapest variant of said GPU. It'll perform basically the same stock, although the fans will probably be louder, but there will be LESS RGB.
You can always turn it off or simply disconnect the wires on the card, motherboard, etc.
Rebresker@reddit
Half the shit I find without rgb is more expensive lol
captain_herbal_life@reddit
Another consideration is less clutter (RGB controller) and less wires (RGB running to said RGB controller).
Matasa89@reddit
Build with Fractal cases that are solid metal panel. You can get sound deadening materials to stick on the metal side panels, and that'll make the system more quiet.
That plus good fans makes the system whisper quiet.
acewing905@reddit
I skip RGB because I find it distracting. Cost-wise it doesn't really make a difference
In fact I got an RGB pair of Corsair Vengeance RAM because I got them for cheaper than non-RGB. But I verified beforehand that it can be disabled for good
heehooman@reddit
You buy what's most affordable that does the job you want...sometimes supply/demand dictates RGB is cheaper.
Slough_Monster@reddit
Not really. You will probably end up spending more money. I got a computer with no transparent walls. You can kind of see the gpu light up through the mesh in the front though.
althaz@reddit
Basically no.
You can save money by *ignoring* if something has RGB or what it looks like. But if you actively search out non-RGB stuff you won't be saving any significant cash vs actively seeking out RGB stuff. Some components will be cheaper, but some will be more expensive.
RGB just costs so little for manufacturers that it's not a meaningful part of the cost of building a PC.
If you want to save money, ignore looks. Seeking out any look will generally cost more. Whether that's plain black, all white, rainbow barf or whatever.
BaconFinder@reddit
Are you building a PC to physically look good or to perform? If you have RGB money in the budget, you could have upgraded something that actually makes the PC better performancewise. RGB is so fucking stupid when performance is sacrificed.
Delanchet@reddit
There's still plenty of parts that don't have RGB in them and cost significantly cheaper than their RGB counterpart. My PC is a non-RGB one and plenty of people post their non-RGB builds on Reddit too.
TorinDoesMusic2665@reddit
RGB is overrated as hell. Like yeah it's nice for lighting my room and looks nice on my kb/m, but to fill the PC with it is kinda ugly
XenoRyet@reddit
In my experience, it's kind of difficult to find non-RGB components for some parts, and blacked out ones are more expensive than their RGB counterparts.
The better bet is to just buy whatever is the cheapest component that fits your needs regardless of RGB, and just turn the lights off if you don't need 'em.
Ok_Awareness3860@reddit
This. You might not save money by skipping RGB these days. Or it might be more expensive, or it might not be possible at all. But all lights can be turned off so just buy what is cheapest and just turn the lights off.
Ok_Awareness3860@reddit
I think like 5 years ago you could save a bit by skipping RGB, and that's still true for some components, but today you really aren't going to find that much of a difference, and some products might not have a non-rgb version, or the non-rgb version might even cost more...
EmuAreExtiinct@reddit
You can turn all the rgb off.
If you want to save considerable money, I suggest fishing a dell or hp or lenovo office pc case from the dumpster for free and use that instead.
These cases have a solid side panel so you cant even see lights if you decide to use molex rgb
Big-Restaurant-623@reddit
Eh, I added an entire separately programmable ARGB circuit during my build for about $100 in added costs.
Crazy_Garden9541@reddit
More RGB = More money. If it were me I'd trade my RGB components for non RGB, because you can buy other parts that perform better.
lyrtya@reddit
Always slip rbshit
Long-Patient604@reddit
Components with RGB is fine, components for RGB is not fine.
ZakinKazamma@reddit
Honestly it's almost sad how you could build an entire PC with or without RGB and see comparable figures. Though I do feel the enthusiast would still find better parts while saving at least in the hundred area going RGB-less. I've never actually built a single computer in fifteen years that focused on it, never understood the appeal of lights in a potentially closed case or closed environment the tower may end up in.
Also, why distract when so many of us have higher end monitors that we actually want to look at?
MarkelleFultzIsGod@reddit
I’m a budget builder who doesn’t give a crap about ‘aesthetics’ or RGBs. Trust me - I looked. It’s like they HAVE to make coolers, fans, and cases with RGB
Ratix0@reddit
Of course. Rgb is useless. You never needed them in thr first place.
countdonn@reddit
You can save a bit. The motherboard was a bit cheaper then the same version with more RGB (tuf vs rog strix), the non RGB ram I got on sale is $40 cheaper then equivalent RGB kits. I put 8 fans in the case, and each one was a couple dollars cheaper each. The CPU cooler from thermalright was only $35. Not a massive amount of money but computers parts are expensive and I'd rather put that money towards better components.
DSPGerm@reddit
Honestly it depends. I have RGB ram inside a case with no window just because it was on sale cheaper than then non-RGB version(though normally like $10 more). If saving money is your goal just go with whatevers cheapest that works, RGB or not.
CoffeeCakeLoL@reddit
Yes, though if you selectively shop, having RGB potentially only add like $20 to your build. The big money sinks are overpriced fans, AIOs, etc. RGB RAM is typically only like $5-10 more and some budget fans are only like $5 each. Air coolers with RGB often cost the same as without.
Sleepykitti@reddit
IME it's more expensive to buy non RGB parts as they're marketed toward professionals who have money.
Natural-You4322@reddit
i get fans and coolers without rgb. the rest dont matter. feature first.
zarco92@reddit
You're saving very little because mostly every component nowadays comes with a led attached. Easy enough to turn them off tho.
MadaZitro@reddit
There are a lot of opportunities to include RGB in any build, the issue comes from where you want it to come from. You can get LED strips, cheap. RGB RAM, pricey. Couple of RGB fans, affordable. I would look at the overall extra cost to have RGB, and if its affordable, go for it. You are gonna build a PC for years, upon years of gaming and etc. Why not if you find the right math formula.
ayoblub@reddit
The only run that matters is your monitor. Better colors there actually improve the experience
Naerven@reddit
It all depends. If a PC case costs $90 for both the non-rgb and RGB versions you just pick what you want. The same for CPU coolers as often the RGB part and non-rgb part are the same price. Typically RGB ram costs a bit more, but if everything else lights up anyway it's easily skip able.
Eastern-Professor490@reddit
i used a save partpicker build without rgb and looked what it would cost to make an rgb build out of it. the difference was $32 incl. extra case fans. i used the lancool 216 and the rgb versions seem to be on sale rn so $30-50. it depends a lot on components though
Eastern-Professor490@reddit
just wanted to mention that $30 of that is rgb ram
ovO_Zzzzzzzzz@reddit
Can save about 30-60 usd. And don't put tempered glass on tiles, it will broken becasue tiles are harder than tempered glass and their surfaces are not actually flat. When glass is placed on them, the force on the glass is likely to be focused on one point, then boom! glass become glass fragment.
Maleficent-Bee-7023@reddit
You can save a bit of money, depends on the quality of parts you're going for.
The cost of RAM is mostly the design of the heatsink and RGB, you can save money getting some plainer looking ones (as long as it's still good spec).
Non-RGB fans tend to be cheaper than RGB counterparts but some low-cost fans might have very little price difference like ThermalRight fans. You also won't need to buy any RGB controllers.
GPUs and Motherboards might have built in RGB which don't tend to affect the price of them too much.
But most of all, you can save all the time and headaches that managing RGB cables takes.
I don't plan builds around RGB at all, but if there's an unused A/RGB header I might put a light strip or something in there
Zestyclose_Leading82@reddit
Something else to consider is the resale value, especially if your rig is towards the top of the current features and components. Used gaming pc's sell well over workstations simply because it looks pretty.
relytekal@reddit
No not really. Certainly if paying retail but I always shop deals.
Enigma_User@reddit
Yes