this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2025
91 points (100.0% liked)

Asklemmy

49218 readers
890 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy πŸ”

If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!

  1. Open-ended question
  2. Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
  3. Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
  4. Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
  5. An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de~

founded 6 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Sometimes I wonder what the thought process behind the gaming aesthetic was. RGB (*if tunable) itself is fine and adds a nice opportunity for personalization, but are those tacky fonts, crystal-facet enclosures, and overall showiness just tasteless or do any gamers actually prefer that look?

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Alloi@lemmy.world 4 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

im for whatever is cheap and effective, only performance to cost ratio matters to me.

[–] JuxtaposedJaguar@lemmy.ml 2 points 44 minutes ago

I buy whatever’s cheapest (and has the specs I want), but unfortunately that’s almost always the β€œEP1C K1LLERZ XTREAM PRO ULTRA X” brand... Somehow adding LEDs makes it cheaper.

I just want a plain cardboard box with the specs and SKU printed on the side like I have at work.

[–] Mangoholic@lemmy.ml 7 points 2 hours ago

I was looking for something with a nicge natural wood finish. LED is dine but no blinking fading, just a solid line without any distraction.

[–] Dyskolos@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 hour ago

I couldn't care less about the looks. I wanna game not attract gaming-mates 😁

[–] Ougie@lemmy.world 11 points 3 hours ago

I think the industry still thinks their target audience is 12 year olds. It's evident also in the aesthetic of the games they make. That being said I am seeing a slow change for the better. If only I could say the same about the prices...

[–] callouscomic@lemmy.zip 9 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

The eye grabbing lights and glass covers are fucking idiotic. My best builds are black towers, great airflow, minimal lights, and barely any noise. I'm focused on the game, not the machine.

The thing needs to be forgotten. It's not the center of attention. The monitor is.

[–] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 1 points 53 minutes ago

CEO of Monitors Inc: Got it, put eye grabbing RGB all over the monitors!

[–] olafurp@lemmy.world 2 points 2 hours ago

I like my stuff hidden anyway so I don't care all to much. I disable leds usually because they are distracting but keep one solid led to indicate whether the system is on or not.

[–] nutsack@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 4 hours ago

back in my day those were case mods. i disable that shit immediately

[–] Flickerby@lemmy.zip 7 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

I have a keyboard that lights up because I like to type in the dark and my dexterity isn't what it used to be but that's about it. I would've preferred a solid color but RGB was all I found. Not a bad for $20, it's a solid steel frame

Oh, right. No the "gamer ascetic" is garish as fuck. I just want something that works.

[–] SaneMartigan@aussie.zone 2 points 4 hours ago

I got a plain black case without a window. I used to have Razer KB+Mouse but after a deathadder and viper died I'm trying a logitech mouse, the matched RGB was nice at first but I lost interest in it.

[–] SilliusMaximus@mander.xyz 4 points 6 hours ago

I like minimalist setup, I avoid RGB.

[–] apotheotic@beehaw.org 2 points 5 hours ago

Why is almost everyone in this thread just talking about rgb? The OP directly says that this isn't about rgb

I hate the gamer aesthetic, and I won't buy a product that adheres to it (unless its an internal component for my PC because i have an opaque case anyway). Rgb lighting can be nice in moderation, as long as it is truly customisable.

[–] Rhodamine@lemmy.nz 20 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

I absolutely love the tacky gamer look. I think that most flagship tech these days has a terrible lack of whimsy which makes me a bit sad. Look at back at the old imacs compared to the laptops that apple offers today. Look at the phones of the early 2000s compared to what's currently on offer. It's all straight lines and greyscale now. I do understand that that's a classier look, but I wish there was more out there for people like me who want something that looks a bit more colourful and fun whilst still having good specs.

In my opinion, the gamer aesthetic usually doesn't go hard enough. When my PC is turned off, it's just a black rectangle. But it's the best I can get without breaking the bank or doing something super custom.

[–] muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works 3 points 6 hours ago

To be fair, those pretty old designs produced a lot of plastic waste. The aluminum ones are much better for the environment. Still, I do miss the interesting designs, shapes, textures and colors.

[–] iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 51 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago) (5 children)

Guilty as charged.

Edited to add, this is actually a slightly old picture. I have a white GPU now.

Needs a few of these little guys!

[–] felsiq@lemmy.zip 13 points 11 hours ago (1 children)
[–] iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 7 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago) (1 children)
[–] felsiq@lemmy.zip 5 points 10 hours ago

Did I just voluntarily watch an ad? Worse, did I just kinda enjoy an ad??? You have me spiralling here lmao

[–] 200ok@lemmy.world 14 points 12 hours ago

She's a beaut!

[–] 2xsaiko@discuss.tchncs.de 10 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) (1 children)

Mirror’s Edge Catalyst-ass computer (agree, it looks great!)

[–] tomcatt360@lemmy.zip 3 points 10 hours ago

Heck yes! The Gridnode PC!

[–] synapse3252@sh.itjust.works 3 points 11 hours ago

Ok that's pretty cool!

[–] joelfromaus@aussie.zone 2 points 6 hours ago

Yes, though not to the extreme.

[–] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 31 points 12 hours ago

I would prefer basic, subtle, black. I don't want rainbows and lights. I'm very function over form.

I'd also rather play a game on medium settings where it runs flawlessly and doesn't make the fans go hard, than at high settings with worse performance.

[–] N00b22@lemmy.ml 3 points 7 hours ago

Gamer here, I do like my setup RGB matching the same color (Red)

But only because something has RGB does not mean I'll buy it. RGB β‰  Quality

[–] Fiivemacs@lemmy.ca 43 points 14 hours ago

No, RGB is annoying and gets disabled if I have no other choice. It's cheap and tacky looking. Basically anything marketed as 'gaming' in my eyes is sub tier garbage.

My overall view on all products, not just gaming stuff if the more buzzwords and slogans and whatnot a company uses, the less I give a crap about them and will actually actively avoid it. Just means they spend more on nonsensical crap then the actual product.

In short; More marketing budget = less quality product

[–] Signtist@bookwyr.me 8 points 10 hours ago

When I built my first computer I got a bunch of RGB and loved it, but by the time it was a few months old, I got bored of it and started to view changing the colors and whatnot as a chore more than anything, so when I built my second computer, I went without.

[–] Botzo@lemmy.world 11 points 11 hours ago

I started off with fan grills and led fans and cold cathode lighting way back when.

Now, my gaming PC, which is about due for its 5 yr update again, is in an old antec sonata case from 2008ish. I'll probably splurge on a new one next round, but if it's fancy, it will be one of those unassuming fractal cases with wood.

No lights if I can help it.

[–] terminhell@lemmy.dbzer0.com 30 points 14 hours ago (5 children)

Generally I'm not a fan. Personally I like cold, unassuming industrial stuff.

Something like

OR

[–] malfisya@piefed.social 14 points 11 hours ago

That yellow case looks rad!

[–] forgetful_fox@lemmy.world 3 points 11 hours ago

This plus a little wood accent, so good.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] Chronographs@lemmy.zip 14 points 13 hours ago

Generally yes, though I do want it to be functional foremost. My computer is essentially a toy to me. When I press a button on my keyboard and it shoots a wave across my peripherals that is cool to me, or when the lighting is synchronized with what’s happening in game, very neat. People take themselves way too seriously.

[–] nieminen@lemmy.world 5 points 10 hours ago

I think it looks kinda cool, but it's also what everything else is. So the cool factor is a tad diminished.

I'll grab whichever option is cheapest for the specs I need to hit.

[–] Fondots@lemmy.world 4 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)

I think there's a fine line to be walked

Personally the only lights on my PC itself are the Ethernet ports on the back, and one little blue power indicator on the front

And since I built it in an HTPC case and stuffed it into my entertainment center, you kind of need to be looking at it from just the right angle to even see those. The case itself is a pretty unassuming black rectangle that looks pretty much like any other piece of AV equipment you might expect to see under a TV. About the size of a normal AV receiver, with a disc drive, a power and reset button, 2 USB ports, and a headphone and microphone jack.

My keyboard is a Keychron Q6 max with side-printed shine-through key caps, and my mouse is a Gameball Thumb (I like trackballs, and it's nice since I'm gaming on the couch so not much convenient flat space to move a mouse around) which has single ring of LEDs around the trackball and a small indicator LED to show the DPI settings on the mouse. Both of those turn off when they're idle, and when they're in use I have them set to a pretty simple spinning color mode.

My setup is in a finished basement and the lights are usually down so it's nice having them light up for the ease of seeing what I'm doing, and the simple color animations aren't too distracting.

Where my lighting excess does come in though is with the Philips hue lights I have synced up to my TV the overhead lights, a light strip behind my tv, and a light tube underneath it. Between that and the surround sound I think it's really immersive for movies and gaming. I think I've hit a good balance of it having some wow factor without being too distracting but opinions will of course vary on that.

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 7 points 11 hours ago

I'm pretty sure the trend didn't come from nowhere, although like every other fashion most adherents wouldn't have necessarily chosen it in a vacuum.

Whether that makes the preference less valid is an interesting question of it's own.

Personally I prefer for my computer to be an unasuming silent black box that sits under my desk. I go out of my way to remove any lights that I can. RGB for computers seems like lowering for cars. Some people like how it looks but at the extremes it gets really impractical.

[–] cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 5 points 11 hours ago

Well once you add LEDs it increases the FPS 30% so yeah.

[–] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 11 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago)

I kinda like RGB but not in the pulsating rainbow way how it seems to always be on marketing materials.

I like keeping it to one colour, with the intensity at half. It is nice to change it a few times a year for a fresh look.

The fonts and other stuff, I don't care that much as long as the components are good quality. Maybe subconsciously I would consider design if I had to choose between options that performed and cost relatively equally.

[–] JovialSodium@lemmy.sdf.org 12 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

I am but a single humble meatbag that enjoys games and can't speak for all gamers, but I generally dislike the typical "gaming rig" aesthetic. I don't want RGB lights. I don't like ostentatious looking cases or accessories. I do find it tasteless, to reuse your term.

No sleight on those that do though. If that's your style, then enjoy it!

[–] candyman337@lemmy.world 6 points 13 hours ago

Some tasteful rgb isn't bad but it has to be executed really well

[–] Aatube@kbin.melroy.org 7 points 13 hours ago

i do

end of story :)

fun fact: the chinese nicknamed RGB lighting as "light pollution"

[–] communism@lemmy.ml 4 points 11 hours ago

I don't like the aesthetic but a lot of my stuff is "gaming" branded for functionality reasons (eg high refresh rate monitor; mice with extra buttons; the mech kb I wanted happened to be gaming branded but I would've bought a keyboard with same specs and price that was not gaming branded). The gaming aesthetic is a bit weird when you think about it.

[–] JayGray91@piefed.social 5 points 12 hours ago

As long as the RGB is tuneable into any other color (combination) I'm okay with it. I also like white gaming peripherals more lately. I don't consciously seek gaming esthetics, but if that's the better value I pick it.

oh and someone else mentioned it's childish. good. I miss being childish. there's very little thing I have to do while AdUlTiNg that let's me being childish. so gaming will be childish for me.

[–] Olhonestjim@lemmy.world 3 points 11 hours ago

I'm just running a stock Framework 13 currently. I do have several older desktops that I plan to get running again at some point. I might consider a new build, but it seems like a waste these days. No RGB for me. The only light I don't mind seeing at night is a dim red. Everything else is obnoxious.

I'll admit to liking the look of some gaming PCs, with a custom loop with clear tubing, colored coolant, coordinated lights; it hits the same way a well done build in Satisfactory does.

I'm not really interested in gaming peripherals like a big chunky mouse with a bunch of angled plates on it trying to look like Gigatron's jock strap. Some RGB can be kind of cool, I kinda wish I could do more useful stuff with it, like I always throught it would be cool to have RGB lighting that varied from blue to red with component temperature or something. I'm not the biggest fan of just unicorn vomit for the sake of unicorn vomit.

[–] warm@kbin.earth 5 points 13 hours ago

Fuck no. It's all disgusting.

I just want rainbow transparent tech back. Let me feel like I am still in the early 2000s.

[–] Dudewitbow@lemmy.zip 4 points 12 hours ago

im not against leds, but I hate rainbow barf mode. paert of the things I enjoy is uniqueness of builds, via small or big customizations, and adressable rgb helps, but too many people keep it at default which causes too many fucking builds to look the same.

load more comments
view more: next β€Ί