ARGB vs. RGB in 2021, What is the Difference and Which One You Should Choose?

RGB lights have been the go-to accessories for PC gaming enthusiasts.

You can find RGB lights on RAM, motherboard, mouse, keyboard, and most PC peripherals.

They said RGB gives more soul to your PC.

With RGB lightings, you can now turn your PC into an art form.

A bare PC is the canvas, while the RGB light is the paints.

How you will create your masterpiece of art is up to you, the artist, or in this case, the PC builder.

As there are different RGB types, like ARGB vs. RGB, it confuses some people.

There is also a misconception on whether RGB increases PC performance.

In this post, we will discuss more in-depth ARGB vs. RGB.

So if you want to know the difference between the two or which one you should pick for your PC build, you will love this post.

So let’s dive right in.

What is the Difference between ARGB and RGB?

The technology of LED RGB is growing in the past couple of years.

The old, regular RGB technology in the past can only show one static color at the moment.

Meanwhile, the new RGB now can show a bunch of colors at the same time. 

The new RGB technology can be manipulated by a controller to show you a whole range of colors at a time.

It has an integrated circuit or IC inside it, which controls the lights’ color, tempo, and pattern.

In other words:

The new RGB technology has a small computer inside each led that you can control individually.

This new and advanced RGB is called Addressable RGB, or ARGB in short.

ARGB allows you to switch the color of the RGB as your heart desires.

You can set the color change or lighting effect by using the controller box.

It can blip, blink, change color periodically, and create a beautiful color combination.

For example, the Addressable RGB LED controller from Cooler Master has its native software.

On Cooler Master software, you can find various color modes, from static, stars, color cycle, breathing, multilayer, and mirage.

You can change the color by pressing the button on the controller and from the PC software.

More than that, you can also customize it to whatever color dynamics you can imagine.. try out your unique color and find one that suits you.

For instance, you can set your ARGB lights to change color based on the beat of the music you are listening to.

Isn’t it awesome?

Is ARGB Better than RGB?

Yes, ARGB is much better than regular RGB. It has more color combination and flexibility than the static color from the standard RGB.

You will have more flexibility to change the color without changing the LED strips.

ARGB also can make unlimited color patterns, effects, and styles.

You can control the color just by using software or pushing a button on a controller.

Every motherboard and controller box has its unique software.

MSI, for example, has MSI Light Sync while Asus has Aura Sync, Gigabyte has Fusion.

These features are something you would not get on regular RGB.

Comparing the color, ARGB is better definitely better compared to old regular RGB. With ARGB, you can change its color to any color in the RGB color space, while non-addressable RGB can only change into a few select colors.

These ARGB lights are indeed very cool and can change your gaming space’s atmosphere, but they can also be very expensive.

However, if you are looking for simplicity, then you might prefer the regular RGB.

It’s easier to install and less complicated.

Consequently, also fewer potential failure points, but you won’t get that ultimate gamers aura.

Can I Plug ARGB into RGB?

No, you can’t plug ARGB into RGB. They have different pin headers and don’t even try.

It may ruin both your motherboard header and the led strip.

You can’t plug a 3 pin Addressable RGB into 4 pin RGB Header.

You can see ARGB vs. RGB pins; ARGB has 3 pins while RGB has 4 pins.

The cable is also quite different. 

ARGB usually will have 3 threads, while regular RGB will have 4 threads.

But what if your motherboard does not have an ARGB header, but you want to use ARGB accessories?

There is a workaround for that.

You can just buy a standalone ARGB controller.

Like this small ARGB controller from Coolermaster

Image source: Amazon

With this small controller, you can still enjoy the advantage of having ARGB accessories without having to replace your motherboard.

Does RGB Increase FPS?

Many jokes around the internet that says RGB increases FPS.

People said that blue light means better cooling, Red light means better performance, while green light means better energy saving.

A meme on reddit about how RGB will improve your FPS and other performance.

These are only jokes. 

RGB lights don’t have anything to do with FPS.

FPS is a measure of frame rate, which shows the number of frames in a second.

More fps means the video or animation becomes smoother and better.

Different from playing video, a game needs more resources to render the graphics.

That’s why, to reproduce superb graphics on a PC, you need a high-performance graphic card and processor.

A great combination of those will make your rig devour AAA games while maintaining high FPS graphics.

Besides graphic cards and processors, RAM and SSD will also assist in producing a perfect image.

What matters on RAM is its memory, clock speed, latency, timing, while on the motherboard, it is its chip that’s matters.

I have written a post about How much FPS is good for gaming in 2021. You might want to read that post to learn more about what FPS is all about.

RGB doesn’t contribute to a PC performance by any means.

However, there are some cases when the RGB light wasn’t correctly installed.

Defect from the factory might also cause this issue.

RGB light might produce too much heat. 

Consequently, RGB can causes overheat on the SSD chip.

It also adds up electricity consumption, but only a little bit. 

Which doesn’t even burden your PSU.

But RGB might help you differently.

As you can control the light to create ambiance and atmosphere as you like.

It will lift your mood. 

So that your performance on gaming should be better.

Interesting, right?

Final Words

I hope you find this discussion about ARGB vs. RGB informative and useful.

In summary, the difference between the two is that ARGB uses a chip to control each LED, while regular RGB cannot be controlled individually.

ARGB allows users to change the color and brightness of each LED individually without affecting other LEDs.

Now I’d love to hear what do you guys think.

Are you planning to use ARGB in your next PC build?

Or do you think RGB is too overated and prefer a more minimalistic colors?

Either way, let us know what you think by dropping a quick comment below.

And once again, do not force your ARGB pin into your motherboard RGB header.

About the Author
Hi, I'm Steve. I'm a proud gamer. I have been active within the gaming sphere for 30+ years. As gaming is something I enjoy very much, I want other people to enjoy it also. That is exactly why I started this blog.

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