NZXT Introduces HUE+ Software-Controlled RGB LED Lighting

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By Kevin Carbotte
published

NZXT revealed the HUE+ LED Advanced lighting system. The updated HUE system does away with the previous dial control configuration in exchange for software-controlled adjustments managed through NZXT's free CAM software, which allows for far more intricate customization.

The old version of the HUE LED Lighting kit lets you adjust the light strips to practically any color under the rainbow, but whichever color was selected is what all of the lights in the kit would be set to. The HUE+, being software-controlled, allows for independent programming of each LED for near endless configurations.

The controller has the ability to handle up to four different strips per channel, and it has two channels for a total of up to eight strips on one device. Each channel can have a separately assigned lighting mode, of which there are eight from which to choose. There are effects that react to the load on the CPU and GPU, and other effects that react to music and game effects. Each of the pre-programmed modes offers a range of customizations including the speed and direction the pattern lights up.

The NZXT HUE+ includes four LED strips and four extension cables of varying length. The LED strips can be daisy-chained directly, or with the extension cables in between, allowing for placement anywhere within the computer case. NZXT said the LED strips include strong embedded magnets that will attach to any magnetic surface, but 3M adhesive is included for placement on non-magnetic surfaces such as a plastic bezel.

The NZXT HUE+ is controlled by the company's free CAM software. First released in 2014, CAM was first designed to be monitoring software for your PC's components. CAM has also been used as the management software for NZXT's Kraken all-in-one liquid cooling units, and over the summer it was updated to include support for the GRID+ fan controller. The latest release, version 2.1.8, adds support for the HUE+ Advanced Lighting kit.

NZXT is taking pre-orders for the $59.99 HUE+ Advanced Lighting Kit through the NZXT Armory website. Extra LED strips will be available in packages of two for $19.99. The extra strips are not available yet, but the company said they will be soon.

Follow Kevin Carbotte @pumcypuhoy. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

Kevin Carbotte

 Kevin Carbotte is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware who primarily covers VR and AR hardware. He has been writing for us for more than four years. 

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13 Comments Comment from the forums
  • McWhiskey
    I'm clearly not the target market for this product. I do really like the idea of contextual color change though. one strip subtly placed in a bezel on the front panel could be very classy.
    Reply
  • thundervore
    Im trying my best not to laugh here. NZXT is once again playing catch up. I spoke up about this before and it rolled right under the carpet. NZXT will never be anywhere next to Corsair lighting and fan controls hardware until 2020. The had the ability to do this from the start by watching Corsair and building upon what they started not reinventing the wheel by starting off with knobs and dials.

    All of this could have been implemented into one system years ago

    Corsair Commander Mini for the same price already has better lighting options and size. Although I have a NZXT H440 Blue/Black I cannot see myself using NZXT add-on
    Reply
  • kcarbotte
    16849622 said:
    Im trying my best not to laugh here. NZXT is once again playing catch up. I spoke up about this before and it rolled right under the carpet. NZXT will never be anywhere next to Corsair lighting and fan controls hardware until 2020. The had the ability to do this from the start by watching Corsair and building upon what they started not reinventing the wheel by starting off with knobs and dials.

    All of this could have been implemented into one system years ago

    Corsair Commander Mini for the same price already has better lighting options and size. Although I have a NZXT H440 Blue/Black I cannot see myself using NZXT add-on

    The HUE+ and the Commander Mini aren't remotely the same product.

    the commander mini does temp, fan control and 1 LED light strip.

    the HUE+ does no fans, no temperature, 8 light strips with 2 different lighting channels.


    you can't even compare these products. they are made for totally different purposes.

    Reply
  • TechyInAZ
    Direct competition for the corsair commander mini. :D But it seems to be better. Since the commander mini only has the extra lightning connections as an added feature, while this piece of hardware is designed exclusively for lighting up your PC.
    Reply
  • thundervore
    16849622 said:
    Im trying my best not to laugh here. NZXT is once again playing catch up. I spoke up about this before and it rolled right under the carpet. NZXT will never be anywhere next to Corsair lighting and fan controls hardware until 2020. The had the ability to do this from the start by watching Corsair and building upon what they started not reinventing the wheel by starting off with knobs and dials.

    All of this could have been implemented into one system years ago

    Corsair Commander Mini for the same price already has better lighting options and size. Although I have a NZXT H440 Blue/Black I cannot see myself using NZXT add-on

    The HUE+ and the Commander Mini aren't remotely the same product.

    the commander mini does temp, fan control and 1 LED light strip.

    the HUE+ does no fans, no temperature, 8 light strips with 2 different lighting channels.


    you can't even compare these products. they are made for totally different purposes.


    You miss the point I was trying to make. Corsair already had all this crap on the market as individual modules years ago that NZXT is putting out now (reinventing the wheel). NZXT had years to look at what Corsair was doing and bypass all the mistakes Corsair made and go straight to software controlled lighting and cooling.

    Over the years Corsair discovered that most customers will only use 1 colour inside their rig so why sell a separate product for each when they can combine the minimum of what the average customer wants and sell them a more complete package.

    Think about it:

    Corsair Commander Mini = $59.99. 4 Temp channels, 6 individual fan controls, 1 LED RGB connection
    Corsair Link RGB LED Lighting Kit = 14.99. 18 LEDs and 2x12" extension cables

    NZXT GRID+ V2 = 29.99 6 individual fan controls
    NZXT HUE+ = $59.99 2 LED channels, 4 LED strips, and 4 extension cables 1x500mm, 1x300mm, 2x100mm

    NZXT Grid / NZXT Grid+ = Corsair Cooling Node
    NZXT HUE / NZXT HUE+ = Corsair Lighting Node "http://www.corsair.com/en-us/corsair-link-lightning-node"

    What have NZXT done over the years besides push the no external front bay on cases trend (which I love them for as I hug my black/blue H440)?

    They released Sleeved LED strips and Sentry fan controllers all which required manual operation. (I owned both of these)

    Then they decided to release the HUE which was great because it did RGB but it required a 5.25 slot and still customers had to fiddle with buttons and knobs.

    After, they released the GRID, a fan controller that only accepted 3 pin fans and all fans were controlled by the same speed.

    They then got the bright idea to release a GRID+ which not only had the same flaw of only accepting 3 pin fans like the previous model, it did the same crap of only having a single fan curve, but on the bright side it linked with the Cam software.

    So then they release the GRID+ V2 and finally it accepts 4 pin fans, and each fan has it own curve, but it still uses a barrel plug for power instead of a Molex or SATA power connection.

    Now they decide to release a lighting module that cost and astounding $59.99 and all it does is lighting?!! I understand that each strip on the 2 channels can do different colours at the same time but still $59.99 just for lighting?

    Here is the kicker, ALL of these NZXT CAM compatible products require an internal USB 2.0 connection. Have anyone looked at motherboards recently? They only come with 2 internal 2.0 headers. So the normal person will of course hook up their front IO USB ports so what gets the remaining USB port? The HUE+? The GRID+? The Kraken Cooler? Nope, time to spend another $20 on a NZXT IU01 USB Expansion.

    Corsair has already figured out how to make their power supplies, CPU coolers, fan controllers, and lighting controls talk to each other while only using 1 USB 2.0 header, although on their latest GT and GTX coolers they took a huge step backwards by removing this connection.
    Reply
  • Frozen Fractal
    The NZXT Armory website and the first link of this article isn't working. Please do check if it's some typo.
    Reply
  • Jesse_7
    59.99$ doesn't seem unreasonable considering it comes with 4 LED strips. I know enthusiasts including myself that spent more when it came to aesthetics. I rather like this module. Can control each indavidual LED on the strip, range of colors which is a huge bonus because I like variety. Usually flick between white, red and purple and now, along with my naga epic and my G510 256 RGB keyboard, I can change everything on the fly for a single cost, rather than alter my cathodes/led strips every year or so. Also, since I hate too much front bay objects, the lack there of is even better. USB 2.0, I can simply wire that to the back of my case, out of sight and mind. Already pre-ordered this with my mileage bonus. :D
    Reply
  • brandonclone1
    I added a bunch of lighting to my case recently and it looks awesome! I'd recommend it for anyone who wants to spruce up their machine
    Reply
  • KaiserPhantasma
    finally a revamped version of the HUE been waiting on this for like 2 years =D hopefully they have better adhesives taped to the back of the LEDs this time around
    Reply
  • Archgaull
    Looks awesome. Going to be ordering this in the near future to fit onto my newly acquired Fractal Design Define R5.
    Reply