Overall and Final Verdict
Like I mentioned at the start, there are a lot of people who don’t like the RGB trend and I can completely see their point. It isn’t for everyone. I myself prefer RGB lighting as a way to be able to change things up and to run colors that aren’t normally available like orange, aqua, and pink. The unicorn vomit of crazy RGB effects is a little too much for me and feels more like a demo mode. But I do get why people like the look. So right off the top, the Gelid Solutions Astra aRGB Extension Cables aren’t for everyone. Where the Astra stands out though is just how unique the lighting effects it provides are, even when compared to its competition with the Lian Li Strimer Plus. The weave used with the lighting diffusers blends colors and creates an aurora borealis like effect with any colors you like.
They weren’t perfect, namely, the wiring as it is set up could use a lot of work and creates a mess. This is partially because the extensions have wires that need to be hooked up on both ends of the cables. But also because both ends need cables you end up daisy chaining four Y cables together unless you somehow have four addressable headers on your motherboard. I also think more control for the lighting could be had with a dedicated controller that knows the number of LEDs, using the motherboard software works but is a lot better when setting a few colors not programming individually addressable lighting but hopefully, that improves over time.
As for the pricing, the Gelid Solutions Astra cables do come in cheaper than the Lian Li Strimer Plus cables. A few dollars on the PCI cable and even more on the motherboard cable because Lian Li bundles in the dedicated controller with that set. The Lian Li kit uses more LEDs and has more overall effects because the LEDs run the length of the cable. But they can’t do anything like the blend that the Astras can do with their weave. In other words, if you love the weave, this is going to be your only option.
Live Pricing: HERE
