Watch us build an over-the-top RGB PC

Whether you love them or hate them, it's hard to ignore the number of PC components with RGB lights. Multi-colored PC lighting has crept into almost every category out there—even sound cards and power supplies.

What's less clear is just how easy it is to build a system entirely of RGB parts and then simultaneously control all of the lighting. So to put it to the test, we're building a PC that houses as many RGB components as possible.

Parts list

When choosing the parts for this build—which we've affectionately dubbed our "Viva Las Vegas" machine—it became clear that even four years into this RGB fad, you can't throw together whichever components you want and expect to control them through a single interface. You have to commit to an ecosystem.

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 1800X
• CPU Cooler: Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML240L RGB
• Motherboard: Asus ROG Crosshair VI Extreme
• RAM: G.Skill TridentZ RGB DDR4 3200 (32GB, 4x8GB modules)
• SSD: 500GB Samsung Evo
• GPU: Asus ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1070
• PSU:  Corsair RM750i 750W 80+ Gold
• Case: Cooler Master H500P White Mesh
• Additional cooling: Cooler Master MasterFan Pro 120 Air Flow RGB
• Additional lighting: SilverStone LS02 RGB light strips

The main options are Asus Aura Sync, Gigabyte RGB Fusion, and MSI Mystic Light. Each has their advantages and disadvantages: For example, Asus Aura Sync supports a wider selection of third-party coolers and fans, while you can use third-party keyboards and mice with Gigabyte RGB Fusion.

For this build, we chose Aura Sync to tie everything together, due to the availability of components we wanted. That did limit our options—we had to give up on the Corsair 570X as a case early on, for instance, because we didn't want to run different control interfaces simultaneously.

We still found plenty of RGB components to stuff inside our rig, though we did skip two instances. Because the case will hide the PSU and storage from view, it's unnecessary to buy RGB versions.

Overall, we're aiming for a high-end consumer PC that puts extra money toward upgraded materials and RGB aesthetics instead of raw hardware performance.

Watch us build it live!

We'll be kicking off this RGB PC build next Wednesday, April 11th, at 10:00am PT. You can tune in via YouTube, Twitch, or Facebook to witness the sheer face-melting glory of so many LEDs in one system. Chime in with ideas for the best color scheme to use once everything's up and running!

After we're done, check back for testing results and our final thoughts on the build. This time around, we'll focus on how easy it is to control all the lights. Current top goal: Getting them to flash when a pizza delivery person shows up at our door.