RGB software - Follies, Trials and Tribulations

[J7SC_Orion]

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It's been a busy period building and configuring new (and updating existing) systems over the last few months. These days, that means grappling with RGB, one way or the other - some of it cannot even be turned off w/o using software after every single (cold) boot (looking at you GSkill...)

 

Now, I don't mind a bit of RGB, as long as it is 'static' and in a colour somewhere between 'Cherenkov Radiation Blue', blue-purple or turquoise... 

  

  

  

...at the same time, I try to be security-conscious and hate low-level software that needs to run (and call 'home'...) for control, never mind the huge big-data sucking that is going on with it as well as OS, social media and so forth. With that in mind, on to the latest two AMD 16c/32t builds joining an existing but updated TR 2950X w/RGB  (all btw doing productivity as well, thus even more aware of security issues)...

 

The latest builds involved an Asus Crosshair VIII Hero wi-fi / 3950X and the 'Dark' variant of that Asus X570 board with a 5950X. Asus has some control in bios re. RGB, but it really pushes its 'armory crate' big-and-broad software (replacing the older, smaller Asus Aura), even in the bios !

 

I found 'armory crate' to be, well, more than troublesome when installing it on the 3950X system. In fact, it hung during install - and as it is a HAL-type app, Windows 10 Pro couldn't even boot correctly anymore. No amount of 'safe mode', 'repair' and so forth worked over several days (I'm not a newbie re. this) so I had to reinstall not only Win 10 Pro, but the 150GB to 200GB of apps I had just loaded . I just turned off as much RGB as I could after the reinstall, though the four sticks of GSkill RGB kept on happily doing their rainbow thing...

 

Right, onward and upward. Next up was the Dark Hero / 5950X build, also with identical GSkill memory...I tried to track down the older, smaller 'Aura' but on Asus' sites, even if you find it, they substitute armory crate for it - no thank you. I did find an older version of Aura that '''worked''' elsewhere re. mobo RGB, but no cigar for the GSkill control. I then loaded GSkill's latest RGB control software.

 

I have learned that at least with some of the mobo software, you can choose the colours and display-type you want and it seems to make appropriate adjustments in bios / win - to the point that you can actually completely uninstall it but keep your colour pattern. I have had similar experiences with Gigabyte's RGB Fusion on the MSI X399 Creator 2950X / dual  Aorus 2080 Ti setup...

 

This time however with the Aus Dark Hero / 5950X, things get reeeaaallyy interesting...

 

Everything 'worked' (boot, all apps in Win 10) w/o any problems, BUT the Q-Code on the mobo went haywire...initially, it kept on displaying 'FF' - a Q-code 'reserved for future use', though some folks call it the Q-Code of death...well, since performance and stability wasn't impacted, I knew it had to relate to the two RGB packages I had just installed - they were probably not 'playing nice' with each other. So I uninstalled the first one (Asus) and to my great happiness, it kept the 'Cherenkov blue' settings even from a cold boot. But now, the Q-code - while everything was working fine in Win 10 pro - would jump around between '33, 34, 36 39' and back and forth and back and forth continuously while fully booted up . WTF  ?

 

I then uninstalled the GSkill software as well, and voila Q-code of AA (or 40 after a sleep-reboot), the way it is supposed to be. I then reinstalled the GSkil RGB control package and unloaded it after booting into Windows 10. Even an uninstall will work, unless the system is doing a cold boot - at which point in time you have to activate the GSkill RGB package again, rinse and repeat... 

 

The moral of the story ? Run sever boards or Get Linux (haha), and/or buy non-RGB RAM. But this is high-bandwidth, low CL binned Samsung-B I already had, so that doesn't apply here. Given that most of the new consumer mobos, CPUs, RAM and many peripherals come with 'RGB' whether you like it or not, the solution I have now is palatable. Still, the various RGB software you need to control it all are just 'another brick in the wall' 

 

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Edited April 25, 2021 by J7SC_Orion

[Diffident]

To put and end to using multiple and most likely not privacy conscious RGB utilities, use OpenRGB.  It's open source, works with multiple manufacturers and works in Windows, Linux and Mac. 

 

Gitlab Repo

Supported Devices

[J7SC_Orion]

4 minutes ago, Diffident said:

To put and end to using multiple and most likely not privacy conscious RGB utilities, use OpenRGB.  It's open source, works with multiple manufacturers and works in Windows, Linux and Mac. 

 

Gitlab Repo

Supported Devices

 

Tx , I tried s.th. similar before, but that also seemed to have to run / stay open, at least re. RGB RAM - the only real cold-boot challenge left, per above. I'll give OpenRGB a try though

[Bastiaan_NL]

What also works, if you don't really care about your hardware, is a black paint pen. Been there before, works great! 

[J7SC_Orion]

3 hours ago, Bastiaan_NL said:

What also works, if you don't really care about your hardware, is a black paint pen. Been there before, works great! 

 

...I went for the black electrical tape cover-up option before    

...but now that I got my static Cherenkov Blue happening, I kind of like it - just hate that extra steps of kicking in the GSkill software, then unload it, after a cold boot - I'll try that open source software mentioned above...

  

 

 

Edited April 26, 2021 by J7SC_Orion