RGB LED illumination seems like a trend with staying power in the enthusiast PC hardware market. Some consumers like it for the Unreal Tournament-inspired multi-colored lighting and fancy effects. Manufacturers have to love the ability to make a single "RGB" model that buyers can customize instead of offering parts in six or more different color options. Multi-zone RGB LED control has become a fixture of high-end motherboards, but Cooler Master's creatively-named RGB LED Controller brings four output channels to the disco party.
Cooler Master's controller has a plastic body with a magnet inside, allowing for conveniently mounting the device to any steel surface inside a case. The control box measures a tidy 3.5" x 2.0" x 0.6" (9 cm x 5.3 cm x 1.4 cm)—about the size of a small stack of business cards—so it should fit in even the most crowded mini-ITX cases. The four output channels allow as many color options, and Cooler Master's software offers up eight different lighting effects, including a custom option.
The Cooler Master RGB LED Controller requires a free USB header and a SATA power connector. There's no pricing and availability info yet, but the fact that the software is ready for download from the product page suggests that the controller will be in stores soon. Cooler Master backs the controller with a five-year warranty.