UV Lazer LED PSU Mod

Provided by: CaseCooler.com
LED Retail: $16.95
PSU Mod Retail: $10.95
Review Date: March 5th, 2003

Are you tired of your ordinary metal power supply? The PSU mod is a popular way of decking out your PSU. What else can be done with the PSU? CaseCooler.com boasts that their Lazer LEDs are small enough to fit anywhere, even inside a power supply. Using a PSU mod and Lazer LED would make for captivating internal lighting effects. CaseCooler sent me a UV Lazer LED and a UV Blue PSU mod.

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Overview:

I am going to review two products, the UV Lazer LED and UV Blue PSU Mod.

The UV Lazer LED is very small. The width is about the same as a the diameter of a nickel. A chrome plastic case surrounds three ultra bright UV LEDs. Each of the LEDs are set at a different angle. The middle LED shines straight ahead while the two side LEDs are offset by about 45 degrees to the side. This allows for the LED to shine light in a broader range. The LEDs are shock proof, water proof, draw less than 26mA, produce very little heat, and use a 4 pin Molex power connector.

Each Lazer LED kit includes the LED and mounting pieces. The mounting pieces are Velcro on one side and tape that can be applied to most surfaces on the other. The Velcro holds very securely. Screws that will fit through the two screw holes on the LED are included if a more secure form of mounting is desired.

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The PSU mod is made out of plastic. The plastic if very clear and the components show perfectly through it. The PSU mod kit includes instructions on for installation. Since screw placements are different on every power supply, the PSU mod uses double sided tape to hold it in place. The kit also includes a wire tie to secure the wires that extrude from the back of the supply.

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Installation:

Leaving finger prints on the chrome LED case and PSU mod is easy to do. The finger prints wipe off without a problem but you cannot use a window cleaner on the PSU mod because the ammonia will eat at the plastic. The power supply should be cleaned before installing the mod. Simply blowing the dust out and wiping down the case is sufficient. It is a good idea to do this so that dust does not clog the ventilation holes or fan blades in the power supply.

With the Velcro tape, the LED can mount almost anywhere inside of the PSU. The tape can only be used once for the PSU mod. Maybe twice if you are careful. My recommendation is not to use the PSU mod tape at first. Position the PSU mod and LED so that until the mod looks perfect. Then remove the PSU mod and secure it with the tape.

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The UV Lazer LED fits easily inside the PSU. The tricky part was finding a place where it looked the best. The best place I could fine was in the corner. As shown in the picture above, the LED has a three beam output. This makes for some interesting and possibly unwanted effects. The LED would look great in a case where the beam of light would spread out and light up large areas of the case.

Using a UV cold cathode would be better at lighting up the whole PSU but would not fit inside the PSU. Inside the PSU mod, the Lazer LED light leaves parts of the PSU darker than others and also creates round intensely lit spots on the UV PSU cover. Taking the case off of the LED allowed for more of the PSU to be lit. Be gentle when pulling the case off of the LED. The LEDs and a resistor are hot glued inside of the case. Make sure not to break any of the solder joints.

Conclusion:

The small size of the Lazer LED makes it perfect for modding. The PSU mod cover enables the modder to change out a boring piece of hardware and give it life. To improve on that, there is now a UV LED for those individuals who like UV themes. The LEDs design made for a little bit of a disappointment with the PSU mod. I did not the way the LED is designed. The 3 pattern spread of the LED's light is great for in the computer case but inside a PSU, the LED does not spread the light evenly throughout the PSU because the beam of light is too narrow for each LED.

Pros:

• LED is very small
• LED gives off almost no heat
• PSU mod is clear and components easily seen
• The LED and PSU mod are easy to install

Cons:

• The LED light pattern will not make it perfect for all situations.

Rating:
Good

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