Cold Cathode CCFL questions

[PowerMac4Ever]

I'm thinking about getting some cold cathodes for my computer. I got some questions though:

1. How many do I need for good lighting? 1 or 2? 4" or 12"? Anyone here use more than one CCFL?
2. If I get two, will a 400watt PSU be able to handle them on top of a P4 and 4 IDE drives?
3. How much does a CCFL weigh? I'm thnking about 1/3 of a lb for 1 including the lighting. Too low?

Your help is greatly appreciated!

 

[tritium4ever]

1) A single 12" cold cathode is enough to light the interior of practically any case, but if you have a full tower, you may find slightly better results with two lights.

2) Each cold cathode uses about 4.5 watts of power. Two of them would be under 10 watts, which is nothing. Heck, I have four cold cathodes in an Athlon XP 1700+ system with three case fans, two hard drives, and two optical drives and there are no problems.

3) The tube itself is incredibly light...I'm guessing around 75 grams or so (454 grams is a pound, BTW). Add the wires and inverter and it should be a bit under half a pound.

 

[PowerMac4Ever]

Thanks for the info!

BTW, sweeet name

 

[PowerMac4Ever]

Thanks for the info!

BTW, sweeet name

 

[FenrisUlf]

1. I normally use three on the cases I build - one at the top, one on the bottom, and one on the back of the case which lights between the cards. This provides fairly even lighting throughout the case. I usually use 4-6" bulbs because they're easier to position and less prone to breaking.
2. These things use only a couple of watts off the 12v line - the least tasked line on the power supply. You could probably hook up a dozen without incident (other than blindness).
3. A CCFL will weigh about an ounce or two. The inverter will weigh about the same.

 

[XBoxLPU]

K cool

I have a green Cheiftec Dragon case ( w/ black cd-drives )... and was wondering what cathode color would look best in my case ?

Thanks

 

[FenrisUlf]

Green or Orange. Green would be more complimentary, but make sure the greens don't clash too much - CCFLs usually have a lighter green color. Orange would give good contrast, but depending on the color of your case it may not look great. Both of these would work well with a light to medium green, but I think a Hunter green would be too dark. Yellow might be good for a dark green case. Red just doesn't seem right with green. Blue is too light colored and would look bad. Purple is right out.