Virtual-Hideout.Net | Reviews | Sunbeam New Lighting Products Review

If you've been into the case modding scene for just about any amount of time, you've most likely heard of Sunbeam. If the name doesn't ring a bell, you've probably still used a sunbeam product, or one inspired by them....

Most of you probably got the idea already on what these are and where they go. But for those of you looking at this like (o_0), here's a closer look . Once you remove the chassis feet from their retail packaging, here's what you'll have to work with...

The Complete Set

Closeup

Connection Complete

Only One Connected

One Connection Closeup

Test Lighting...w00t!

As you can see, the connection process all the feet are linked together with one very small unit, similiar to the pc speaker connection pins on your motherboard. I liked this alot because when I first heard and seen of this product, I was having nightmare images of 4 seperate molex connections! lol. Thankfully, sunbeam put some thought into the ease of powering all four feet together using one pass-thru molex connector. Nice job here.....but what about the wire length from the connection to each foot? Is it long enough? Let's continue shall we.... After deciding that the DICEBOX would be the guinea pig for this review, it was time to light it up!...

Off with the Old	Take LED housing off foot	Feed wire thru case hole

Screw in stock case screw	Re-attach LED housing screws	All four ready to fire

Once I realized I had to remove the two microscopic screws that hold the clear cover over the internal LED, installation went pretty fast. The design of these are really superb. The wire feed thru perfectly and without interuption due to excellent design and thoughtful touches like a slotted "nub" that inserts into the bottom of the case. If that made no sense to you, just trust me, you'll notice when you install them that there's a little extra room for the led wire designed in there for you....nice touch sunbeam!

Hmm, That's IT!

Plenty of wire, just not where it counts

Need...More...Wire!@#

DOH#@! WHY DOES THERE ALWAYS HAVE TO BE A DRAWBACK$!@$#!: I guess the good times had to end eventually. Now, this isn't a major problem for most people, just the geeks out there with more than a couple things in there case already, or for those who are anal about the inside looks of there case and wiring. the problem here is this: There's not enough wire included between the feet themselves and the connection. Meaning, they basically meet in the middle of the inside bottom of the chassis. Bad move! So, in this situation, there's no way to hide the wiring, or even run it along either side of the inside bottom of the case. A few more inches of wiring would have gone a long way for these chassis feet. The only way to hide the wiring at all with these led feet is to extend the wires yourself and run them outta sight. A minor oversight by sunbeam to some, a huge oversight to many others. This doesn't effect their performance of course, so .....

Let There Be Light!

The overall appearance of having this product installed on your case is like most lighted items - "looks great at night, looks like it's missing something in the daylight". But the nightlite effects are totally worth it. I think having the feet lite up are just the right amount of "pimpy looks" for most people. The semi-soft glow of the feet are much more appealing to some than a full-blown window and eye-bursting cathodes. The LED's in these feet are not "soft" by any means, but the reason I say "soft glow" is because the direction of the light from these are pointed towards the floor, versus right into your eyes....which is a good thing and serves their purpose perfectly.

The ease of installation alone will make these appealing to those not so likely to cut their case open, but want some lights never-the-less. I think they'll also appeal to the people with windows and lights and lighted baybus'. These feet add a perfect finishing touch. the only drawback is this particular design is only designed for one particular style of case, luckily, it's the most popular case design in history!!

Pros

Now here is a very interesting product. It's appears to be a typical Sunbeam CCFL, but then you notice it's filled with 12 LED's stretched across it's entire length. You'll also notice the much bigger wire mess to install this unit......Hmm. Let's take a closer look...

Installation was straight-forward, however, as with the feet, it wasn't very pretty. The meteor light is a bulky setup in it's stock form. You've got not only a rather large inverter/sound control box, but you also have a full size backplate with a function switch and an on/off switch. problem is, the black washer around the green function switch was too big to fit in it's place correctly. It ended it causing the backplate to bow inside the case, therefore leaving a small gap that was noticeable from the rear of the case.

Without the capability to take actual video of this light, it's virtually impossible for me to convey to you the absolute coolness of this Meteor Light. So with alittle help from Sunbeams site and some half-ass pics from me, hopefully you'll start to get the idea of just what this light can do...

Just like most of Sunbeams products, you can get this meteor light in numerous colors, including tri-color!! I only received the blue light, but I tell ya, judging by what the blue can do, and how bright it is, the Tri-Color Meteor Light must seriously kick some ass for disco-fever lighting!

Since there's not a whole lot to say about this product, I'm gonna get right to the ending and my conclusion of this meteor light. First, it's typical sunbeam quality meaning it's very very good. The acrylic tube is still the best I've seen out there. The only issue I have is the wire mess. I realize these things just have to be there, but it's just so damn bulky. At least this time, there's enough wire to hide it. However, you'll need a good chunk of space in your case to hide it all in....heh. However the effect is suppose to be enjoyed thru fanholes or windows and not by looking directly into the wide open case, so the wires may not be an issue for you. Other than that, it's a kickass product and has already impressed a couple of buddies of mine that was over during the Superbowl... lol. Maybe I'm just worn from years of looking at every single product have a google of wires with it, but hey, ya gotta connect the damn thing somehow right?!....heh.

There's certainly not much to say about this little product. It's basically a laser LED in "spotlight" form. It's very bright and will project a blue circle on the wall from some distance. make no mistake though, this isn't like those red laser pens by any means.....this is LED not real laser....heh.

The LED unit itself seems to be very durable and made of high quality plastics. These are so bright, you could use them to highlight pictures on the wall if you didn't want them in your PC. This is one of those products with 1,001 uses. The unit itself is sweet, you decide the usage! This product is apparently so new, it is not yet listed on the Sunbeam site, so just keep your eyes open for it at your favorite mod shop...coming soon!

Yet another "self-explaining" little product. The Strobe Light. If you've never experienced a strobe light in your lifetime...you really need to get out more...heh. The strobe effect is basically a continuous feed of instantaneous on/off flashes that force your eyes into seeing "stop-motion" animation. Flashes of reality, if you will ;) Even you're life "flashing before your eyes" takes more time than this thing does...hehe. Let's take a look at the unit.

Just like the majority of the lighting equipment converted for the pc, it has an inverter and hence, the bulky wiring the inverter adds to the equation. Also, take note of this...if you were to put this in your pc, you'll probably need more than one as only one strobe most likely wouldn't give the best effect. The components already in your pc will block a good bit of light if it's only coming from one angle, or strobe. It's all about placement though. If you've got enough room under your case window, that would make a killer spot for one of these little workhorses.

Keep in mind another thing, this unit takes a few seconds to "warm-up" so don't think it's dead right off the bat. But again, without a video to see, you'll just have to use your imagination on how these things look, but I will tell you they look pretty damn cool used the right way. They're also very high quality, seem pretty impact resistant, and are small enough ( minus the wiring) to put just about anywhere. Thanks again to SunbeamTech and be sure to check out their site for an impressive display of lighted goodies.