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RGB laptops have increasingly become common, especially for gaming laptops. Companies like Razer, Asus, and Gigabyte have pushed RGB as a standard for gaming laptops.
But RGB laptops aren’t worth the hype, and there are multiple reasons you shouldn’t buy a laptop just for RGB.
1Limited Practical Benefits
RGB lights on laptops don’t add any practical benefits to daily use. These lights are usually used for aesthetics, to enhance the visual appearance of the device and make it stand out. But that’s pretty much it. I have a MacBook, and there’s absolutely no single feature I’m missing out on because my laptop doesn’t have flashy RGB lighting.
You could wonder if the same applies to backlit keyboards. Yes, having a backlit keyboard is necessary when it’s dark; however, you can have a backlit keyboard without flashy RGB lighting. MacBook keyboards and those on productivity-focused Windows laptops, like theDell XPS 15 9530, have backlights on the keyboard. Still, they use a single-color light instead of the flashy RGB type.
2Distracting and Overly Flashy
An RGB laptop can be appealing to some. However, it can also be distracting, especially since most have dynamic effects added. In the case of an RGB backlit keyboard, the constant shifting of colors or the glow of brightly lit keys can draw attention away from the screen or task at hand, breaking focus and reducing productivity.
It worsens when RGB lighting is on other sections of the laptop. For example, theASUS ROG Strix G16has RGB lighting on the keyboard and an RGB light bar on the bottom front. I can’t imagine how distracting the pulsating RGB light on the keyboard and bottom front can be in a dark setting.
Additionally, RGB lighting can seem unprofessional in professional settings because it is overly flashy. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think RGB laptops look professional. It might be okay if you’re a professional gamer. But, in this case, if you need more power and don’t mind portability, you shouldget a gaming PC rather than a laptop.
3Unnecessary Power Consumption
Another reason why RGB lighting is pointless is the additional power draw for lighting them up. By their nature, the LED lights used to add RGB lights to laptops don’t consume that much power. But, still, they do consume some part of your battery.
According to a video uploaded by the CPU modder channel on YouTube (shown above), the creator discovered that his Dell XPS 15 lasted six hours and a minute with the keyboard lit. With the lights off, he got 37 minutes more. That video was from years ago, but remember that the Dell XPS doesn’t have RGB lights; it uses a single-color light.
Given that RGB lights can consume more power than single-color lights, although marginally, the difference can be slightly higher. With more RGB placed on the keyboard and in other places, the power draw increases further. It’s no surprise thatASUS recommendsturning off the RGB lights on the ROG Ally to extend battery life.
4Increased Price for Gimmicks
Adding RGBs to a laptop will increase the cost of materials. Companies must add a markup to the laptop’s price to recoup their investment. Like every new feature, you pay more for fancy RGB lighting on a laptop.
Case in point: the MSI GL-65 Leopard sells in various variants, with the keyboard backlight being one of the differentiating features. A model with a per-key RGB keyboard costs between $100 and $150 more than one with a single backlit keyboard.
The price you pay for fancy RGB might not be apparent for other brands and models because manufacturers rarely provide you with a choice to include RGB lighting or not. Regardless, you’re paying for it as long as it appears on the specifications sheet.You don’t need to spend much on a laptopfor such a feature, though.
RGB laptops are absurd. Despite adding more cost to the device, RGB lighting has no practical benefits, adds unnecessary power draw, and is distracting. For these reasons, you shouldn’t buy them. If you want a powerful laptop, many options are available without fancy RGB lighting. Some of ourbest laptops for 4K gaming,like theDell XPS 17,are a testament to this.
