Spire NeonBar II Review

 

Cold cathodes, neon, UV, what are the best for lighting? That’s what I hope in answering today.  Recently case lighting has gone popular with case modders. It gives them a chance to light their case, and it adds personality.  Spire has introduced one of their products that will hopefully make its way into your case. Today we are looking at the Spire NeonBar II.

What’s the difference between Cold Cathodes and Neon?

Differences between Cold Cathode tubes and Neon tubes are that Cold Cathode tubes are a form of Neon tubes. Cold Cathode lights are a cooler form, producing less heat, than Neon. The brightness of a neon light versus cold cathode light is often overlooked. So a cold cathode is really a neon light. It all depends on the gasses both use.

The Spire NeonBar II arrived in a brown rectangular box that includes the following:

The switch

The rear of the switch.  Good connection with the switch covered with a plastic cover.

Velcro for mounting and inverter.

Installing the Spire NeonBar II is it’s strong point. It is a 3-step process as follows:

1. With the cables and unit in front of you, take the switch cable and connect the2-pin connector into the side of the inverter. There will be two, 2-pin ports.

2. Second of all, take the Spire NeonBar II and connect the 3-pin connector from the unit, into the side of the inverter.  I like the inverter because it allows two connections of NeonBar's.

3. Switch on via switch and see the light!

As you can see the Spire NeonBar II is good at dispersing the light. It could be a little brighter, but suites the job giving away a good amount of light.

After 3 hours of use, the Spire NeonBar II exhibited very little excess heat (little warm) from the unit and the inverter. You may have a one-degree increase in case temperatures, but that’s to be expected with any lighting product.

I enjoyed evaluating the Spire NeonBar II. Not only was it good at giving away good amounts of light, the installation was very easy.

I rate the Spire NeonBar II a…

8/10!

Pros and Cons

+ Good lighting
+ Small heat given away
+ Installation
- Presentation (Box)
- Always have to turn on/off switch if you want it on or off

Let me thank Bas from Spire for making this review possible.  Visit Spire at www.spire-coolers.com

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