3DVelocity would like to thank Glowire.com and especially Janet for their help and courtesy in providing this kit for review.

Fitting :

When it comes to fitting your Glowire kit, by far the most important step is the planning. You need to map out the approximate route your wire will take, then make sure that the location of your driver allows you to actually achieve this. It's no good gluing everything in place than finding you've not got enough cable to reach the driver.

Once you're happy with your driver's location, you can then start the process of attaching the wire. Fortunately with the Antec case I used, the channels in the front grill I wanted to light were just the right width to hold the Glowire securely without needing to resort to any forms of glue or tape. All I needed to do was use a blunt ended object to tuck the wire firmly into place. For less accommodating situations there are a variety of fixings you can use, ranging from clear tape to super glue. From experience I have found that super glue is perhaps a little too permanent. Vinyl glue works well, but dries a little slowly if you're working on intricate shapes, so my personal favourite is the hot melt glue gun. Not only does this grip well and dry almost instantly, it also peels off cleanly if you need to remove it later.

If you need a stretch of cable to remain unlit, you can take the difficult route of soldering in a length of standard cable, or you can cheat and wrap that section with insulating tape. Glowire doesn't create any heat worth mentioning so wrapping it in tape is not going to cause any problems.

 

 

With the first length in place it's just a case of attaching it to the driver. A WARNING, the Glowire acts as a capacitor for the driver, so if you power it up without at least one length attached you're likely to end up kissing it goodbye.

 

For the second length I decided to outline the window, so using an old knife with a blunt end I tucked the cable under the rubber seal on the outside. This isn't the greatest of ideas as it reduces the brightness slightly, but as I only wanted an accent light it worked fine.

 

 

With everything finally fitted and connected the job was complete. This is a simple mod suitable for users of any experience level and can turn a boring case into a real focul point. Fastening the wire in place effectively is the biggest challenge, and it can be quite frustrating to try and get things just so, but with a little patience some stunning effects can be achieved. For the sake of $10 I'd probably buy a hot glue gun specially for the job if I didn't already have one. In fact, though you rarely hear about it, a hot glue gun is an incredibly useful piece of kit to own for a variety of jobs on the PC, from securing loose cables to adding or replacing trim and mouldings, just make sure you have the multipurpose glue sticks and not the woodworking ones.

 

The image below doesn't really do justice to the finished results. Glowire offers a diffuse, Neon-like light that really adds impact to your case provided room light levels are sufficiently low. It's not everyone's cup of tea no doubt, but you can vary the effects from completely wacky to subtle and understated giving it a much wider appeal.

Conclusion :

At $35.95 for this particular kit, I think it's fair to say Glowire have put together a well specified product at a good price. For this type of lighting effect there's currently no other way to go other than to use EL cable, and if done with care the effects are nothing short of impressive.

EL cable produces no heat which will please most enthusiasts, and though the driver unit does produce a low volume but high pitched whine when powered up this is something that in most well built cases will not be audible from outside, though Glowire do say that the driver can be wrapped in foam to deaden the sound if it does become a problem. In the Antec case used here I couldn't here the driver with side panel on.

If you want the convenience of an on/off power switch, you need to be looking at one the other kits in the range, but if you don't mind a bit of DIY it's a very simple job to place your own switch on the yellow (+12v) line.

Glowire, though reasonably bright, should be considered as a form of outlining rather than a light source in itself. Don't buy it expecting it to light the interior of your case in the same way Neon would or you'll be disappointed, but when used for its intended purpose of outlining and highlighting features there's nothing available that even comes close. The limiting factor is your imagination, and whether it be your name spelled out on the side of your case or a glowing edge to your motherboard or graphics card this is the way to go about it.