Techangel.co.uk would first like to thank Chris Francy from Xoxide.com for sending the Green Sound Activated Cold Cathode for review. Be sure to check out the product’s page (http://www.xoxide.com/sounaccolcat.html) and also his other products as well because they have a wide variety of computer modification items for sale there.

Cold Cathode Specs:
Length: 11.5cm
Connector: 2 pin for both motherboard or power supply

First came the neon lights. Now the cold cathodes. Its incredible popularity has swept through almost every single computer modding store in America and around the world. So we are in a time where cold cathodes are no longer the talk of the town, but are rather just another cold cathode. However, this was until Xoxide.com sent me this cold cathode, unlike any we'd seen here at Techangel.co.uk.

Xoxide’s cold cathode is quite long but will fit perfectly in any mid or full ATX tower vertically, lighting up the whole case. The cold cathode is very bright and Xoxide has included Velcro attachments on the light as well as the DC power boxes so installation was a breeze. Xoxide included the pins and connected everything, so basically, the cathode was plug and play, and to place the microphone/ DC power box where you wanted.

The full length of the 11.5cm cathode... nice isn't it :)

The first experiment I conducted was to test out the new features of this cathode. The newest option on this cathode is it utilizes sound activation. There is a microphone on the DC power box that will listen for any acute sound (such as bass, large voice, high pitched squeal, etc.), and the light will automatically turn on to match the length of the sound. I tested this using both slow and fast mp3s, and placed the microphone inside my case. My case was below my desk, and on medium-high volume, two feet away from my subwoofer and one foot below my speakers.

On the slow music side, I chose to test Enya’s 'Sail Away', and Haydn’s 'Symphony #53 Andante'. The sound activation did not work until I cranked up to maximum volume, but it did not match the beats well. I concluded that with slow paced songs such as classical or soft rock, this cathode would not perform to the low bass.

On the fast music side, I tested Freejack’s 'Psycades', Mellow Trax’s 'Outta Space', Ayla’s 'Singularity' and Usura’s 'Go with the Light (Edit Mix)' to find that this cathode is amazing when it comes to trance and rock music. It flashes perfectly to the beat flawlessly and it is truly spectacular. It blew me away; my case turned into a flashing disco jukebox within minutes of testing, and it made me dance to the flashing lights. The microphone picks up a lot of bass from the beat of the subwoofer. This light would work very well at parties where the computer will be used to DJ the music.

Because I believe that the microphone picks up using the subwoofer, I turned my Altec Lansing subwoofers off, and found indeed the cathodes do not work well without the subwoofer’s bass.

The second experiment was to focus on gaming with the cathode. I used Half Life: Counter Strike as my testbed. The sound activation works perfectly in this environment. Whenever a bullet is fired from you, the light will flash inside your case. For instance, when I fire the pistol, the light will flash. If a grenade explodes next to me, it’ll flash according to the blast. If I use a machine gun, the light will flash consistently until I stop pulling the trigger. In addition, the microphone will not pick up others shooting far from you unless you have cranked the volume to the maximum, making it much more realistic in the thick of the action. If you are a fan of action games, this is a perfect item for your case. It looks great for a LAN party as well; it’ll draw major crowds just because the flashing lights are in tone with your shooting. Simply put, the light creates flashes according to when your bullets are fired, making your case look like a war zone with bullets flying inside.

The third experiment was to test how cold these cold cathodes really were. I put it in a rigorous 24 hour test with the light staying on at all times. After the 24 hours, I touched the light and it was only slightly warm to the touch. This light was great at making my case very bright, and it will not affect the temperature of your case. I used the sound activation option, the flashing light does not make the cathode warm at all. Constantly cool to the touch, which was an awesome result after a good long game of Counter Strike.

Overall, this is one of the most interesting products I have ever reviewed. It’s so simple yet so very well designed. The addition of the microphone is really a great option for games and music all in one. The ability to turn of the sound activation is perfect, when you just want the light on or off. Sometimes, the flashing lights will get annoying when playing movies because it flashes a little too much, and you want to concentrate on the movie more than the flashing light.

The quality of the product is excellent, the light is very bright, slim, and cold even if the light is left on for a long time. If you are a gamer, (and I know most of you out there reading this are!), then don’t miss out on this product. Xoxide.com carries red, blue, green, and UV black cathodes to match your perfect rig.

PROS:
Simple Installation
Velcro Included on Both Power Boxes and Ends of the Cathode
Very Bright!
Option to Turn Off Sound Activation
Perfect for First Person Shooters

CONS:
Doesn’t Work Well with Medium-Low Volume
Not Very Accurate Without Subwoofer

As a closing note, hopefully there'll be a video of the cathode in action for you to see soon, as I'm getting a digicam :) Watch out in the forums for that.

Related:
Xoxide homepage.
Direct link to the cathode on sale at xoxide.