Image: Asus
As someone who’s drowning in gaming keyboards, I think I have the authority to say that most Windows apps created by manufacturers for programming RGB lights suck—especially Armoury Crate from Asus.
Which is why it’s great that Dynamic Lighting is making such apps unnecessary for Asus motherboards, at least for some functions.
Dynamic Lighting is Microsoft’s attempt to unify these bling management apps with an all-in-one solution on Windows 11. It means that if you use a Corsair keyboard, a Razer mouse, a HyperX headset, and a Gigabyte motherboard, you don’t need four different apps in your notification tray in order to make your desktop setup look like a miniature rave.
At least, that’s the idea. In reality, support for Dynamic Lighting is rolling out at a glacial pace, even though several major players—including Logitech, Razer, Acer, HP (HyperX), SteelSeries, and Acer—have signed up to be part of the program.
Asus is on that list as well, but before today only the ROG Scope II Wireless 96 keyboard was in the official documentation. The Verge’s Tom Warren spotted a beta UEFI/BIOS update for the latest AMD and Intel motherboards that included a Windows Dynamic Lighting support toggle.
You’ll have to track down the beta BIOS and flip that switch before you can see the addressable RGB lighting in the Windows program. But if you’re chasing that all-in-one lighting ideal and hoping to reduce the amount of background apps you run, it might just be worth it.
Unfortunately, locating the beta BIOS updates for Asus motherboards is a bit of a headache. The only reliable place to find them appears to be on the Asus ROG forums (via The Verge) where Dropbox links to the relevant files are occasionally posted by moderators.
The final builds are posted to the Asus support site every month or so, but there’s no guarantee that the Dynamic Lighting feature will make it to the next update for any particular board.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he’s the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop “battlestation” in his off hours. Michael’s previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he’s covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he’s always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.
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