Best LED Lights for a Gaming Room in 2023

Atif Liaqat | Last Updated On January 3rd, 2023

Nothing sets the mood for a premium gaming session like an ambient room where you feel at peace. There are a number of factors that play into this, of course, such as a comfortable gaming chair, a tidy desk, sleek minimalist furniture, etc. However, the most noticeable and domineering of these factors is the lighting you have in the room.

Natural light is great during the daytime, but when the moon rises and it’s time to get online with the gang and play with maybe Nintendo Switch or maybe Fortnite (see also best GPU for Fortnite), you want a solid, ambient LED lighting setup to put you at ease (and keep your computer screen from being the only light in the room… ouch).

There are so many LED lighting options on the market today, ranging widely from low-quality lights with crummy adhesive strips to premium LED strips that provide a shocking amount of light.

In this article, I’ve compiled a list of the four best LED lights for a gaming room, as well as a helpful guide to help you make a decision on which lights you’ll adorn your gaming room with.

Let’s get into it, shall we?

Quick LED Lights Recommendations for a Gaming Room

Award Model Price
Best Overall LED Lights for a Gaming Room Nanoleaf Canvas Starter Kit Check Price Read Customer Reviews
Best for Versatility LED Lights for a Gaming Room Philips Hue Play White & Color Smart LED Bars Check Price Read Customer Reviews
Best Beam Lighting LED Lights for a Gaming Room LIFX Wi-Fi LED Beam Kit Check Price Read Customer Reviews
Best Premium LED Lights for a Gaming Room Nanoleaf Rhythm Edition Smarter Kit Check Price Read Customer Reviews

How to Choose the Best LED Lights for a Gaming Room

professional gamer playing computer games online with headphones, in a room with neon light.

With so many different options and styles for LED lights, it can be tricky to narrow your search and make a decision; especially when you don’t know what you’re looking for. I’ve listed the three most important factors to consider when shopping for LED lights, so keep these in mind as you search.

Shape

The shape of your LED lights plays a large role in how the light diffuses in your room. Triangular panels, like that of the Nanoleaf Rhythm, diffuse light the most evenly. However, light bars might be better for those looking to illuminate just one wall or the space behind their monitors.

Figuring out what purpose you want your lights to serve most will help you determine what shape of light you need, thus narrowing down your options. Triangles penetrate rooms evenly, bars or light strips illuminate even surfaces best.

Customization

Another important factor to take into consideration is the customization of a given light. The best LED lights for gaming rooms will allow you to change the colors and even set lighting patterns or schedules.

This adds a level of personality to your lighting setup and prevents you from feeling like your lights aren’t matching the mood. The ability to set schedules is extremely useful if your gaming room also doubles as your home office.

Connectivity

There are a few different points encompassed by connectivity. First, you don’t want an LED light with a long, thick cable that hangs conspicuously on your wall or takes up space under your desk. The best LED lights for gaming rooms have a small control box and discrete wires.

Second, you want to be able to control the lights from at least one device, ideally multiple. This comes in the form of an app that you can install that allows you complete control over the lights, as opposed to the small, flimsy, easy-to-lose remotes that cheap lights come with.

Finally, the very best LED lights for gaming rooms can connect to your PC or console and match the lighting from it. There are a couple of such options on this list!

The Best LED Lights for a Gaming Room

The Nanoleaf Canvas Starter Kit adds a few great features to your gaming room, the most notable of which is the touch sensors within the light panels.

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Summary

With a palm of the hand, you can control these lights and, with over 16 million colors, this lighting kit will bring a boatload of chill into your gaming room.

Review

Not to be confused with the Nanoleaf Rhythm Kit mentioned later in this article, the Nanoleaf Canvas Starter Kit is its own kind of special. These lights are equipped with touch sensors, so you can power on the lights with the palm of your hand or, if your PC isn’t holding your attention, you can even play touch-based games on the tiles.

They easily mount to the walls of your room with sturdy adhesive strips, so you don’t have to worry about gluing or drilling your walls. The Rhythm Module included in this Kit lets your tiles sense music and match the lighting patterns to the tempo; a very cool addition for gamers looking for a fully immersive environment.

In addition to the Rhythm functions, these tiles allow for Screen Mirroring, which means you can connect them to a TV or monitor with an HDMI cable (see also how to tell if HDMI cable is 2.0)and have the panels reflect the lighting scheme on the screen.

Finally, you can control these lights through both a mobile and a desktop app, so you don’t have to keep track of a little remote. Overall, these are the best LED lights for a gaming room and would do any gamer justice.

What We Like
Rhythm Module - The Rhythm Module is included in both this kit and the one mentioned later in this article, and it’s a great addition to each. Being able to connect your lighting to your music is a fun way to create an entirely interactive environment.
Screen Mirror - Similar to how the Rhythm Module connects the lights to music, Screen Mirror lets your lights mimic the lighting on your screen, which further enhances the immersion and creates a uniquely ambient room.
Connectivity - Being able to control these lights from both a desktop and mobile app is extremely handy, especially for gamers who like changing their lights on a whim in the middle of a session.
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Price - These lights are much more expensive than you’d find the average lighting strip priced at, but they are worth the money. You get more features, touch capability, and total customization.
Consistency - Some reviews for this product claim that the touch function doesn’t work sometimes, which may be mostly to user error. However, it’s worth a heads-up.
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The Philips Hue Play bar lights are just another great addition to Philips’ smart light lineup, one of the most advanced in the industry.

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Summary

These bar lights are extremely versatile, with the option to mount them to your monitor, TV, wall, or even stand them up on a desk or TV stand.

Review

The Philips Hue Plays offer unmatched versatility. These bar lights put out a stunning ambient light, and you can mount them to virtually anything. You can also stand them up next to your TV or monitor to give a sleek, polished light to the room.

These lights are voice-activated, making them a special kind of smart light for those that enjoy a completely hands-off experience. You can even connect up to three bar lights for a completely synced ambient environment!

Something to keep in mind is that you need a Philips Hue Smart Hub to connect these lights, which is sold separately. However, with a Hub, you can connect even more lights in more than just one room to give your house that futuristic look that all gamers love.

Overall, this is an extremely versatile LED lighting setup and should be heavily considered if your ultimate goal is a multi-room LED light environment.

What We Like
Price - These bar lights are humbly priced well below most of the options on this list, but still provide a host of features that are hard to find in the cheap LED strips you find at most stores.
Connectivity - These bar lights are controlled by a Smart Hub, which you can control from an app on your phone. No remotes, no hassle, just vibes.
Multi-Room - With a Hub or two in your home, you can easily connect any number of lights throughout your house so you don’t lose the mood when you need a glass of water. This is also a great light to set up around a console gaming setup!
Know Before Buying
Hub Required - To operate these lights, you do need a Smart Hub, which is not included in the kit. A bummer, but worth it in the end.
Size - These bar lights are powerful but not very long, measuring only about 10’” in length. It’s enough to light up a wall or room, but the light diffuses as it gets further from the source.
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The LIFX Wi-Fi LED Beam Kit is simple in design, powerful, and more than capable of setting the mood.

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Summary

You can connect multiple together and, with included command strips, you can mount these beam strips anywhere.

Review

The LIFX Beam Kit comes with one long LED beam that you can mount to walls, TVs, and desks easily. They have 16 million colors to choose from and work with voice commands when paired with an Alexa or Apple HomeKit.

They provide a strong, steady light that lights an entire wall with the colors of your choice, and you can connect these lights to Wi-Fi and control them from your phone for ultimate versatility. These lights are a great choice for lighting up either a family room or the underside of a gaming desk!

You can connect multiple beam strips to each other with simple connectors, so you could theoretically line the floor of your gaming room on all four walls for a fully lit room.

Overall, these are the best beam lights for a gaming room on the market, especially for the price!

What We Like
Connectivity - These lights connect to an app on your phone, which means you can control them from either a touch of the finger or a simple voice command when paired with compatible voice assistants.
Lighting - The lighting these LED beams give off is impressive and more than enough to light a whole room with ambient tones.
Razer Chroma - One of the coolest features of these lights is that you can connect them to Razer Chroma (if your PC has it), so they will sync up with the lights on your computer.
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Shape - These beam lights are great, but only come as a long bar. You can connect them at right angles, but they aren’t a great fit for subtle angles and specific dimensions for some desks.
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The Nanoleaf Rhythm Edition Smarter Kit is a huge improvement from the Canvas Starter Kit mentioned earlier in this article.

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Summary

With an improved Rhythm Module, more panels, and smarter software, these premium LED lights are unmatched.

Review

The Rhythm Edition stands above the Canvas Starter Kit in a few different ways. The Rhythm Module has been upgraded for these, allowing the lights to seamlessly match the tempo of the music you’re listening to.

You can control these lights from an app as well, but you can set more complex schedules and routines, which gives you the utmost customization potential. They also feature the Screen Mirror option, which is great for family and gaming rooms alike.

This kit is a bit more expensive than the other kit on this list, but you get an additional six panels (for a total of fifteen), so the money is worth it, especially with the hardware and software upgrades.

Overall, these are the best premium LED lights for a gaming room. If you can stomach the price, these lights will easily outperform any other on this list.

What We Like
Rhythm Module - This kit features an improved Rhythm Module, which detects music in the room and matches the tempo for an immersive lighting experience.
Panels - This kit comes with fifteen panels, which is more than enough to decorate a wall and provide enough ambient light for the whole room.
Know Before Buying
Price - These lights are much more expensive than any other on this list, and will only really be worth it for gamers with a high budget.
Adhesive Strips - Nanoleaf recently stopped using 3M adhesive strips in favor of their own, self-branded strips, and they are not as powerful as the 3M alternatives.
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Why You Want the Best LED Lights for Your Gaming Room

asian girl wear vr glasses and play games

Having a solid LED lighting setup is crucial to keeping the vibes running 24/7; that’s a fact. More importantly, you’ll want LED lights that fit your room and have all the features you need, whether that be a light bar over a strip or hundreds of colors over a simple collection of presets.

With ample ambient lighting, you can ignore the grips of your circadian rhythm and game through the night in comfort. With some of the options on this list, you can even pair the lights to the music you’re listening to or the lighting within your PC to enhance the experience even more!

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Conclusion

Best Overall LED Lights for a Gaming Room
Best for Versatility LED Lights for a Gaming Room
Best Beam Lighting LED Lights for a Gaming Room

At the end of the day, Nanoleaf has the best LED lights for gaming rooms, but the best one for you will be the one that fits your room and needs best. In this article, I listed four of the best options, as well as a helpful guide for determining which one is best for you.

FAQs

Are LED Lights Bad for You?

No, as long as you aren’t staring directly at one for hours on end, LED lights won’t damage your eyes.

Do LED Lights Get Hot?

They generate some heat, but not nearly as much as energy-efficient light bulbs will. There is no risk of an LED light setting something in your room on fire.

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