I recently sold an i5 system, based on an intel DP55WB motherboard.

As part of the setup & configuration, I went into the bios, and found some really unusual settings:

• Internal bling LED.
• Skull backlighting.
• Skull eye hard drive activity (give the skull life!).

Since I had the computer built for me, I had to look at the motherboard carefully, to find out what it all means.

The bling LED is just a bright white LED, near the CPU, that can be made to flash.

The small skull was a lot harder to find… Its on an inner corner of the motherboard… on the underside of the motherboard.

I suspect the skull can glow (maybe its made from special fluorescent tracks), but I was looking during daylight, so I couldn’t see the glow effect.

The skull eyes are 2 LEDs, which can be made to flash with hard drive activity. It works, but is highly unlikely to be seen.

If this is an attempt by intel, to look “cool” to the PC performance crowd, then they only managed to look like they are trying too hard.

If it was up to me: either keep the mobo uncluttered… and maybe coat it with a fluorescent dye (then the builder can decide on UV lights to add some extra “bling”), or go all-out and have fluorescent tracks everywhere… And make it as gaudy as possible.

All this reminds me of IBM many years ago, where they tried to make their version of Unix (AIX) more popular by packaging the CDs in a “cool looking” case with the words “AIX Rocks!” splashed across the front cover… it was good for a laugh.