ASRock has issued a beta firmware compatible with its AMD and Intel motherboards to support the Microsoft Dynamic Lighting standard in Windows 11. Support at this time is limited to "most" Intel 600/ 700 series and AMD B550/X570, A620/B650 and X670 motherboards.
With the beta firmware, together with Microsoft's integration (also in beta) in the latest Windows 11 23H2 builds, users can sync RGB lighting and effects on motherboards, graphics cards, gaming keyboards, mice, headphones, and microphones under one native ecosystem.
Microsoft's idea is to bring order to the chaos by tying all RGB and lighting devices compatible with the open HID LampArray standard to its ecosystem. This will be appreciated by many who have RGB setups controlled by resource-hungry and confusing OEM utilities. Microsoft Dynamic Lighting is open source and the company is working with several OEM and ODM partners. Since many Tier 1 manufacturers have a plethora of RGB hardware, devices, and peripherals, this seems like a good way to simplify setup and controls for enthusiasts.
While Microsoft Dynamic Lighting may not be enough to make Windows 10 users shift to Windows 11, Microsoft is at least working diligently on the operating system to make it more appealing by incentivizing existing users.
However, it will be interesting to see how many other OEMs will jump onboard and how long it will take for them to roll out initial support to customers.
