Assuming you don't have enough things perched precariously atop your monitor, why not add yet another Razer-branded peripheral? Razer's new Aether Monitor Light Bar is precisely what its name says. It is a lamp that sits on top of your monitor and illuminates your desktop so you can see whatever is not on your screen.
I bet you didn't even know you needed that.
Okay, so it's not a total gimmick — if your desk area isn't well-lit, a monitor light bar is a good way to add some ambient lighting to your setup (instead of turning on all the lights in your house). It's better to have some ambient lighting while you're on your PC (as opposed to sitting in complete darkness) because it reduces the contrast between your screen and your surroundings, reducing eye strain. And a desk lamp is usually better than flipping on overhead lighting — assuming you even have overhead lighting — because overhead lights are often too bright and ideally placed for screen glare.
You can use a regular lamp, of course, but you need to put it somewhere — and not everyone has the desk/floor space to dedicate to lighting. So why not stick it on top of your monitor? A monitor light bar saves space, doubles as a task bar, and clears up cable clutter if you can plug it directly into your monitor.
But you can pick up a monitor light bar that does all this and more on Amazon for much less than $130, which is how much the Razer Aether Monitor Light Bar will cost when it launches in March. I don't currently have a monitor light bar (because I have four monitors — where would I even put it?), but my colleague Matt Safford loves this $60 KableRika desk lamp (which actually clamps onto the desk and sits behind your monitor, freeing up monitor-top real estate for your seven webcams, or whatever).
So, what's so special about Razer's Aether Monitor Light Bar?
You guessed it — Chroma RGB. The Aether Monitor Light Bar is a dual light bar with front- and rear-facing LEDs, so you can have your normal, task-oriented ambient lighting in the front and your colorful gamer-aesthetic RGB rave in the back. The front-facing LEDs light up an area that measures approximately 23.6 x 11.8 inches (60 x 30cm) with "vivid and natural lighting" (CRI: 95) at 500 lux. The rear-facing LEDs project RGB lighting effects against the wall (assuming there's a wall behind your monitor — there probably should be if you get the Aether) for an "immersive visual experience."
Razer says the Aether's Chroma RGB integration "transforms any gaming space into a dynamic and reactive environment, elevating the overall ambiance." Razer refers to how Chroma RGB can connect to various games and third-party apps and allow said games/apps to control Chroma RGB with custom, game-specific lighting effects. These effects actually are pretty immersive if you have several Chroma RGB-compatible peripherals/lights flashing brightly around you — but only if Chroma RGB is working, which it often isn't (e.g., if Synapse is updating for the 17th time in 3 hours).
There's not much more to say about the Aether Monitor Light Bar — it's a monitor light bar. It has capacitive touch controls along the front for adjusting brightness, color temperature, and Chroma effects (I assume these touch buttons aren't software-dependent; there don't appear to be any physical buttons). It has a built-in clamp-style mount that you can clamp onto your monitor or attach to a stand using a threaded tripod attachment. Like Razer's other "Gamer Room" lighting products, the Aether works with smart home devices and controllers powered by Matter and can be set up and controlled (with routines and whatnot) using Razer's Gamer Room app.
The Aether Monitor Light Bar will be available in March for $129.99, which is pricey but unsurprising (Razer's Aether Lamp Pro and Aether Light Strip are similarly priced).
