A lightweight Armoury Crate alternative

Armoury Crate does a lot: drivers, updates, fan tuning, and lighting. If the lighting is all you want, RGB Engine does that one job from a single small app. It lights your ASUS board, RAM, fans and strips, plus the other brands in your case, using under 15 MB of RAM.

Get notified at launch

RGB Engine and Armoury Crate side by side

Armoury Crate details are from ASUS's own support pages, checked October 29, 2026.

Feature	RGB Engine	Armoury Crate
Price	$4.99 once on Steam	Free with ASUS hardware
What it does	Lighting only	Lighting, drivers, updates, fan control and more
In the background	2 processes, under 15 MB	Several apps and services
Brands	Everything OpenRGB supports, mixed freely	ASUS and Aura Sync certified gear
Looks	100+ designed, music-reactive looks	Aura effects, plus Aura Creator for your own
Make your own	Scene editor, share scenes as files	Aura Creator
Fan control and tuning	No	Yes
Drivers and BIOS updates	No	Yes

RGB Engine measured with Task Manager's Memory column on a 16-thread gaming PC with an ASUS B650 motherboard, October 2026.

When Armoury Crate is the better pick

If you use Armoury Crate for fan curves, driver updates or an ASUS laptop's performance modes, keep it. RGB Engine doesn't do any of that.

If you just want your lights to look great and stay out of the way, RGB Engine is built for exactly that. One app for every brand in the case, running quietly in the tray.

Get notified at launch

Switching from Armoury Crate

Download ASUS's Armoury Crate Uninstall Tool from the support page for your motherboard, run it and restart. If it fails, ASUS says to restart and run it again.
Restart into your BIOS, press F7 for Advanced Mode if needed, and set Tool > ASUS Armoury Crate to Disabled. Save with F10. Otherwise Windows will offer to install it again.
Open RGB Engine and run the two-minute setup: it lights each part of your PC and you say what you see. Or skip it and start with a sensible default.

Questions

Can I control ASUS Aura RGB without Armoury Crate?

Yes. RGB Engine lights ASUS Aura motherboard headers, RGB RAM, fans and strips without Armoury Crate installed. It talks to your hardware through OpenRGB, which comes included, and it was built and tested on an ASUS B650 motherboard.

How do I fully remove Armoury Crate?

Use ASUS's official Armoury Crate Uninstall Tool from the support page for your motherboard, then restart. ASUS says to run it a second time if the first try fails. Then turn off the Armoury Crate option in your BIOS (Tool menu) so Windows doesn't offer to install it again.

Why does Armoury Crate keep coming back?

Most ASUS motherboards have a BIOS setting, enabled by default, that offers to download and install Armoury Crate in Windows. Set Tool > ASUS Armoury Crate to Disabled in the BIOS and save with F10.

Can I run RGB Engine and Armoury Crate at the same time?

No. Two RGB apps fighting over the same lights makes them flicker or stop responding. Remove Armoury Crate, or at least its lighting service, before you use RGB Engine.

Sources

Armoury Crate FAQ, ASUS (uninstall tool, related apps and services).
How to disable automatic download of Armoury Crate?, ASUS (BIOS setting).

Coming soon to Steam

$4.99, once. Leave your email and we'll let you know the day RGB Engine comes out.