Black or white bezel impact on LEDs?

[magarity]

Do the white bezels on the Corsair CPU block and XD3 make the LEDs much less impactful? Logically it seems the brighter white may make the LEDs lesser but it's hard to tell from other people's pictures.

 

I have a white 280x but the "white" ML140's I got are only white in the corners and the 280mm radiator is only in black. So I can't do the all white theme anyway. The only color will be from the lights in the pump and block so I'd like them to show up nicely. My teen asked eagerly "Is it going to have the colored lights?" when I started putting this system together, so it would be nice to be cool for a change.:cool:

[c-attack]

Most of the time it works the other way around and the white fan/reservoir/block etc will appear to be brighter or more vibrant than it’s otherwise black counterpart. Most LEDs are are not direct view and use a diffuser or some other type reflector to direct the light into a larger space. Since white reflects more light than an identical black surface, if gives the impression of being brighter. Anytime I would see someone else’s white LL fans they looked fantastic and I thought my black looked “dull” by comparison. You see the same effect when the inside of you case is white. It’s almost like it’s lit from within compared to a black case.

 

I’m not sure that will apply to the XC7 CPU block because the shiny metal part is the real reflector and not the bezel. The XD3 retains its black/dark interior on the white model, so internal reflectivity should be the same, but of course bolting a big white reservoir to your case will definitely stand out on or off.