Nexus vs Polychromatic

Nexus combines PC hardware monitoring, fan and pump control, and RGB lighting in one free app. It shows live CPU, GPU, memory, network, disk, fan, and temperature readings, with per-game FPS history on Windows. Its GPU-rendered lighting engine offers screen sync, audio sync, and Game Sync. Users can set fan and pump curves from any system temperature sensor or leave selected devices on BIOS or firmware settings. Nexus uses its own device drivers and a bundled OpenRGB build; hardware support depends on the exact model. A phone browser can act as a remote panel, using an encrypted relay outside the home network and switching to a direct connection when possible. The app works locally and offline without an account, while optional anonymous telemetry can be controlled in settings. Nexus runs on 64-bit Windows 10 or 11, Apple Silicon Macs, and x86-64 Linux. It has no builds for Windows on ARM, Intel Macs, or ARM Linux. Companion iOS and Android apps are not yet in the app stores.

Polychromatic is a free, open-source GNU/Linux frontend for OpenRazer. It controls lighting and other settings on supported Razer peripherals, with the home page listing more than 210 devices including keyboards, mice, mouse mats, and headsets. You can adjust built-in effects, brightness, DPI, and polling interval, or create static and animated mappings from pixels and frames for games, applications, or ambience. The app shows firmware versions and serial numbers and can test individually addressable LEDs. A tray applet provides settings access when the desktop supports system-tray indicators, and a troubleshooter addresses problems such as OpenRazer failures or missing devices. It runs locally without cloud services or a login and is licensed under GPLv3. Polychromatic supports OpenRazer only; other brands are unavailable, and key remapping is not supported.