Just to give some info, I had those LED boxes with the IR controller, like http: www amazon com ...

[G+_James Coleman]

Just to give some info, I had those LED boxes with the IR controller, like http://www.amazon.com/dp/B016K5EVLW/ and http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ASHQQKI/, and after about 2-4 months, things started to melt. I wasn't running the lights 24/7, but the issue is that they did not design these boxes to handle the amount of power needed by the LED strip, which is 6A or 72W at 12V.

 

What I ended up doing, is getting MOSFETs and an Arduino to control the LEDs for myself. To see more information on this, https://mrgecko.org/?s=led I have yet to finish the design of Arduino code, I want to hook it up to an ESP8266 and have a RasPi provide a web interface to control them. Parts list at https://www.sparkfun.com/wish_lists/99019

For my sister, I got http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GWFH46A and the same 12V 72W PSU from Mouser http://www.mouser.com/search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=0virtualkey0virtualkeyRS-75-12

 

So, in my opinion, it's better to buy a good power supply and ether build your own controller or use an existing one like what I'm giving my sister as it will be able to handle the power needed for LED strips.

 

Hope some of you find this information useful.?

http://www.mouser.com/search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=0virtualkey0virtualkeyRS-75-12