It’s almost Christmas, and that means you might have seen lots of houses and shops covered in lights. But you don’t need to wait until the end of the year to experience the magic of colour. If you’ve read any of my reviews, you’ll know I love RGB and my whole home office is filled with various RGB lights and devices.
When we reviewed the Corsair iCUE Link RX fans, I was impressed with the fans’ cooling capabilities and slick design. I was a little sad there was no RGB. Thankfully, there’s a solution to this. The Corsair LX fan series has all the bells and whistles of the RX line with added RGB. Is it worth the few extra dollars?
Corsair LX120 fans
The Corsair LX120 fans have the exact same specifications as the RX120 fans. You’ll receive the Corsair iCUE Link controller for adjusting all your fan speeds, and each fan has the same sleek interlocking system as the RX120 fan. The LX120 is Corsair’s 120mm fan type. You can also choose to purchase the LX140, which is the 140mm version. The LX120 comes in both white and black. Since the PC I was upgrading is all black, we opted for the LX120 black fans.
We also opted for two packs of three fans each in order to replace the six RX120 fans with six LX120 fans. You can choose to purchase the fans in one, two, or three fan bundles. You’ll need to get started with at least a two pack in order to receive the iCUE Link hub that allows you to control the fans.
Upon opening the boxes, you might notice it’s almost exactly the same as the RX120. Each box of three contains three LX120 fans—distinguishable by their translucent blades—iCUE hub, fan connectors, mounting screws, linking cables, and hub connection cable.
Once we laid out everything neatly, and connected the fans in the correct orientation, it’s time to switch them out.
Installing the fans
I love Corsair’s QuikTurn screws. These revolutionary screws make computer building so much easier and more fun. We had six fans to remove and reinstall, a total of 24 screws. The QuikTurn screws pop out and unscrew effortlessly, taking us only minutes to remove all six fans.
Installing the new Corsair LX120 fans was, again, a breeze thanks to these QuikTurn screws. In a few minutes we had all the new fans installed and ready to go.
Turning it all on
By now, you know how much I love RGB lights, and I couldn’t wait to turn on the computer and see it all lit up. Well, I was in for a slight disappointment. Unlike other Corsair devices such as keyboard or mouse, there’s no default light function for the LX120 fans. The default is “off”. If you want to experience the lighting magic, you’ll need to get the Corsair iCUE link software and configure the fans. Luckily, this is a straightforward process.
Head to the Corsair website and download the iCUE software, available for Windows and macOS. You can skip the sign up process and proceed directly to download if you desire. Once installed, either skip or browse through the tutorials, and you’re good to go. The software should detect your new fans—provided you installed everything correctly—and should give the option to update firmware if required.
Follow the steps and when you’re back at the main screen you can now start changing your PC’s look.
iCUE software for funky lighting controls
The Corsair iCUE software allows you to change various settings on your fans. This includes fan speed, performance, and yes, lighting. I won’t talk too much about the cooling capabilities and how quiet the fans are because we mentioned that in the previous article. Instead, let’s focus on the lights. That’s why we upgraded, right?!
The first thing you’ll probably want to do is get all your fans in the correct order. In the iCUE software you can click and drag fans until they are in the correct configuration. I really love how each fan is a different colour, and Corsair made this process really intuitive.
Next, let’s change the lighting. In the software, click “Lighting” to start playing around with various options. There are a tonne of preset themes and designs to choose from. If there isn’t something you desire select “Custom” to completely design your own lighting.
There are 18 RGB LEDs on each fan, and each light can be individually selected and adjusted. You could literally spend hours playing around with all the different lighting designs and choosing something unique to you. iCUE also allows you to synchronise your lights with other devices, such as a keyboard. Furthermore, select to have your devices to react to in-game triggers for a truly immersive experience.
Upgrade to Corsair iCUE Link LX120 RGB fans
After upgrading your fans to RGB, you’ll really notice the difference.
Here’s a photo of the PC before the fans were installed:
And here’s a photo of the PC after the fans were installed, a serious upgrade:
If you like the idea of a bunch of immersive and fun fans in your PC, grab yourself a pack or two of the LX120 fans. The triple pack is $129.99 USD, and a single pack will set you back $39.99 USD. If you are opting for larger fans, the LX140 comes in a single pack at $44.99 USD or dual pack at $109.99 USD.
For the Aussies, Amazon are currently shipping the triple pack for $199 AUD, or PC Case Gear at $179 AUD. Don’t forget each set comes in either black or white to suit your build.
If you hurry you might get in before Christmas, otherwise you can look forward to upgrading your fans in the new year.