Packaging for the Corsair iCUE Link XC7 RGB Elite block is in line with other recent Corsair Hydro X Series products, with a yellow and black cardboard box that comes wrapped in plastic. On the front is the company logo and product name along with a render of the block to show you how it looks. The CPU socket compatibility is also listed at the bottom, although it is missing LGA 1200 for some reason, as is the iCUE Link feature which is a big selling point for anyone wanting to have a single product ecosystem. On the back we see another product render as well as marketing features in multiple languages. Seals on the top and bottom help keep the contents in place during transit.
Open the outer box from either side to pull out a two piece plastic clamshell that houses the various items inside. We get an iCUE Link cable with a right-angled connector on one end and a straight connector on the other. Underneath is a warranty guide—there is no printed quick start guide anymore. The CPU block comes placed inside the plastic clamshell for added protection along with the installation hardware that includes Intel and AMD socket mounting brackets, an Intel backplate with specific locations marked for the locking nuts to be positioned at depending on whether you will be cooling a CPU on the LGA 1200 or LGA 1700 platform, and an insulating film to prevent the metal backplate from shorting out the PCB. The mounting brackets have the installation hardware already attached on the corners, so Corsair continues to be user-friendly in this regard. No thermal paste to be seen here but, if our experience with previous Corsair water blocks is anything to go by, it is likely pre-installed on the block already.