Installation

The CORSAIR iCUE Link XG3 Hybrid GPU block for the RTX 4080 and 4090 is compatible with a lot of GPUs, using a reference PCB or otherwise. In fact, it's also compatible with most RTX 3080/3080 Ti/3090/3090 Ti GPUs too. To know for sure, use the CORSAIR custom cooling configurator. I saw multiple reviewers and comments about this product be mistaken about it thinking this only works for the reference PCB RTX 4080 and RTX 4090. I can confirm that it works for the ASUS RTX 4090 Strix/TUF PCB thus, as seen in this page. Installation begins with removal of the stock cooler which you can know more about in our review of the GPU here. I mentioned before how the pre-applied thermal pads and paste mostly worked fine here because CORSAIR is erring on the side of caution and going with large implementations of both. You could get better results by applying your own paste on the GPU and then making sure the pads make good contact with the VRAM modules too. But the pre-applied ones work well enough to facilitate easy installation compared to other blocks. In fact, this might be the simplest such installation since all you have to do is carefully orient the block from the back and place it over the PCB before flipping it over to make sure the block makes good, even contact. Now just use four of the provided screws and secure the block around the GPU—that's it!


The finished look is seen above and we can see how small this block is compared to the larger non-reference PCB. In fact, despite the I/O terminal sticking out at the top, it's still in line with the taller PCB to not have any case compatibility issues this way. However, the block is on the thicker side owing to the fan and electronics inside in addition to the cold plate itself. It extends past the two-slot I/O bracket of this card so account for at least 3 slots of room with the fittings involved. I also think it doesn't look great when the GPU is installed horizontally and the lack of a backplate doesn't help either even if you could potentially re-use the stock backplate. The block does feel like it's designed to be looked at when installed vertically, especially with the RGB LEDs around the fan frame in the middle. To make use of those LEDs as well as the fan itself, connect the included iCUE Link cable to a compatible iCUE Link system hub which is sold separately unfortunately. This feels like an issue since you can't power/control that fan separately and you are effectively forced into the ecosystem even if all you wanted is just this block by itself. If you already have other iCUE Link products, such as the new fans which come with the controller when bought as a set, then this block makes a lot more sense. CORSAIR has since also released full cover iCUE Link GPU blocks for those going all-in with this ecosystem.

Lighting

Here's the light show that greets you when the cable is connected and powered on. It is a rainbow wave lighting effect that does a good job of showcasing the individually addressable nature of the 18 RGB LEDs, and we can also see how and where the light comes through the block—or mostly the fan frame anyway!


Assuming you do have an iCUE Link hub, make sure you have the latest version of CORSAIR iCUE installed and have it connected. It took me two iCUE restarts and a full system restart before both the hub and the GPU block were detected by the software but after that everything was a piece of cake. The video above goes over the software customization available, including changing the lighting on a per-LED basis as well as simply choosing between several pre-programmed lighting effects. The temperature sensor also helps make sure everything is working as expected while also allowing you to force shut down the system in case of an emergency. The fan can also be changed to a variety of RPM profiles based on how you want it, although I suspect most people will just leave it on the default "silent" preset which works well enough while keeping the fan inaudible once installed inside a PC case.


Here is a look at some of the other lighting options, be it static or dynamic. CORSAIR always impresses with accurate color rendition as evident by the fairly true to color white these LEDs were able to reproduce, although here you will only be able to see these LEDs if the GPU is installed vertically or reverse horizontally. Even so, it's basically an LED fan that you are seeing here with the block itself being opaque thanks to the plastic top.