Lighting

As the name suggests, the CORSAIR iCUE QL RGB fans have RGB lightning software support via iCUE. The latest public version at the time of review was 3.22.74, and the installer can be found here. It is 354 MB in size and takes up ~600 MB on your system depending on the options chosen. If the fans are connected to the Lighting Node CORE, which in turn is connected to an internal USB 2.0 header, iCUE will recognize the controller immediately and allow for control of the chosen devices as seen in the video above. There are a plethora of lighting options after you have correctly input the type and number of devices connected, including some new effects, such as Gate and Ping. You can also set up custom effects, even down to the front or rear loops, and have sequential lighting depending on the order in which the fans were connected to the Lighting Node CORE. That having been said, there is a weird little thing here wherein the chosen cable orientation means that you have to put some additional thought into the cable management to make sure the LEDs are in order when going from the fans in the front to those in the back of a case, for example. Although not a deal breaker given the fan cable is relatively long, it could have easily been solved by simply having the cable come out the other side of the fan.


Seen above are the QL120 and QL140 RGB fans next to each other, powered on and in the default rainbow wave lighting effect. The photos are taken mid-animation, and all 34 LEDs per fan are lit up to where it makes for a powerful light show. You can also better see the four LED ring loops in action here, and how the fan hub and frame are built to accommodate this. Given the significant increase in LEDs per fan relative to other CORSAIR fan offerings, there is also a quick guide for using these QL fans with the older Lighting Node PRO, which has two LED channels. Depending on the number and types of other compatible CORSAIR RGB devices you have, which determines the total number of RGB LEDs, the guide above shows how many of each you can safely connect to the Lighting Node PRO without overwhelming it.

Above are four videos to showcase the lighting of the QL120 and QL140 RGB fans, with one of each connected consecutively to the Lighting Node CORE. This includes the default rainbow wave mode, an effect customized to only have the rear loops lit up, as well as a couple of the new effects that are compatible with the QL RGB fans. The lighting customization is no doubt the biggest selling point of these fans, so hopefully, this page helps your decision-making process on whether these fans are for you.