Introduction

Nearly two years ago, CORSAIR released their LL RGB series of fans with 16 addressable RGB LEDs per fan. Our own readers were quick to point out that these were going to usher in an era of RGB more than before, and the time since has indeed shown that these fans have been extremely popular—even more so than the CORSAIR ML RGB fans I personally am a bigger fan of. Other companies, including Thermaltake, have gone about adding even more RGB LEDs per fan since, so it was only a matter of time before CORSAIR decided to do this all over again. It is now the holiday season of 2019 where people are looking for deals to build new PCs, and what better time then for these new fans to show up. Thanks again to CORSAIR for sending review samples to TechPowerUp!


The CORSAIR iCUE QL RGB fans come in both 120 and 140 mm size offerings, and CORSAIR sent over both for me to check out. The performance section of this review will stick to only the 120 mm fans to fit in with the rest of the test database I have here, but given how these fans are going to all be about looks over performance, it made sense to showcase them together. The name itself is a hit or miss—the latter for me, especially because I have already made my reservations about iCUE itself public before, but let's just call these the QL120 and QL140 RGB fans for the sake of time and sanity. Each fan has a whopping 34 addressable RGB LEDs across four loops—inner and outer loop rings on the front and rear alike. Prepare to be blinded by the RGB as we begin the review with a look at the specifications below.

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

Corsair operates a web shop in the USA. However, the items used in this review came from a shipping hub, so we begin by taking a look at the product packaging. The product packaging adopts the black and yellow scheme from their "Corsair Gaming" lineup now also used for their DIY components, taking it further with a more pronounced and colorful design. Taking off the plastic wrap, we see printed illustrations of the fans on the front that do an excellent job of showing how these QL RGB fans can look when powered on. This triple pack with the controller SKU for the QL120 RGB has a fairly large box to accommodate the contents inside, and we see a note on the number of fans inside, along with the salient marketing and technical features on the front. This continues on the back and sides, where we see more specifications and the marketing features in multiple languages. There are seals at the top and bottom to help keep the contents inside in check, and a hang tab at the top makes for a nice addition to the packaging.


Opening the box, we see that the items included are packaged separately with the three fans at the bottom (or top, depending on how you opened it) and the accessories in their own yellow box above (or underneath). Alongside the fans, Corsair includes a multi-language quick-start guide, an FCC compliance sheet, and documentation on safe disposal. Should you want to use these as case fans, three sets of four self-tapping metal screws are also included.


New to the CORSAIR product portfolio is also their Lighting Node CORE, which combines the previous set of RGB fan LED hubs and the Lighting Node PRO. The new lighting controller is bundled in with the multi-packs of the QL120 and QL140 RGB fans and is a compacter solution that will be appreciated by most. It is a cost-saving measure first and foremost for CORSAIR, however, given there is now only one LED channel that is in turn taken up for the fans. So you will still need another compatible controller if you have different CORSAIR RGB-lit products, or simply another controller with more channels for use with these fans. The Lighting Node CORE has six headers for up to 6 QL RGB fans (or any other CORSAIR dRGB fan) and requires an internal USB 2.0 header for connection in addition to a full-size SATA connector for power.


The fans come in a cardboard blister inlay packaging that will help protect them during shipping and handling in most cases. The cables are tucked into a lower compartment.


The QL140 RGB twin pack comes packaged similar to the QL120 RGB triple pack, but is shorter in height given the accessory pack fits in alongside the two fans rather than on top.