By: Aaron Lai, Ben Joubert, and Jonathan Kwan
May 17, 2024
If you were to choose who to invite to a party you are hosting, what criteria of selection do you have? For me, these factors include the type of party, category of people in relation to the type of party, level of friendship, adjacency between the invited, history of participation, as well as reciprocation. For example, if I were to plan my birthday party, I would generally invite people I consider to be good friends, and of course, the minimum friendship closeness level depends on the size of the party. In other words, the smaller the party, the closer the invited friends would be. I would also consider adjacency between friends, so I would not accidentally leave out a significant other or one person in a friend group if I invited everyone else in that friend group. Regarding the history of participation, if someone I invited in the past does not really want to be there, then I will leave them out, so they do not feel pressured to come. Lastly, I evaluate reciprocation. Using the above factors as guidance, if someone has a party that I should have been invited to but was not, then I would do the same and leave such a person out. I think this selection method is probably not too different for most people, so feel free to message me if I am way off base. If today's review was a party, Corsair has certainly invited quite a crowd. In fact, the company has invited almost their entire new iCUE Link RX performance fans lineup, including the RX120, RX120 RGB, and RX140 RGB -- and multiple copies of each of them, too. I say "almost", because the RX140 was left out. Maybe the RX140 feels kind of sad they were not invited to the party, but nonetheless, here we are today we three models and eighteen copies in total for our review. Since Corsair made it a party, why not make it a party here at APH Networks as well and have the three of us write this review together? Read on to find out what we have found!
Our review units of the Corsair iCUE Link RX120, RX120 RGB, and RX140 RGB fans came in a medium-sized brown corrugated cardboard box from a distribution warehouse in Fontana, California, USA, close to the company's American headquarters in Fremont. Using UPS Standard, the box was clearly crushed in one corner when it came to us here in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Thankfully, the contents inside survived without a scratch. The box was surprisingly heavy, feeling much heavier than what I would expect from some fans. At first, I was thinking they may have sent a PSU to us by accident, so I opened the box to see what was up.
Upon opening the box, I quickly understood why it was so heavy: Corsair sent us six copies of each fan, which means we had three boxes of the RX140 RGB 2-pack and two 3-packs of the RX120 and RX120 RGB. That is a whopping total of eighteen fans. Since none of us here at APH Networks individually need that many, we decided to divide them up among the editors, and now we have three authors writing this review.
The retail packagings of the Corsair iCUE Link RX120, RX120 RGB, and RX140 RGB are immediately recognizable to anyone who has seen products from the company in the last little while. They all use the same template, which is good for brand consistency. The predominantly yellow color scheme is complemented by black strips on the side, contrasted by the white text on the darker shades and black text on the lighter shades. A photo shot from three-quarter view of the fans, corresponding to the quantity inside the box, occupies the majority of the real estate in front. At the top, you will find Corsair's logo. The model name of the fan is vertically on the right along with an indicator that these are starter kits. At the bottom is an array of feature highlights, indicating its 14-device link capability, airflow rating, and eight LED or LCP material, depending on the model. Multiple references to the iCUE Link ecosystem can be found at the corners. Feature highlights and specifications can be found on the remaining sides of the box.
Before we move on, let us take a look at the specifications of the Corsair iCUE Link RX120, RX120 RGB, and RX140 RGB, as obtained from the manufacturer's website:
Corsair iCUE Link RX120
Weight: 0.69
Fan Size: 120mm x 25mm
LED Color: No
Package Quantity: 3
Power Draw: 0.58A
PWM Control: Yes
Sound Level: 10 - 36 dBA
Fan Static Pressure: 0.12 - 4.38 mm-H20
LINK Compatibility: no led
Fan Airflow: 10.5 - 74.2 CFM
Flow Type: STATIC PRESSURE
Speed: 2100 RPM
Corsair iCUE Link RX120 RGB
Weight: 0.69
Fan Size: 120mm x 25mm
LED Color: RGB
Package Quantity: 3
Power Draw: 0.66A
PWM Control: Yes
Sound Level: 10 - 36 dBA
Fan Static Pressure: 0.12 - 4.33 mm-H20
LINK Compatibility: RGB
Fan Airflow: 10.4 - 73.5 CFM
Flow Type: STATIC PRESSURE
Speed: 2100 RPM
Corsair iCUE Link RX140 RGB
Weight: 0.57
Fan Size: 140mm x 25mm
LED Color: RGB
Package Quantity: 2
Power Draw: 0.7A
PWM Control: Yes
Sound Level: 10 - 36 dBA
Fan Static Pressure: 0.15 - 3.75 mm-H20
LINK Compatibility: RGB
Fan Airflow: 17.9 - 94.7 CFM
Flow Type: STATIC PRESSURE
Speed: 1700 RPM
Out of the box, each set of fans includes many accessories. First of all, each kit comes with either three fans for the 120mm variants, or two fans for the 140mm variants. Along with this is a whole bunch of accessories for connecting and controlling the fans using the included hub. We will explore these in further detail later on. However, one thing I do appreciate is the use of sealed paper bags to hold smaller accessories. This is a more environmentally friendly choice compared to plastic while still achieving the same purpose. One of the fans includes a cardboard sleeve with a QR code link to the setup manual. However, Corsair has also packaged paper documentation to cover warranty, safety, and compliance information. I think all of this could have also been linked with a separate QR code to further reduce waste.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. Performance Tests
4. Conclusion
