At first we would like to thank CORSAIR for offering us their iCUE LC100 Case Accent Lighting Panels for testing and reviewing.

 

About CORSAIR:

"Founded in 1994, Corsair has grown from pioneering the high-performance DRAM market to one of the world’s leading providers of enthusiast-grade PC components and peripherals. Our groundbreaking technology and innovation can be found in our high-performance memory, ultra-efficient power supplies, PC cases, PC and CPU cooling solutions, and solid-state storage devices. Under the Corsair Gaming brand, launched in 2014, we provide gaming keyboards, mice, headsets and mouse mats to eSports professionals and anybody who is passionate about competitive PC gaming.

 

Corsair hardware is regularly featured in showcase “dream systems,” and we have earned the adulation and respect of the press, professional gamers and overclockers, high-end system integrators, and PC enthusiasts worldwide by delivering leading-edge technology backed by renowned service and support.

 

Corsair has developed a global operations infrastructure with extensive marketing and distribution channel relationships, and our products are available through leading distributors and retailers in over sixty countries worldwide."

Product Features:

 

START WITH NINE PANELS - GIVE YOUR PC A PERSONAL TOUCH

Light up your PC case with nine interconnected mini RGB lighting panels. Arrange in your own custom layout to make your case truly stand out in style.

HASSLE-FREE CONFIGURATIONS - EASY MAGNETIC ATTACHMENT

Panels magnetically attach to each other and any steel surface, making installation and reconfiguration a breeze.

UP TO 18 PANELS IN TOTAL - EASY EXPANDABILITY

Add an LC100 Expansion Kit (sold separately) to extend your lighting configuration for even more intricate designs.

GO THREE-DIMENSIONAL

Challenge yourself and create stunning, advanced designs using the included eight low-profile connectors and two corner hinges for three-dimensional layouts.

CONTINUOUS LIGHT DIFFUSION

Each panel boasts nine brilliant RGB LEDs and are housed in a sturdy, light-diffusing casing for continuous and smooth lighting effects.

COMMAND YOUR LIGHTING

Paired with the included Lighting Node PRO Controller, CORSAIR iCUE software allows you to fully customize and synchronize your lighting across your entire setup.

Illuminate your PC with intricate lighting effects at a click of a mouse.

UNITE YOUR SETUP

CORSAIR iCUE software brings your entire setup together, creating a fully immersive ecosystem with intuitive control.

 

Product Specifications:

 

Control Scheme: RGB Lighting

RGB Channels: Two (via Lighting Node PRO)

Max RGB devices per controller: Eighteen (requires LC100 Expansion Kit)

RGB Strip diffusion: Yes

USB connection:

Internal female USB 2.0 9-pin (Lighting Node PRO)

3-pin RGB Cable (LC100 Main Triangle)

System Requirements: Latest iCUE software, Windows 10 \ Windows 11

Warranty: 2 years

 

If you think that there are no more innovations on the desktop RGB front, you are surely wrong! CORSAIR have one more ace on their sleeve with the LC100 Case Accent Lighting Panels, which are small RGB triangles, each incorporating no less than nine RGB LEDs inside a sturdy, light-diffusing casing for obtaining smooth effects! These are held together by magnetic force, while the electrical contacts are migrated from one triangle to the other by using the supplied connection rods.

 

The so-called starter kit comes with 9 triangles inside a compact cardboard enclosure, which shows on the top cover an example installation of the product:

 

 

 

On one of the sides, we will note the “Light it Up” saying:

 

 

 

On the packaging, CORSAIR has also included the supported standards, and we will also learn that the product is backed by a 2-year warranty:

 

 

 

Also, we will learn of the compatible products with the LC100 (CORSAIR Digital RGB controllers with 3-pin RGB connectors, the COMMANDER CORE XT, the COMMANDER PRO and also the Lighting Node PRO). The technical specifications read as 1.25A at 5VDC:

 

 

 

The main product highlights are noted on the back, together with some sample install folders, product dimensions, the code name but also the serial number:

 

 

 

The inside contents are carefully packaged, to avoid damages during transit; on the top cardboard layer, we will also note that CORSAIR wrote which is which:

 

 

 

In more detail, we will receive the Warranty Guide leaflet, a RGB extension cable, an USB cable, the Lighting Node PRO controller, but also the main product, the LC100:

 

 

 

The RGB extension cable is useful if the stock one is insufficient (usually the RGB controller is much farther away):

 

 

 

The USB 2.0 cable does link the motherboard to the Lighting Note PRO controller:

 

 

 

We will also receive two small adhesive tapes from 3M, while the Lighting Node PRO controller is very compact, can be easily hidden inside the case:

 

 

 

The Lighting Node Pro comes with two RGB channels, where we can connect directly LED strips from CORSAIR, the RGB Fan LED Hub for connecting multiple fans to the same channel, and of course, the LC100:

 

 

 

The controller features a mini-USB port:

 

 

 

The triangles can be easily detached:

 

 

 

The triangle which is equipped with the power and data connections is called the Master LC100 triangle:

 

 

 

 

On the frame, we will note five gold-plated contact pins, but also magnets in the extremities:

 

 

 

With the help of the magnets the connection rods can be attached right away!

 

 

Only two sides of the triangles do feature electrical contacts and there we can attach the connection rods; on the back side of each triangle, we will note a subtle CORSAIR logo on a black background:

 

 

A standalone view of the connection rod is displayed right here:

 

 

There are two sizes of connection rods: 4mm (usual ones, 8 pieces) and 5.5mm (used for installing two triangles on a corner, 90 degrees).

 

Thanks to the multitude of included LEDs, the effects look great when customized via iCUE:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After installation, the Lighting Node Pro has been correctly detected in iCUE:

 

 

The first step of configuration would be to select what we have connected on the first or second lighting channel:

 

 

After the correct selection has been made, more configuration options will appear:

 

 

We can set the configuration inside the application exactly how we have connected the triangles physically:

 

 

We will get a warning message if more than 10 triangles have been connected, this type of configuration requiring an extra power source:

 

 

From the Lighting Channel 1 menu, we can work with Lighting Layers:

 

 

A ton of presets are available for us to work with and adjust settings:

 

Watercolor Spectrum

Audio Lighting

Color Pulse

Color Shift

Color Warp

 

Color Wave

Marquee

Rain

Rainbow

Rainbow Channel

Rainbow Wave

Sequential

Strobing

Temperature

Visor

 

The Hardware Lighting Channel menu will allow us to select which mode will be available while iCUE application is not running (the selection will be saved straight to the device and applied automatically):

 

Rainbow Wave

Rainbow

Color Shift

Color Pulse

Sequential

Strobing

Visor

Marquee

Color Warp

Rain

 

The Lighting Node PRO Device Settings area does allow the user to choose the LED brightness as well:

 

 

 

 

The LC100 is an interesting RGB device which will add even more eye candy to your desktop setup and is easy to configure and work with thanks to the modular construction and the included magnets. Since each triangle module does pack 9 LEDs, via the application we can enable smooth animations, while the white diffusers do make the light look awesome! Besides the cable length, there is basically no limit regarding the shape you can build, and an extra Tile Expansion set can be purchased for nine more triangles you can attach to the original starter setup.

 

The Starter Kit needs power from a SATA connector and will be driven via the Lighting Node PRO if you do not have another CORSAIR controller lying around from a previous build. This controller takes up an USB 2.0 header from the motherboard so ensure you have a free one available before making plans! If you also purchase the Tile Expansion set, you won’t need to use another USB port, but the secondary Master tile only needs to supply power to the rest of the tiles. However, if you have already installed a CORSAIR AIO from the ELITE series which takes a full USB 2.0 header to function, you want to install the LC100 and you also need to power two USB 2.0 ports on the case, then you will need to let go of the USB 2.0 case ports if you do not have a third USB 2.0 header on-board.

 

Pros:

 

-now we have Nanoleafs for desktop PCs, in a smaller size, with lots of configuration options

-the 9 LEDs on each tile does allow to have very smooth and nice-looking effects

-easy to configure via the given presets from iCUE

-can be used as a temperature monitor for a given sensor

-can be easily relocated and reconfigured to obtain another interesting shape

-the expansion kit doubles the number of tiles for an even cooler effect!

 

Cons:

-since it functions on a proprietary 3-pin connection, you need to use a CORSAIR controller (available with the Starter Kit) and this takes one extra USB 2.0 header, which you need to have as spare on your motherboard; in case you already have connected a COMMANDER CORE XT or the COMMANDER PRO with a free RGB channel, you can connect LC100 straight to it, without the need of using an extra USB 2.0 port.

 

The Starter Kit can be found online for about 120 Euros.

 

CORSAIR iCUE LC100 Case Accent Lighting Panels are Recommended for:

 

 

 

 

We would like to thank again to CORSAIR for making this review possible!