Corsair QL120 and QL140 RGB fan review - Introduction

Corsair QL120 and QL140 RGB series fans

Corsair launched their all new QL fan series on the 14th of November. These are PWM RGB products with quad light loops lit by a total of 34 individually addressable RGB LEDs, creating great visual effects.

You can buy the fans in two sizes:

• 120 mm
• 140 mm

We’ve received a set of both, meaning a kit of three 120 mm fans (including the iCUE Lighting Node CORE controller) and two 140 mm fans (with the same controller). The Lighting Node CORE can control up to six of the brand-new QL RGB fans, as well as other Corsair RGB fans, through a single USB 2.0 internal header and is powered by a SATA cable. Corsairs' big change with the QL fans is that they have “spectacular lighting from any angle”. The fan blades are semi-transparent thus allowing the RGB lighting to shine through. The amount of light has been more than doubled compared with the Light Loop fans, so thanks to that also the back and the edges are visibly lit. You now have 16 RGB LEDs on the back (12x - outer ring, 4x - inner ring) and 18 on the front (12x - outer ring, 6x - inner ring), for better overall illumination inside and outside of your case. 

The price is similar to the previous triple/double packs of Corsair ML and LL fans, so the QL-series should be popular in a market with a growing appetite for LED lighting in systems. The product features four lighting zones and overall 34 LEDs per fan. You can buy 120 mm as a single or triple-fan kit, and 140mm as a single or dual-fan kit. The lighting effects are managed by Corsair iCUE software, enabling synchronization across all your iCUE-compatible products like other fans, RGB LED light strips, keyboards, mice and more. Both fan types enable PWM control, with up to 1,500 RPM and 41.8 CFM of airflow for 120 mm version and up to 1,250 RPM and 50.2 CFM of airflow for 140 mm type. For even less noise/vibrations you'll find built-in dampers at the corners. Another thing that is really making it stand out of the crowd (it looks classy) are the built-in front and back-facing metal logo plates on the fan hub.

Let’s check the marketing info and specification for these Corsair QL series fans and then dive a little deeper into the product. Next page, please.