What is Corsair iCUE and how do I use it?

Manufacturers of components are trying not only to attract, but also to keep the buyer. A proven recipe is the creation of special software for branded products. Such ecosystems provide new opportunities for setting up and synchronizing components. Corsair Gaming, one of the most famous manufacturers of computer peripherals, also has its own system. We are talking about corsair iCUE.

What is iCUE?

iCUE is a component management system manufactured by Corsair. It allows you to configure a variety of hardware parameters. Fan speed and mode, memory operating modes, and so on. In addition, the ecosystem manages the illumination of all elements with ARGB. Components with RGB and monochrome backlight do not connect to the iCUE, it is impossible to control their glow through corsair software.

In ARGB backlighting, you can change the color of each LED individually. In RGB lighting, all LEDs will be the same color. ARGB lighting allows you to create impressive lighting effects and synchronize them on various components using iCUE.

How iCUE works

Almost all types of Corsair components can be connected to the ecosystem. Cases, power supplies, fans and liquid cooling systems, keyboards, mice, headphones, mouse pads, individual STRIPS of LEDs... In addition, iCUE supports backlight control of some ASUS motherboards.

For different types of components, the connection is implemented differently, and this must be taken into account when buying.

How do I set up an ecosystem?

First you need to download and install the iCUE software. After launching the program, a list of all available devices will appear in the main window.

You can configure basic settings for various Corsair elements.

• for mouse: key assignment, sensitivity and macros;
• for the keyboard: assigning additional keys, settings and macros;
• for LFO and fans with controller: setting of operating modes; 
• for memory blocks: configure timings, alerts and other parameters.

Case fans

iCUE can control the operating mode of the chassis fans. You can adjust the temperatures of the sensors, the specified coefficients, and so on. Such control is carried out only through the controller. Fans connected to a regular motherboard, iCUE will not control.

After the controller is connected, a tab appears in iCUE. Through it, you can fine-tune the system fans.

For each of the connected fans, you can:

• set a fixed percentage of the maximum rotation speed;
• set the fixed speed in rpm;
• make a graph of rotation speed, depending on the temperature sensor (CPU, motherboard, and so on).

Separately sold iCUE compatible chassis fans have a non-standard JCORSAIR backlight connector. It can be found on some MSI and ASUS motherboards. However, in the 5-volt ARGB connector of most motherboards, it will not be possible to connect it.

What should I do if there is no such connector? You need to buy a separate fan controller - iCUE Commander PRO or iCUE Commander CORE.

However, even if the board has the right connector, this does not guarantee anything. The fact is that most often there is only one such connector on the board. But there may be several "luminous" components. In this case, you will need a splitter - CORSAIR RGB Fan LED Hub.

Sometimes these items are included in the kit. In this case, connecting the backlight will not cause any problems.

However, inexpensive Corsair fans do not come with a backlight controller. Keep this in mind - without connecting to "your" connector, the backlight on the fan will not work. 

Power supply unit

iCUE provides extensive control over Corsair power supplies. The user can see the exact values of all output voltages, the current power of the power supply, its temperature. The software even allows you to adjust the fan speed of the power supply.

The backlight on corsair power supplies will work as soon as they are turned on. However, its capabilities will be severely limited. Most power supplies have a separate button that selects one of the preset backlight effects. 

The backlight of the power supply can be synchronized with the backlight of other elements or controlled programmatically. This requires a connection to the Corsair connector on the motherboard (if there is one there) or the backlight controller (if there is no connector on the motherboard).

Corps

Inexpensive Corsair enclosures do not come with an iCUE controller. Therefore, the fans that come with the chassis will not be "visible" in the application. Even if the fan backlight is there, it will not work. Of course, the backlight can have the case itself. However, without connecting to the iCUE controller, it will not be able to synchronize with the rest of the elements.

More expensive models are equipped with an iCUE controller. In this case, you can control the operating modes of the chassis fans, power supply and backlight.

Liquid cooling systems

Corsair LSOs contain an iCUE controller. They can be connected to the ecosystem immediately after installation. This requires one USB header on the board. Unfortunately, most SJO have a built-in controller, there are no free connectors. Therefore, to connect to the device, for example, also a case fan will not work. 

iCUE controls the cooling modes of the LFO. The program allows you to adjust the operation of each fan and pump. You can create multiple profiles with different settings for each item. If necessary, you can switch between them.

Motherboard

So far, iCUE supports backlighting only ASUS motherboards with support for Aura (ASUS Aura Ready). To connect to iCUE, you will need to first install the software - ASUS Aura Sync or ASUS Armoury Crate.

Memory Modules

Corsair memory modules connect to iCUE without restrictions and no additional devices. The ecosystem allows you to configure the layout of the modules used, view timings and graph the temperature of the modules.

You can turn on an alert that fires when a certain temperature is reached.

The illumination of the modules is turned on and configured without the use of additional elements.

External links

Corsair keyboards, headsets, mice, and other devices do not require additional devices to be included in the ecosystem. It does not matter whether we are talking about wireless or USB connected devices.

iCUE allows you to adjust the settings of Corsair keyboards (it all depends on the model), record macros and control the backlight of the keys.

The user may block some keyboard shortcuts. You can change the purpose of the function keys, adjust the color of the indicators, and so on.

You can assign macros that consist of keystrokes, cursor movements, and mouse clicks.

For Corsair mice, the iCUE allows you to calibrate and adjust various parameters. The full list of settings depends on the model.

A mouse with extra buttons gives you a really huge opportunity. For example, you can assign a keyboard key to be pressed on each button. You can also click the macro to run. 

For Corsair headphones and headsets, the iCUE app has an equalizer tab. It allows you to change the sound picture in different conditions. You can set several profiles for different modes - conversational, gaming, cinema, and so on.

Illumination

For all elements with ARGB backlighting, you can adjust the backlight:

• the element as a whole;
• Areas defined by the manufacturer (for example, the color of the logo and the color of the frame for the LFO pump or the color of the front and rear LEDs of the fan);
• each individual LED

For each option, you can choose from a variety of effects. Item highlights can be combined into custom profiles that are enabled with a "single click." In this case, the illumination of all elements is synchronized.