Corsair iCUE LS100 Smart Lighting Strip Starter Kit (Individually Addressable LEDs, Built In Light Diffusion, Easy Installation) Includes 2 x 450 mm Strips, 2 x 250 mm Strips and Lighting Controller

I've recently integrated the Corsair iCUE LS100 Smart Lighting Strip Expansion Kit (250 mm) into my setup, and it has significantly enhanced the ambient lighting experience. Designed as an extension for the LS100 Starter Kit, this 250 mm strip offers additional customizable RGB illumination, perfect for expanding your existing iCUE lighting configuration.Design and Build Quality: The lighting strip features individually addressable RGB LEDs encased in a flexible, durable housing. The build quality is robust, ensuring longevity and consistent performance.Installation: Attaching the expansion strip to my existing LS100 setup was straightforward. The included magnetic mounts and adhesive backing provided versatile mounting options, allowing for a clean and secure installation on various surfaces.Performance: Once connected, the strip seamlessly integrated with the iCUE software, offering a wide array of lighting effects and synchronization options with other Corsair RGB components. The lighting is vibrant and adds a dynamic visual element to my workspace.Pros:Easy integration with existing LS100 systemsHigh-quality constructionVibrant and customizable lighting effectsFlexible mounting optionsCons:Requires the LS100 Starter Kit for operationOverall, the Corsair iCUE LS100 250 mm Expansion Kit is an excellent addition for those looking to enhance their RGB lighting setup. Its seamless integration and high-quality design make it a worthwhile investment for any iCUE enthusiast.

These are tubes of blended RGB LED light sources for affixing to the back of your monitors through adhesive anchors and magnets. However, you should pre-plan what you need for your setup, depending on monitors and where you can route them.The LS100 node can power up to 196 LEDs across both channels, with a limit of 138 per channel. A 450mm strip has 27 LEDs, and a 250mm strip has 15. My setup is as follows:3 x 450mm strip + 1 250mm strip = (27x3) + (15) = 96Repeat for channel 2 = 96 + 96 = 192This entailed checking thee measurements of the different options, measuring my monitors (I use 3, one of them portrait) and seeing how I could link them together without losing space. The kits come with some additional corsair RGB extension cables which are ideal for running between monitors in multi-monitor setups.Applying them is not as easy as I would like; there are adhesive metallic tabs which affix to the back of your monitors, and the LED tubes themselves have four magnetic 'tabs' each which can be slid along their length before magnetically snapping to the metal monitor plates, with a little groove for added security. However, some may be difficult to put on depending on what space is available on your monitor. You may have to have them bend to avoid rear buttons or input areas and the LED tubes cannot bend in a tight turning circle. The adhesive is also not great and I had to put two of them on with tesa powerstrip adhesive tabs to keep it secure, otherwise I was putting it back every couple of days.The LS100 node itself has a similar issue; it has a magnetised back which sticks to two plates that you are meant to stick on the back of your monitor. Unless you have a reasonably large and perfectly flat surface somewhere on the monitor - intended to be in the corner, where one may not exist, it will be insecure and can drop off. My solution was to attack the node to the wall using adhesive strips and start each channel with a corsair extension cable to reach the backs of my monitors.Once applied, though, the lights are powerful and effective and offer a pretty good degree of customisation, although icue's presets do not account for 3 or more monitor setups. I, however, prefer custom or static colour profiles rather than visualisers. Though most promotional images will show them close to the wall, they are effective at a distance. The diffused lights easily reach the 1.1M from the top of my monitor to the ceiling, and the same distance from the back of the monitors to the back wall. Though close distances get a brighter reflection and may better show close-knit changes in colour, the lights are absolutely strong enough to provide coloured room lighting.As a couple of asides, because the LS100 is powered by its own power source rather than the computer, your lights will stay on for approximately 15 seconds after shutting down the computer or putting it to sleep, at which point they will turn off or switch to the hardware lighting you assigned. When under high use - usually white, which engages all 3 RGB LEDs - a very faint 'shimmering' sound can be heard, but it is usually only noticeable immediately after boot when it starts and it will usually just blend in with the sounds of your computer fans.

I can only assume those complaining are trying to affix the included magnets to a monitor with a curved back, where obviously the adhesive won't have its full surface area to stick with. Mine is mostly flat backed - I hooked up the strips carefully and took my time following instructions, They stayed exactly where I put them when it was time to return the monitor to its correct position on my desk, and have done ever since, even with further small adjustments.The lighting itself is good. Not quite as bright as I'd hoped but if your monitor is relatively close to the wall you should be happy. It's possible to position the strips so that they shine down or backwards, depending on your preference. I have the top and side strips shining at the wall, with the bottom firing down to light up the space immediately below the monitor.iCue software is a mixed bag. Runs relatively fine on my PC but your mileage may vary. The range of effects is decent but doesn't offer quite the level of customisation I want. For all its flaws, Razer Synapse does this far better.For example: I can't understand why Corsair would create an awesome audiometer effect and then limit it to the LS100. Their RAM seems like a prime candidate for such an effect and there's even 3rd party software out there to achieve this, but I guess Corsair lacks the overall vision to have considered it? So 1 star off for that - stupid oversight.