CORSAIR Commander PRO, CL-9011110-WW, Digital Fan and RGB Lighting Controller

Pros: There are lots of things I liked about this product: -I will address software first which is in both pros and cons. These strips were very easy to set up with the current version of Link v4.7.0.77. Even when you run a bunch in series, it was very easy to set them all independently and they actually were the colors I set. -Four strips is a good number to come is a set. It was very easy to light up my case completely -The inclusion of a bunch of extensions is great. Even if you have a huge case, you'll easily be able to run them all the way around -Many ways to stick them to the case. They have an adhesive side once you know where you are going to put them for the long term. If you plan on moving them around, it also had magnet. I found it easy to use wire management devices too to hold them in place -Really like that the module is very small

Cons: -The software for these is Link, but this isn't the only software for controlling your Corsair RGB devices. Depending on the device, corsair will make you download different software. At a minimum, it's very annoying -Bit expensive

Overall Review: -It uses an internal USB header. I don't mind this as I am more likely to use up all my external ports than my headers. I'm not sure if I should put this as a pro or a con as I'm sure some people use up the headers depending on the MB spec so I'm putting it here in Other Thoughts

Pros: Easy install Easy configuration

Cons: Requires internal USB header and SATA power

Overall Review: The Lighting Node Pro from Corsair is a nice way to spruce up your case. This kit (the CL-9011109-WW) comes with a control box, four LED strips, four extensions cables, a mini USB to internal USB 2.0 header cable, and instructions and warranty info. Let’s be real here, most people don’t read the instructions. I must say though, the instructions that come with this kit are good for the hardware install but say nothing about software! Just go to the Corsair software downloads site for the “full experience”. Well, the experience is zilch without the software! There’s no default mode for these lights if you don’t have the drivers/software installed. You must have the driver and the Corsair Link software installed. Presumably there is other RGB controller software out there which may work. The LED strips in this kit are very sturdy and have a satisfying epoxy-like coating. The claimed length in the spec is roughly 16 inches (410mm) but that is from connector to connector. Measuring from the first to last LED on the strip is about 10.5 inches. The LEDs themselves have about an inch of space in between them. The strips install pretty easily as they have a nice magnetic strip but also have an adhesive strip. The control box is pretty small and nothing really to write home about. Corsair includes adhesive pads you can use to mount it. One minor annoyance is the control box requires the use of an internal USB 2.0 header, and requires SATA power. I thought I could cheat it and test using a standard mini USB cable and possibly use the setup outside the computer but the Corsair Link software would not recognize the kit unless it was on the internal USB header. The Corsair Link software is pretty nice and lets you drag your LED strips to the proper location in the graphical representation of your case. Choosing the modes for each LED strip is easy and there’s an option to apply the mode to all devices on the system which support it. It would have been a nice extra feature if you could chain the strips together for some modes like visor, so it would treat the strips as one long chain rather than four separate chains. That’s a minor nitpick though. All around this Lighting Node Pro kit from Corsair will add some shiny bling to any case, and provides plenty of room for expansion (supports four light strips per channel for a total of eight). At $60 at the time of this writing, it’s a little steep in price, but it does come with everything you need and is very easy to install. This gets a solid five eggs.

Pros: The CORSAIR Commander PRO is an excellent fan controller, with thermal sensors, proprietary RGB LED connectors and with two USB connectors, support for Corsair’s Link software. The Commander Pro is such a great idea; many of us PC builders do not utilize the 5.25” bays in PC cases anymore, so the Commander Pro is where this product hit the spot.

Cons: The CORSAIR Commander PRO is such a great and innovative product I cannot think of nothing bad to say about this product.

Overall Review: The Commander Pro was such a great idea from Corsair research and development department. The Link software Ver. 4.7.0.77 works great, so much more control of the fan Rpm with the Link software than with a traditional bay fan controller. The link software also shows you voltage of your power supply, RAM clocks, and even temperature’s and Fan speeds of your GPU’s.

Pros: Does exactly what it's supposed to. Looks great once you have it color coordinated. LEDs themselves are very bright and have no problem illuminating a big case. Note that the strips do not have any sort of diffusion for the light to make it look like a continuous strip of light- instead it is very clearly many separate LEDs. I have no problem with this since I tucked mine away on the corners of the case. This kit comes with 4 different LED strips that can be connected end to end to form a single channel of LEDs. The controller has 2 channels so you can have up to 8 LED strips connected directly, or each channel can also connect to a Corsair HD LED hub to connect more devices. The LED strips themselves attach to the case either with magnets or they have adhesive on the back of them. I prefer magnets since you can easily reconfigure them as necessary. I don't have any other Corsair RGB devices at the moment in my case so I can't say for sure how the Corsair Link software works with those but if you are just running these strips, I had no software issues. As of this writing I had the latest firmware revision as well and did not experience the issues an older reviewer brought up. The thing I like the most is that this controller can be programmed with a light sequence and color and can then operate standalone without the software. I hate having extra programs running in the background so I like that I can use Corsair Link to program the LED pattern then close it and the hub will remember the pattern, even after rebooting the PC. There is no need to keep Corsair Link running at startup or constantly in the background.

Cons: Lots of wires. It's kind of inevitable since you have 4 LED strips located throughout your case that all need to be routed to the same hub. The LED strips can be hooked up in a chain and Corsair does provide extension cables. However, it is still pretty difficult to do a good job of cable management. I recommend taking apart the extension cables and manually shorting the wires if you have the ability to do some soldering or crimping so that the cables fit just right for where you are trying to route the LEDs. I also programmed the color scheme once and got rid of the USB cable (the hub remembers how you programmed the LED pattern) so that I have one less wire to worry about. While Corsair Link works and isn't bad, it could use some more options for patterns. You do get pretty full control over the color (RGB channels are configurable up to 255 levels), but I wish each LED was individually configurable. It's also kind of difficult to synchronize certain colors- for example if you want to do a random color fade, each individual strip has a random color and they do not stay in sync. It would be nice if there were a way to 'select all' or 'select multiple groups' and then apply a color scheme to them.

Overall Review: It is a little on the expensive side but for the level of configurability that you get, as well as the programmable hub which can operate standalone from software, I think it is worth it. If you've used cheap LED strips before, they're a lot more difficult to get right and definitely do not have the same level of configurability. Definitely a huge upgrade for my case.

Pros: easy to install easy setup enough extensions to fit any case

Cons: it should share software from other Corsair LED devices would prefer an external USB cable. I may buy one to get my USB internal header back

Overall Review: I recieved these LED's for review from newegg.com and installed them, well at first I just hooked them up to make sure everything worked ok. I soon found out that each section could be individually programed for what ever lighting effect you wanted or they all can be programmed at once. Of course you have to download the software from their website as none was included in the box, welcome to the age of the internet. The kit comes with 4 led strips and extensions and a usb 9 pin to micro connector cable to connect the module to your motherboard. I think most people will not like that and want to hook it up to a external usb port, wish they would have included a cable for that. Also i felt it should have used a mini usb cable instead of the micro usb, very old school. The unit powers off the LED's when the computer sleeps or hibernates which I like but what I find strange is my Corsair LED mouse and these LED strips dont use the same software. Why is that Corsair? Seems kind of a waste to me not to incorporate all your LED equipped hardware to use the same software. I also like the way you can set up the LED's tempory with the magnets then use the double sided tape to make it permident. The Led's are plenty bright if you just want to light up the inside of your case like I did. I have a Cooler Master Cosmos case and if you have seen this case you know it is a very big case. The strips are long enough to fit all around the inner section where the motherboard is mounted and lights it up very well with no extensions. Using the extensions you could easily go all around the inside of the full case and still have plenty of light. Also I found it very easy to mount the control module behind the case or even behind the motherboard mount or just about anywhere because it is so small. I would have given it 5 eggs if it used the same software as other Corsair Devices

Pros: Solid and well-made. These aren't the cheap junk I've seen in the past from other random case-light manufacturers. Corsair's a brand name and took pride in designing this. Looks really cool once installed. My case looks like a disco from the '70s with all the light changes. Each strip can be independently set. Your choice of attaching via sticky tape or built-in magnets. The tape doesn't seem to leave any residue in my testing, but that's after only being attached for a few minutes. A few years in a hot case might leave more residue if you move them down the road. Controlled via a USB 2 motherboard header. This can be a pro or a con, so consider it wisely. Very bright - consider this a great night light source. Expandable in case you need more light in your case. Note my night light comment above......

Cons: Not easily powered or controlled via external sources, in case you wanted to use it outside of your case. One reviewer below got it to work, but I don't think the cables would work with my scenario (hooking everything up underneath my desk under my monitor). Powered via a USB 2 motherboard header. This can be a pro or a con, so consider it wisely. Need to install software to program/control the lights. I understand the need, but it'd be nice if maybe there was a hardware switch, or each strip defaulted to a specific setting, for those of us (like myself) who don't like to install unnecessary software. Controlled via a USB 2 motherboard header. This can be a pro or a con, so consider it wisely. Very bright - consider this a great night light source.

Overall Review: There isn't much else to say about this. It does what it claims to do, functions well, and looks really sweet once installed and configured.

Pros: - Magnetic or sticky pads - Lots of extra wires for more customization - Quite a few different patterns - RGB - Easy to use interface on the computer to change the patterns I love these things. There are other options out there for LED strips, but these are so easy to use that I’m glad I got to review these. My computer doesn’t have a side window so I rewired it so I could have these LED strips magnetically attached to my glass and metal desk. Wow do they look cool. Since they’re magnetic, I can easily move them around if I want them in different places later. It comes with enough wire extenders to reach most places where I’d want to put the strips on my desk which is an added bonus.

Cons: - Not many external options. Definitely designed to be inside the case since you need to power it with the computer’s power supply - Not many options to coordinate the different strips. Once the patterns start, you can’t set a start delay or anything, the strips just individually go with whatever pattern you set them to which can make it hard to coordinate the 4 strips. Still can have some pretty cool patterns though. - At first it may seem like some strips aren’t working. You just have to add them in the computer interface before they will even turn on. This caused me initial panic only seeing one of the four strips lighting up

Overall Review: I've already impressed several people with this LED setup. I've been wanting to try some LED strips for a while now so I was excited for the chance. It is easy to install and adds way more aesthetically than I expected.

Pros: Bright LED's Easy to figure out software for controlling LEDs (Corsiar Link) Final results look awesome! Seriously the most fun hardware upgrade I've done Strips are magnetic and have adhesive tape for secure placement (and the adhesive holds firm after multiple re-positioning)

Cons: More on me than the product, but it took me 5 tries to get the lights where I wanted them. I kept having better ideas as to where they should be located, which required me to open the case back up and re-position everything. This wasn't a hassle at all, I was having fun with it :)

Overall Review: Will this add value to your rig? No, but for me it was really fun to do and the finished results look great! This is a great way to have some fun with your rig and set it apart from everything else.