Is your desktop or working/gaming area look a bit dull and boring? Do you want to spice things up and add some (RGB) lighting? Because in today’s review, we are going to check out the Corsair iCUE LT100 Smart Lighting Towers. It’s an RGB lighting solution for a table or desktop that illuminates the surrounding area. These “smart lighting towers” are quite different from an RGB LED strip for tables. Although it also provides illumination and RGB lighting, its approach is quite different. Well, let’s check out what the Corsair iCUE LT100 can do in our review below.
Corsair iCUE LT100 Smart Lighting Tower Review
The Corsair iCUE LT100 Smart Lighting Tower offers an immersive ambient lighting system. It provides (additional) illumination to your table or desktop with diffused colors. In addition to static lighting, it also offers intricate lighting effects that create an immersive backdrop of ambient lighting.
Just like the iCUE LS100 RGB lighting strip, the LT100 can be synchronized with games and media to dynamically match the on-screen action in games and movies. You can also turn your room into a visualizer while listening to your music.
Corsair is offering an LT100 starter kit that comes with two smart lighting towers. An LT100 expansion kit is available as well, and you can expand and connect up to 4 towers in a chain. Now, let’s take a closer look at the product itself and discuss more of its features.
Packaging and Closer Look
Corsair sent us the iCUE LT100 starter kit and one expansion kit. The starter kit is all you need to start illuminating your table. If you don’t have the starter kit yet, do not buy the expansion kit. It will not work without the starter kit, since the base for the expansion kit is different from the starter kit.
The iCUE LT100 starter kit comes with two lighting towers, two post base, an AC power adapter, a micro USB to USB-A cable, an RGB cable, and a removable headphone holder. Meanwhile, the expansion kit includes one lighting tower with a post base and the RGB cable.
As you can see from the photo above, one of the bases in the starter kit is different. Aside from the RGB connector port, it has a micro USB port and port for the wall power. The second base, as well as the base included in the expansion kit, does not come with a control button and the USB and power ports. There is only the RGB connector at the back.
Using the control button, you can change the lighting effects on the fly. There are 11 preset lighting effects that cycle with a push of a button. However, I find it much better and easier to use the Corsair iCUE software to control the lighting effects.
The base is made of aluminum, and you can see 8 spring-loaded pins that connect to the tower. The tower’s body is also aluminum and it is reversible. Depending on your setup, you can plug the tower facing forward or facing the wall.
Each tower has 46 individually addressable RGB LEDs and they are covered by a white silicone diffuser. The tower measures, 422mm in height including the base. Meanwhile, the base measures 95mm x 95mm.
Corsair included a headphone holder that is made of plastic. There’s a 3M sticker to helps the holder “hang securely” on the tower. But I don’t think the holder is sturdy and robust. I’m not a fan of the headphone holder. It’s flimsy and can’t hold other types of headphones that have a different headband design.
Corsair iCUE Software
You can synchronize the LT100 lighting towers easily with other Corsair components and peripherals thanks to the all-in-one iCUE software. Click on the images above for a larger view.
As you can see, there are a lot of customization options and you can even set static colors to each LED on the tower. Most of the time, I just set it to Super X effect. While I would like to use the video lighting effect that synchronizes the lighting towers with the video or games being played; I feel that there aren’t enough brightness and lighting zones.
Like I said earlier, I prefer to configure the LT100 using the iCUE software instead of simply relying on the preset. You’ll get much better coordination and synchronization using the software. And your work or battle station will look more organized and harmonized.
A Few Lighting Demo
The lighting towers from the video above look more vivid, vibrant, and saturated. Below are some photos I took demonstrating the LT100’s lighting prowess. Note that I didn’t use a lighting softbox since it would overpower the LT100’s light. I also decreased my camera’s ISO to 100 to highlight the colors a bit. They look more vibrant in person but doesn’t have a strong luminosity.
In the last four photos, I installed the LT100 lighting towers in a reverse position. This means that the towers are facing the wall since I want to add some background illumination. The RGB lighting you see at the back of the Aorus monitors are totally useless when it comes to illuminating the wall. They are simply too weak to illuminate the area.
On the other hand, the Corsair LT100 doesn’t really produce a strong illumination as well. While it does illuminate its immediate area or surrounding, its luminosity or brightness can’t be compared to an RGB LED bulb. I don’t know how many lumens the lighting towers produce, but you do need to turn off the light if you want a more pronounced glow in the background.
Pricing and Availability
Both the Corsair iCUE LT100 starter and expansion kits are now available. The starter kit comes with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $129.99 USD, while the expansion kit is priced at $59.99 USD. Corsair is also offering a 2-year warranty for the LT100 smart lighting towers. You can check out the links below for the latest pricing and availability.
Corsair iCUE LT100 Smart Lighting Towers latest pricing and availability:
For US: available on Amazon.com here
For UK: available on Amazon UK here
Corsair iCUE LT100 Review Conclusion
The good…
Corsair has something unique to offer here to brighten up your table or desktop. The LT100 offers a nice visual effect that looks stunning and mesmerizing. While I don’t think it will increase your immersive-ness with whatever activity you are doing, it does add to the overall aesthetics and look of your setup.
I like the idea of these RGB lighting towers. It’s a bit different from your typical RGB LED strip, that you need to stick on the surface. When it comes to built quality, the LT100 is made of aluminum and it is very sturdy and robust. The RGB LEDs themselves are vibrant and colorful, but I wish the brightness was a bit stronger. Perhaps make it a tad taller as well, so that there would be more lighting zones.
The not so good…
Aside from the brightness of the LEDs, there are a couple of things that I would like to point out. First is the headphone holder, it feels flimsy and I think it could have been implemented or integrated in a better way. While the software integration is superb and flawless, I feel some of the effects don’t go well with the lighting towers.
Second, I think the price is a bit steep. Compared to an RGB LED strip, you can get a lot more illumination for that price already, or even less. Speaking of illumination, Corsair didn’t use their Capellix LEDs that are capable of offering more brightness or luminosity. I think it was a missed opportunity, or perhaps they plan to release a Capellix version in the future.
Finally…
At the end of the day, I like the iCUE LT100 Smart Lighting Towers. While they may not fully replace an RGB LED setup, the LT100 does offer a unique way of lighting your table. It adds new visual elements and lighting effects that a traditional LED strip isn’t capable of.
