How to connect and setup Corsair AF120 RGB Elite fans (10 fans, Lighting Node and iCue setup tips)

Here I'm showing you how to wire, setup and install Corsair AF120 RGB Elite fans, with the logic that includes how to connect the fans to your motherboard, why you need to buy triple packs and other considerations too. There's a lot to think about, including whether you've got enough USB ports on your motherboard! I'll also show you what you need to do in Corsair's iCue software to control the RGB of the fans and tweak them.

Wiring Corsair AF120 RGB fans can be a pain, but it's not necessarily as complex as you might think. In this video I'm going to show you how to connect Corsair fans and where to connect them, including how to connect them to the RGB nodes, the fan power on your motherboard or how to make life easier with a Commander Core XT.

All this is being done outside the case, so that you can see the logic a bit more easily and understand the wiring in a more straightforward way. Hopefully this will help if you're planning on building a Corsair PC or just want guidance on which wires go where and why.

In this build I'm using Corsair fans in an NZXT H9 Elite case, but with a Corsair all in one cooler, so I'll show you that too.

Things I'd recommend buying to help...

Please note links listed here include affiliate links which may earn me a commission. Find out more below.*

Corsair Commander Core XT:

USB Splitter:

Fan splitters:

Related videos that you might find useful:

If you're looking to add RGB fans to your computer case, then this guide is for you! We'll show you how to connect the fans, and how to wire them up so that you can control the colors of the LEDs in the fans from your Corsair Lighting Node Pro. Aquick and easy guide that will help you get your RGB fans installed and working quickly!

0:00 Hello
1:11 Why you need a triple pack
1:45 Lighting node core
3:33 Fan power connection to motherboard
4:27 How to connect 6 fans
5:27 Making power wiring easier
6:38 SATA power to PSU
7:40 Commander Core fan controller
9:03 What to do with 7 or more fans
9:24 USB connection solution
14:45 All in one cooler setup with AF120 fans
17:27 Corsair iCue setup and controls

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PLEASE NOTE

Affiliate links*:

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Products:
Products featured may also have been sent for free for review/testing purposes. Often these have to be returned by me, but not always. I endeavour to avoid bias in my videos wherever possible and try to give honest, subjective opinions.

[TheProvokedPrawn]

Here are the parts I listed. Please note links listed here include affiliate links which may earn me a commission.

Corsair Commander Core XT:

USB Splitter:

Fan splitters:

[liamwilliams]

Please don’t ever stop making these videos ! Your vids are so clear and so helpful it makes noobies like me building my first ever PC a hell of a lot less stressful, Thankyou !

[ashleyjaytanna]

Can't watch this video without knowing full well there are better solns on the market. As always though your video is a pleasure to watch with the editing and production is top quality

[mortont]

Thank you for such a detailed video on the lighting nodes. I just bought the 5000X RGB case for my new build.. I'm waiting on the iCUE H150i ELITE LCD XT. This video was very helpful. 12/25/2023 2233

[rage_n]

Once again I'm here learning how to setup stuff the right way. Thank you a lot, definitely subscribing to learn more stuff from now on.

[JessicaLong-wc]

My first build had pre installed fans and I'm updating to a new case that has no fans. This saved me so much panicking and tears lol. Appreciate it!

[nickolassmith]

This is the most clear and paced video, I loved it, just bought the RGB 4000D case and my fans RGB didn’t work, you solved it tho, thank you

[fifty]

Can I connect the fan power to the motherboard and not connect the RGB cables? Will the fans work properly? I couldn't care less about RGB lighting and don't care to mess with proprietary software for RGB.

[dafyddthomas]

Most Excellent and very useful video - going to build mine shortly on to daisy chaining power from couple of spare Sata slots, unfortunately at moment got older board with only one System Fan - not enough juice to run my 6 fan setup.

[Sir]

thank you a ton for explaining this. It really helped me understand how RGB works on PC builds

[DisforDamion]

What are you thoughts on these compared to the ML Elite fans? Great content as always!

[barusamikosu]

Hey! I have a 6 hub rgb conector, but I want a 7 fan for the rear (all are AF120 Elite); power for the fan is no problem, but can I connect the RGB cable directly to the motherboard? If yes, is the 5v 3 pin connector with power, data and ground? I don't want to mess this up, like connecting it on the 12 4 pin, just because the fan box says 4pin 12V. Thank you for your support.

[renatus_]

Havent had time to watch full video yet but could you list the hardware you use? I have the new h150i with the af fans on it, two 3 packs and one single fan, and also two commander core xts. Do I need anything else?

[omardelgado]

Hi so i used the commander core i think for 5 fans and everything operates fine with the icue. But im having an issue where i power on, the fans twitch but dont spin and they all turn red. The fans dont start spinning until i log into the windows account and the the lighting settings adjust when icue loads. Is that normal? Should i buy splitters like you used to mount it to the MB? Its such a small issue but it drives me crazy. Great vid btw!

[LeetGaming-]

Question, you use a fan splitter cable to plug 3 fans into 1 socket on the MB, what would happen if you used this cable to plug 3 fans into 1 socket of the commander module? would it just detect 1 single fan and provide the same settings to all 3?

[stevezheng]

My ML120's RGB bulbs are deteriorating fast, for example 1 of the 4 bulbs on a single fan is continuing to show the correct colour but the other 3 are sliding to the green side. What are some other better quality Corsair fans I should consider? Thanks.

[fatalradius]

6:05 - RGB cabling is so archaic, hopefully RGB builds in the future do not need this much cabling.

[anthonyflynn]

corsair in my eyes are lagging behind in the fan department... i know there mantra is "dont fix what isnt broken" but when manufacturers like lian li/seasonic have come up with there own daisy-chainable fans you would think corsair would have been the first to impliment somethin like the lian li/(new) seasonic fans

[johngallo]

Thanks for the info and making me spend $300+ on new fans and controller and Rad this morning! I am just telling my wife you made me do it. I need an out and your it bud! LOL. It all started with a new case and 4080 like 2 days ago $1500 right there. Now I got 9 new fans and a rad this morning $380 right there. And I have a new MB & CPU & RAM in my cart but havent pushed the buy button yet, another $1000 right there... All I wanted to do is play Starfield with a higher frame rate and now it's turning into a whole new PC! I gotta put down the internet...😒🤦‍♂

[Gakuforsaken]

If I purchase two af120 3-pack I will get two lighting node?