Pros: >Best bang for your buck >Silent >Handles most things you can throw at it - short of games >DVI & Dual-link DVI means you can pump out to three monitors if you so desire

Cons: >Heat sink is a bit bulky (but hey, no fan. what did you expect?)

Overall Review: This card was purchased for use in a Radio Station computer. The key with this computer was silence, and that is what this card accomplishes. The heat sink isn't as much of a dust magnet as I thought it was going to be - in fact, it's hardly at all. This card handles pretty much anything you throw at it, except any kind of "intensive" games. It'll render 1080p at 60fps, but it won't play Starcraft or LoL at any meaningful resolution (that was actually part of the intention of selecting this card). It has been in non-stop 24/7 use for over a year now (aside from a weekly computer restart), with absolutely no issues. If you're building an HTPC (or computer for a radio station), this is the card you are looking for. Small, no noise, renders all your videos, pumps out with DVI or HDMI - all the boxes are checked. If you're building a gaming computer, look elsewhere (you should have started with something more powerful than an GTX x50, let alone a GTX x10 series to begin with). Or, if you're just looking to build a "Facebook and MS Word" machine, this will get the job done quite nicely and should be on your short list.

Pros: >Pulls double duty as a device charger and portable hard drive >Charger is the best included charger I've ever seen.

Cons: >Android app is clunky, and not very functional >Mobile devices have to access the files through the app. >No universal windows app >Battery life leaves something to be desired >Can be picky about actually turning on the device wireless

Overall Review: This is one of those devices that tried to do everything, so doesn't do anything all that well. It's most redeeming feature is the included charger. It is a hefty USB charger, with a standard North American plug, but it also includes a few European and Asian plug adapters that snap securely onto the charger. It is a business man's dream. But the drive/power pack itself? leaves a lot to be desired. Turning the wireless on and off should have been done with a slider, instead of a push button, because it takes it a couple of minutes to boot up the wireless signal. So you push the button, the wireless doesn't turn on right away, so you push it again, and end up canceling the boot. Once you get the wireless connected, if you are using a mobile device, you have to download the file to your phone or tablet to access the file. Kind of defeats the purpose of having it on an external hard drive. And there doesn't seem to be a way to transfer content from this drive to your mobile device over USB. So with such a heavy reliance on an app interface for mobile devices, you would think Samsung/Seagate would offer an effective mobile app - but no. Both the android and iOS apps were very 'watch a movie' focused. So regardless of what kind of folder structure you set up on your drive with your desktop, the apps ignored it and instead have pages for videos, photos, documents, etc.If you have a word document that goes with some pictures, so you've stored them in the same folder, you are out of luck on mobile. Have to find them separately. To compound this, there is no Universal Windows App (UWA). I know what you're thinking: "who cares?" I care. I have a Surface tablet that I love, and accessing files through the surface tablet mode on wireless was a trick without an app. Also with Windows 10 on Xbox, that is a whole class of device that could make use of this kind of drive - but can't with a UWA for it. All in all, the only environment where storage functions in a user-friendly manner is on desktops, where it is treated like a portable hard drive, instead of a glorified toy. Ignoring the software, the way you access the device wireless is annoying too. You have to leave whatever WiFi network you are on, and connect to the network this thing broadcasts. Back to using your data plan, if you normally would have WiFi for that, where ever you were. Without a Bluetooth connection, this drive is kind of handicapped. Enough wireless chips these days come with the ability to do both, so at $90 for a portable hard drive, there is little reason in my mind why it couldn't. But it doesn't. As for the battery, it's alright. It did its job, so long as you don't ask it to do anything else. I have a larger capacity mobile battery that is lighter and thinner, and can charge tablets as well, that I am going to stick with - but having both a portable battery and portable hard drive in the same housing is a good idea. The trouble is don't even try to charge your device and access content at the same time - the battery will die really quickly. And don't bother trying to charge a device after transferring a lot of content, or transferring any content as fully charging a device. Using one ability of the device essentially limits the other - so at that point, why not stick with the very nice USB charger that they include (if you have a choice)?

Pros: > Works as advertised > Connector seats solidly into the fan > Right-angle portion has a little plastic tab to make removal easier

Cons: > None with this cable, specifically

Overall Review: Now, while these cables were well built (seriously, quality connectors that have tight tolerances don't get enough appreciation - these are pretty good, props to those engineers), I am going to critique the overall cable system itself: it needs more variety The current cables for this system on offer only have 100mm, 200mm, and 600mm lengths. Notice the gap? They need one that is either 300mm or 400mm, to give you something in-between. Also, anyone who tries to install this system in an eATX case will find themselves frustrated with the 600mm lengths. You ~can~ make it work (I did), but I had to take some shortcuts to actually make those connections, instead of routing the cables as I would hae preferred. I would also like to see either an 800mm or 1,000mm cable. Probably won't be as big of a seller, since smaller cases seem to be all the rage these days, but there are those of us that still like roomier builds, or to cram as many HDDs/SSD into our system as possible, and need larger cases to achieve this. Another thing that needs more variety? The connectors themselves. Give me cables with two right-angle connectors. Also, give me a second 'type' of right angle connectors. The current right angle connector has the cable travel parallel to plane of rotation of the fan. This is great for a lot of builds. But one of the configurations I attempted while playing with these fan, I wished I had a right angle connector that had the cable travel orthogonal to the plane of rotation of the fan. But both of those things don't have a ton to do with this particular cable; it works as advertised. The connectors fit well, and seated solidly into the fans. Can't ask for much else from this particular cable. I just hope that if Corsair is hoping we'll commit to this new cable standard for their fans, lighting, and AIOs, that they will also commit to developing a greater variety of cable configurations.

Pros: > Fans are dead-silent > LEDs are bright, and can reproduce a lot of different colors and patterns > Daisy chain-design simplifies cable routing, to a certain extent > Fans will always at least spin, even if the software on your desktop is having issues, so no need to worry about overheating when troubleshooting the OS (or troubleshooting iCue) > Powered via a 6-pin PSU hookup. This is actually the greatest pro for me. SATA-power is alright, but those cables are often going 'somewhere else' and not where I need/want to put my accessory. I hope this is a trend that catches on - 6-pin PCIe powered accessories - with other manufacturers.

Cons: > Useless without the rest of the system; needs the hub, which costs more than a single fan at the time of writing this.

Overall Review: What you should note before you even think about buying this fan: THIS PRODUCT IS USELESS WITHOUT THE ~NEW~ CORSAIR iCUE LINK HUB Now that is out of the way, if you're just getting into this system, buy one of the starter kits. It comes with 3x fans and a hub, for less than what you would spend on each piece separately. If you already have one of the new Link Hubs, then go ahead and keep reading, though you probably already know what you're buying in that case: Overall, I like the hardware. The fan are quiet, the cables and connectors are well built, the daisy-chaining fit with my cases fan hole patterns. The only hardware gripe I have is that they would not fit on one of my existing AIOs; the radiator for my EVGA 1080ti Hybrid (pic attached; the one where I try to mount it to the radiator). So, just something to be aware of if you plan on upgrading an existing AIO: its possible that they may not actually fit. My only other hardware gripe is that cable selection is limited. I want to see more variety in right-angle connectors: dual right angles, one on each end of the cable; right angles that run orthogonal to the plan of fan rotation. I also want to see greater variety in cable lengths: 100mm, 200mm, and 600mm are presently the only options; I would like to see either a 300mm or 400mm option, and either a 800mm or 1,000mm option. I would also like to see the hub come with three channel support by default, rather than two channels and the option to buy a four channel 'extender' separately. But none of these things really stop you from using the system as-is, and Corsair can address these issues by releasing additional accessories for their update Link system. No, my real gripe is with the software. At the moment, it is extremely buggy. I would say it only detects my fans during ~1-out-of-5 boots or restarts. Which is a shame, because it detects my Corsair RAM, mouse, keyboard, and AIO just fine. And yes, I updated the software, and even the fan drivers during one of the boots where it detected the fans. Hopefully this is something that gets fixed with future updates. Additionally - and this may be a hardware limitation - I would have liked a way to individually address the fan colors and lighting patterns (or maybe I just couldn't figure out how to do it during the few times I could get the software to talk to them? There is such a thing as ~too~ minimalist of a UI). Anyway, hopefully the software gets polished some more, becomes more reliable, and what the fans can and cannot due in terms of lighting becomes more clear in the UI. But other than that: solid hardware, quiet fans, and improved cable routing. Its an all around positive development in computer case cooling - as long as Corsair follows through on the software and developing additional accessories for cable routing.

Pros: > Fans are dead-silent > LEDs are bright, and can reproduce a lot of different colors and patterns > Daisy chain-design simplifies cable routing, to a certain extent > Powered via a 6-pin PSU hookup. This is actually the greatest pro for me. SATA-power is alright, but those cables are often going 'somewhere else' and not where I need/want to put my accessory. I hope this is a trend that catches on - 6-pin PCIe powered accessories - with other manufacturers.

Cons: > Corsair iCue software doesn't seem to want to actually detect these fans most of the time. I think they only show up in iCue maybe 1/5 boots, restarts, or 'wake from sleeps'. Good news is that the fans always spin and this only impacts things like lighting, getting temperature sensor data, fan speed profiles, etc. This is disappointing, because iCue picks up my Corsair RAM, H115i, K95, and Knightsword, all no problem, but it doesn't seem to want to pick up my fans most of the time. And yes, I updated all the software, and even the fan drivers during one of the few times it did detect them. Hopefully this gets fixed in the not-too-distant future (minus 1 egg for buggy/unreliable software) > This is more of comment about the overall system, but I feel it is fair to apply it here since the fans can only be used as a part of the overall system: their cable length options leave a lot to be desired. I am using a Phantek Enthoo Primo, an eATX case, and the 600mm cables almost weren't long enough for routing both chains to a common area to mount the iCue Link System hub. In my case, the bottom two fans are linked together via the clips, and the two fans on the back of the case are linked via a cable. Each is their own separate chain (bottom fans, rear fans), and I had to take a 'short cut' with routing the rear fan's cables. I would like to see an 800mm or even a 1000mm cable being offered. Simultaneously, it felt like there was a gap in offered cable lengths: your options are 100mm, 200mm, and 600mm. In my case, 200mm was almost too short to connect the rear fans, and I had to orient them in a way that I didn't find to be ideal. I would also like to see 300mm and/or 400mm cable(s) being offered. But maybe this is all less of a concern in smaller cases? Additionally, I would also like to see another kind of 90-degree connector, where instead of routing the cable parallel to the plane the fan is rotating in, it routes it orthogonal to the plane of rotation of the fan - I wanted a way to connect the bottom rear fan with the two fans on the very bottom, but couldn't make it work with the existing 90-degree design, nor the straight design. I don't mind the cable thickness or that they're specialized, but if I am going to have to use proprietary cables, offer more variety in lengths and connectors - at least as additional accessories. (minus 1 egg for cable variety)

Overall Review: Other thoughts: > These fans are not compatible with every AIO/radiator out there. I wanted to put one of the fans on the radiator for my EVGA 1080ti Hybrid, and the hoses interfered with it, no matter how I tried to orient the fan. So, just something to keep in mind. I'm sure they probably do fit most radiators/AIOs out there, just double check before getting too deep into your build. > Can only only run two separate chains of fans without buying additional spliters and/or hubs. Not a show stopper, and two chains is probably enough for most builds, but a third iCue Link port on the hub would have been appreciated. Overall, I do like this new direction we're seeing fans go in: daisy chaining, and USB interfaced for control and feedback. Overall this will be a good thing, and hopefully you see these options trickle down into 'starter' fan models, but for now, you're only going to see it in 'advanced' fan models, which is exactly what these are. However, it feels like these still need some polish in terms of both their software, and the supporting hub, splitters, and accessories - all of which are critical to actually making these rather pricey fans worth the expense. Final verdict: I would say that these fans are still worth considering if you're looking for smart fans for your next build or as an upgrade to your existing build, particularly if you're already in the Corsair RGB ecosystem. They're priced competitively with the other offerings out there, and the hardware build quality seems very solid. The hiccups with the system as it stands today is with things that can be easily fixed in-place with software updates and further development of accessories for the iCue ecosystem. So if Corsair commits to this new format (which it seems like they will, judging by all their AIOs switching over to it?), I would feel pretty confident that purchasing fans in this system would be worth it... there are are just going to be some growing pains as Corsair continues to do their work. Semi-related post-word: motherboards are going to need to start adding more internal USB headers.

Pros: - 1TB of storage in your pocket - USB-C - Pretty darn fast - My android phone (Samsung Galaxy Note9) picked it right up

Cons: - Technically doesn't hit its advertised speeds.

Overall Review: Now, before I begin, let me just say: I like this product and it will find a spot in my daily life (it'll be especially handy for storing photos on the go). That said, it didn't quite hit its advertised speeds. I put it through its paces on CrystalDiskMark, using all the size options (16MiB to 64GiB) and I posted the best results below. 1000MB/s symmetrical read/writes is impressive no matter how you slice it, but it ~was~ advertised at up to 1600MB/s read and 1500MB/s sequential write. I suppose it is possible the issue is the computer I used to test it, but I don't think so. I suspect that Corsair calculated what its potentially could be over a range of conditions, and then cherry-picked the high points on both the read and write profiles, but I am speculating here. Still, I wish they advertised realistic/typical speeds, not 'max' speeds. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CrystalDiskMark 8.0.4 x64 (C) 2007-2021 hiyohiyo Crystal Dew World: https://crystalmark.info/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * MB/s = 1,000,000 bytes/s [SATA/600 = 600,000,000 bytes/s] * KB = 1000 bytes, KiB = 1024 bytes [Read] SEQ 1MiB (Q= 8, T= 1): 1042.572 MB/s [ 994.3 IOPS] < 8029.89 us> SEQ 1MiB (Q= 1, T= 1): 708.564 MB/s [ 675.7 IOPS] < 1478.57 us> RND 4KiB (Q= 32, T= 1): 98.306 MB/s [ 24000.5 IOPS] < 1290.63 us> RND 4KiB (Q= 1, T= 1): 31.431 MB/s [ 7673.6 IOPS] < 129.55 us> [Write] SEQ 1MiB (Q= 8, T= 1): 1065.647 MB/s [ 1016.3 IOPS] < 7851.10 us> SEQ 1MiB (Q= 1, T= 1): 949.090 MB/s [ 905.1 IOPS] < 1103.75 us> RND 4KiB (Q= 32, T= 1): 98.334 MB/s [ 24007.3 IOPS] < 1290.42 us> RND 4KiB (Q= 1, T= 1): 64.638 MB/s [ 15780.8 IOPS] < 63.08 us> Profile: Default Test: 1 GiB (x5) [K: 0% (0/932GiB)] Mode: [Admin] Time: Measure 5 sec / Interval 5 sec Date: 2023/02/09 17:36:13 OS: Windows 10 Professional [10.0 Build 19044] (x64) On a more personal note: when did storage get so small and so fast? I remember being blown away by having a 32GB USB3.0 thumb drive drive back in school. Now its a 1TB and speeds that rival an internal drive. Excuse me while I return to yelling at kids to stay off my lawn, and reminiscing about when portable storage use to actually be floppy and 500KB was plenty of space.