CORSAIR iCUE LINK XC7 RGB ELITE: Everything you need to know

With the introduction of iCUE LINK, the majority of the Hydro X Series lineup have also been given the the iCUE LINK treatment which lets you build cleaner, and smarter water cooling loops. One of the key products of this line-up are the new CORSAIR iCUE LINK XC7 RGB Elite CPU Water Blocks.

The CORSAIR iCUE LINK XC7 RGB ELITE is in many ways different from it's predecessors (the original XC7 and XC7 PRO.)

In this article, we'll run you through why the XC7 Elite RGB is our most advanced CPU Water Block yet, and why we are incredibly excited about it.

The XC7 RGB Elite comes in two color variants: gray and white. Major visual changes from the previous generation includes:

• Inlet and outlet port which has been moved to the right side of the block (with the bottom port being the inlet).
• Mounting screws now have a Philips head instead of thumbscrews making them easier to mount.

Let's dive into some of the other features that makes the XC7 RGB Elite the most advanced CORSAIR CPU Water Block to date:

In the box you will find:

• 1x XC7 RGB Elite CPU Water Block
• 1x AMD AM4/AM5 mounting bracket
• 1x Intel LGA 1700 mounting bracket
• 1x Intel LGA 1700 backplate
• 1x Double sided tape to secure the standard AMD backplate in place (optional)
• 1x 60cm 180 to 90 degree iCUE LINK Cable

The new and improved cooling chamber on the XC7 RGB Elite effectively splits the flow down into three individual jet-plate inlets. We call this a hexa-flow cooling engine as we have also added additional outlet channels resulting in a quicker removal of heat from the cooling fins.

Additionally, the XC7 RGB Elite also has a built in thermal sensor in the cold plate, giving you accurate temperature readings from your system.

It's worth noting that if you have an XD5 RGB Elite, or other sensors directly connected to the coolant in your loop, these might give slightly different readings as this sensor is located on the cold plate as opposed to in direct contact with the coolant.

As illustrated in the above pictures, you can see the difference between a traditional jet plate design and our improved cooling chamber.

Having multiple outlet channels results in the coolant only touching the cooling fins for a very short time, so it can more efficiently absorb heat from the cold plate.

The cold plate on the XC7 RGB Elite has more than 120 cooling fins and comes with our high-performance XTM70 thermal paste pre-applied in the exact quantity needed for a thin and even spread.

Despite the increased amount of cooling fins from previous generations, we are able to keep the flow resistance of the block on the same level as previous generations thanks to the improved cooling chamber.

We have also managed to fit even more RGB LED's into the XC7 RGB Elite for a more even spread of lighting effects. All of them are completely programmable and automatically recognised in iCUE.

The XC7 RGB Elite connects to your iCUE LINK System Hub (sold separately) via the included 60cm LINK Cable. On most motherboards, it will be easiest to use the 90 degree end of the cable, but as with any LINK ports, you can use whichever you want, in any direction.