How to control fans and create fan curves in iCUE

Controlling fans within a system is easier than ever with the help of the CORSAIR iCUE software. You can monitor fan speed, set automatic fan curves and change everything manually or even automatically on the fly depending on the application or game running.

To control fans within iCUE, an intelligent controller such as the iCUE LINK System Hub or a Commander Core XT is required. It is not possible to control fans that are connected to the motherboard via iCUE.

When you open iCUE you have all your devices listed on the right. In this example we are using the iCUE LINK System Hub as a controller with iCUE LINK QX120 RGB 120mm PWM fans connected to it.

To control these fans you need to hover your mouse over the QX RGB tile and select “Cooling”.

This will take you right to the overview of all your connected QX RGB fans and show which Cooling Preset is applied to them. Three standard presets, Quiet, Balanced, and Extreme, are available. Balanced will be applied automatically, which suits most setups, but depending on your individual setup, you’ll want to tweak things to get the best performance out of your build.

Let’s focus on the Cooling Presets. You will find a yellow button with a “+” on it. Clicking this button will create a custom preset. Tip: Double-click the custom preset to rename it.

Right next to the Custom Presets you now will see the options you have to set up what your custom preset should do. You can select between Fixed %, Fixed RPM, Temp Curve, Load Curve. Let’s look at what each means:

Fixed % - Lets you select a specific fixed percentage for how fast the fans will spin

Fixed RPM - Lets you select a specific fixed RPM for how fast the fans will spin

Temp Curve – This allows you to create a custom fan curve based on a temperature sensor that iCUE has access to. You will see a selection of available sensors in a drop-down list just below the curve.

Load Curve – Lets you create a custom fan curve that is related to a load sensor that iCUE has access to. You will see a selection of available sensors in a drop-down list just below the curve.

It is advisable to have iCUE running (minimized is fine) so that your settings can be applied to the fans at any time. You can create multiple profiles within iCUE with different presets for your fans and everything else that iCUE has to offer.

If for some reason you do not want iCUE to run, there is a "Device Memory Mode" that takes over when iCUE is completely closed. The settings are limited to the capabilities of the device. In the above example with the iCUE LINK System Hub and the QX120 RGB Fans connected to it, you will be limited to Fixed %, Fixed RPM or Temp Curve related to the temperature sensors inside the QX120 RGB Fans. Once you set up the preset with Device Memory Mode enabled, it will be automatically applied whenever iCUE is not running.