CORSAIR RGB LED Lighting PRO vs LS100 vs LS430 Aurora - By ZaFiast

One of our Insiders, ZaFiast, recently took delivery of our new iCUE LINK Aurora LS430 and LS350 RGB light strips. So, he decided to put them to the test vs some of our older lighting accessories.

The following is entirely in ZaFiast's own words. Let's see what they thought.

Not too long ago, CORSAIR released the Aurora LS430 and LS350 RGB Light Strips. This article will explore how these compare against the older LS100s and Lighting Node PRO RGB Strips.

The Auroras also introduce the iCUE LINK ADAPTER. This allows 3-pin RGB lighting to be run off an iCUE LINK SYSTEM HUB instead of requiring a Lighting Node Pro (LNP) or a Commander, which reduces the amount of SATA power and USB header connections needed.

A brief overview of the different types of CORSAIR Ambient Lighting:

350mm LS100 (top) vs LS350 Aurora

LNP strips vs LS100s vs LS430 Aurora in Rainbow Wave

LNP LED strips vs LS100s vs LS430 Aurora in Static Colour – White

Each type of strip is individually lit up in Static Colour – Red

Auroras Rainbow Wave

Old strips Rainbow Wave

Lighting effects available for Auroras, LS100s, and LNP strips

The Auroras have the same effect types available as the LS100s and LNP LEDs, which means that "Heartbeat" is unfortunately unavailable on the Auroras. The Auroras are also dimmer than the older two types of strips, which may or may not be desirable depending on how much RGB you already have in the system. Sequential-type effects look better on the Auroras compared to the older strips due to the fact that they have more LEDs, meaning you get much smoother animations.

Please note that as of 10/28/2024, they will not appear properly on other 3-pin controllers (such as a Commander or Lighting Node Pro) and will have to be configured as if they were different types of strips. Hopefully, CORSAIR will patch the firmware for the older 3-pin controllers to fix this.

Pros:

• Great looking diffusion, soft lighting
• Thin and unobstructed, much more flexible compared to the older strips
• Is the only type to come with LINK Adapters by default
• It is good if the system does not already contain other sources of bright lighting, such as LC100s

Neutral:

• It is dimmer compared to the old strips (may be good for some)
• Lack of lighting coming through from the side view

Cons:

• Mounting is finicky
• It will most likely get hit by brightness reduction if multiple strips are used.
• Other RGB can overshadow it in the system.
• The non-LINK version does not appear properly in the UI for 3-pin controllers.

These strips are recommended if you are looking to add RGB to a system that doesn't already have RGB in it or only "basic" RGB from fans and RAM. They tend to stand out much less compared to their predecessors and will probably be overshadowed by other types of bright lighting inside the case, such as LC100s or max brightness QX fans.

These work great as a replacement for LS100s, as LS100s at maximum brightness can overpower other RGB devices in the PC. They are also smaller and more flexible than the LS100s, meaning you can fit them into places where the LS100s might not fit.

Use the LS100s instead if you need the brightest possible RGB and want it visible in multiple directions. If you can't fit Auroras, use the LNP LED strips, but do be warned that LNP LEDs can be glaring due to their lack of diffusion.