CONCLUSION

   When i reviewed the amBX lights by Mad Catz almost 8 years ago i was very impressed and so even though it took very long for me to find something better the iCUE LS100 is exactly that. The brightness of the LEDs is very good (would be nice if these were CAPELLIX ones however), the silicone material is very flexible (alas somewhat bulky compared to regular LED strips), the ability to expand the kit is most welcome and the level of customization offered by the iCUE software is unprecedented for such devices. Still the iCUE LS100 is not quite perfect and aside the problem with the rather "weak" magnets (good thing these are removable so CORSAIR can always make available even stronger ones) we all feel that the starter kit is not really suitable for all screen sizes. For example, as you can all tell from our pictures the end result is not quite what one would expect with our 35 inch ultra-wide screen (good thing we didn’t use the 40 inch model). I did try to solve that issue by expanding the starter kit to also include the 250mm expansion kit onto the same channel but even though the first channel can be used with up to 138 LEDs i just wasn't able to (will keep trying however and update my findings if something changes).

   The iCUE LS100 line was released less than one week ago and currently the starter kit retails for USD119.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 102Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) a price tag which is a tad higher than what we’d consider suitable. As for the 450mm/250mm expansion kits these are not widely available yet but CORSAIR does list them for USD39.99/29.99. Overall even though the latest iCUE LS100 is a bit rough around the edges it’s by far the best smart lighting kit available for PC users currently and certainly deserving of our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- 84 Individually Addressed RGB LEDs (Starter Kit)
- RGB Lighting Syncs with Games, Movies & Music Players
- Available Expansion Kits (Dual 450/250mm)
- Two Channel RGB Controller with On/Off Button
- iCUE Software (Customization)

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Magnet Strength
- Not Ideal for All Screen Sizes (LED Intensity / Starter Kit)