Best RGB Fans, Mousepads, Lighting Kits, & Sleeved Cables - Cyber Monday, 2016

This year’s Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Holiday sales continue, allowing us to compile a list of PC accessories that are aimed at giving your system a boost in aesthetics. Most our guides thus far have been focused on the performance aspect, like our “Best SSDs of 2016” guide, our guide to mechanical keyboards, to 1440p monitors, and recent two PC builds. We’ve also got some coverage of the best PSUs currently on sale, if that’s interesting.

But today, we’re here for visuals. RGB lighting products and sleeved cables are a common trend in the market in 2016 for those looking to improve their setups looks. This year, RGB has gotten big enough that only the craze for tempered glass rivals its popularity; there are RGB fans, mouse pads, controllers, and peripherals of all sorts.

Here’s the shortlist:

Cyber Monday RGB LED Sales

The Best RGB LED Fans

Corsair HD120 RGB Fans

Corsair HD120 RGB ($27) - RGB seems to be a feature found in many of Corsair’s current products, including their fans. And nearly a monitor.

The HD120 is another RGB-happy product, and features 12 independent RGB lights and PWM control ranging from 800-1725 RPM. This is a high static-pressure fan, making it ideal for radiators, but can be used as usual case fan intake/exhaust. The static pressure listed by Corsair is 2.25mm H20, giving it an advantage over the older Corsair SP120 RGB High Performance ($20) model at 1.45mm H20. The HD120 is available to purchase on Amazon or Newegg, and is available in 3 purchase options: Single fan (no controller), single fan (with controller), and 3 fans (with controller). The HD120 comes with a 2-Year warranty.

NZXT Aer Fans

NZXT Aer 120mm RGB ($30) - NZXT announced their Aer line of fans in September of this year, made available for purchase as of October. The NZXT Aer 120mm launched simultaneously with the Aer 140mm RGB ($35) fans, additionally aligning with the launch of the Aer-P fans found in the Kraken coolers we just reviewed. Both the 120mm and 140mm are marketed to be synchronized with the NZXT Hue+ and feature independent and custom lighting effects through NZXT’s CAM software. The Aer 120mm can be used on a radiator, but keep in mind the static pressure rating is listed at 1.35mm H20. The fan does have an airflow rating of 52.44 CFM, making it better suited as a case fan than radiator or heatsink fan. The Aer 120mm and 140mm can be purchased on NZXT’s website either as a single fan or in a 3-pack, and all of them come with a 2-Year warranty.

Thermaltake Riing Fans

Thermaltake Riing 12 RGB 120mm ($32) - The Thermaltake Riing 12 RGB also has a big brother, the Thermaltake Riing 14 RGB 140mm ($25) which, at the time of writing, was $7 cheaper on Amazon. Both fans feature an 11-blade design and a 256 multicolor mode. The Riing 12 RGB has a static pressure rating of 2.01mm H20, making it a good fan to consider putting on a radiator. We’ll soon be visiting these tests in depth, though.

With an airflow of 40.6 CFM, the Riing does still present itself as an option as a quieter case fan, but its cooling potential and design make the fan favorable in regards to a radiator or heatsink. The Riing 12 and 14 RGB fans feature the longest warranty of the 3 RGB options mentioned in this article, listed at 3 years.

RGB LED Mousepads

Corsair MM800 RGB Mouse Pad ($60) - Taking a look at RGB peripherals, Corsair launched their MM800 RGB Mouse Pad in 2016 to go along with various other RGB offerings. The hard-constructed mousepad features 15 lighting zones, customizable and linkable through Corsair Utility Engine (or CUE). The CUE software is able to link all of Corsair’s RGB peripherals, such as the K65 RGB RAPIDFIRE (review here) or various Corsair RGB mice. The MM800 routes a USB passthrough, allowing users to plug their mouse or other USB devices into the mouse pad directly. This RGB LED-happy mousepad comes with a 2-year warranty.

Razer Firefly Hard Gaming Mouse Pad ($53) - Razer released the original Firefly Mouse Pad back in May of 2015 as the world’s first hard mouse mat to feature their Chroma lighting. At the time of writing, Razer lists 33 products that are synchronizable with the Chroma software. The Razer Firefly Cloth Mouse Pad ($59) is also an option for those that are looking for a flexible RGB mouse pad. Unlike Corsair’s MM800, neither of the Razer Firefly options come with a USB passthrough. The Firefly does come with a same-length 2-year warranty, though.

Accessories: Sleeved Cables & RGB LED Controller

NZXT Hue+ ($60) - Our review of the NZXT HUE+ showed the unit to produce vibrant, customizable color zones across multiple magnetic strips that get deployed within the system. The HUE+ is the last touch on a new system build, like many RGB LED strips and controllers, and offers some personal flair to a build. With the CAM software, HUE+ units can be controlled to react to game states (like through Valve’s Game State API), react to sound/audio, or just operate on different modes defined by users. The HUE+ unit is nearly 2.5” form factor (a bit taller) and is powered off the PSU. Its strips receive power from the HUE+ directly, and then daisy-chain throughout the case.

CableMod Cables ($50-$100) - CableMod is one of the few independent makers of sleeved cables and custom cables in the PC marketplace. Their sleeved cables are categorized by series, which are named based on PSU manufacturers. Keep in mind that using cables specified for the PSU is critical, as the PSU-side of the cable-end is not necessarily universal between PSU models. As an example, their C-Series are compatible with Corsair PSUs, while their E-Series is compatible with EVGA PSUs, but be sure to check your power supply and cross reference it with CableMod’s compatibility list (here) before purchasing.

Another option is to use the CableMod Configurator, which allows custom designs for the cable size, sleeve material, cables needed, and color. Sleeved cables are becoming more popular as they become more affordable. PSU manufacturers such as Corsair, EVGA, and Silverstone have already started offering aftermarket sleeved cables for certain PSUs.

Check back shortly for the final few sales guides this weekend, ramping into more in-depth coverage next week.

Editorial: Ryan Greenberg