iCUE LINK RX II RGB vs iCUE LINK RX RGB: What's the Difference?

At Computex 2026, we announced our new iCUE LINK RX II RGB fans, and now they’re finally available. But how do they compare to their predecessor? What’s new? Let’s take a look, starting, as ever, with a comparative spec table. (We’re going to be talking specifically about the 120mm versions of these fans, as those are the most popular size by a considerable margin.)

Buyers should note that the 140mm and 120mm RX II RGB fans are 9mm wider than they are tall. 140mm x 149mm, and 120mm x 129mm respectively. This is to accommodate an internal channel down the side of the fan, through which the iCUE LINK wires run. This means that only one set of wires needs to reach the motor hub, cutting down on parts that get in the way of, and potentially disrupt, the airflow.

This means that it’s important to check your clearances. If you’re considering the RX120 II fans, you should be ok, as many cases support both 120mm and 140mm fans in the same mounting locations, if your case supports 140mm fans where you’re aiming to put an RX120 II, then you’ll be fine.

If you’re considering the RX140 II fans, then ensuring they fit is more crucial, as the additional 9mm of width could exceed the tolerance of that fan mount. So, take a look and ensure that there’s roughly 10mm of uninterrupted space either side of the mounting location.

There are two main considerations when it comes to fans: performance and quietness. The issue is that they coexist on a sliding scale. The faster you run a fan, the better it will perform, but the more annoying the sound will be.

This means that the aim of the game is finding a sweet spot where the fan spins fast enough to provide good airflow to your components, but not so fast that it is annoyingly loud. For what it’s worth, the easy way to “win” this game is by buying as many fans as your case will fit, so they can all run more slowly. However, that principle doesn’t really help you when you’re trying to figure out which fan to buy on an individual “fan vs fan” basis.

So, if we look at the spec table, we see that both fans have the same minimum and maximum speed, 400RPM and 2100RPM respectively. But, the most important benefit of the RX II fans is that they have a higher minimum airflow. So, at 400RPM, the RX II fans move 13.12CFM (cubic feet per minute) of airflow, but at the same speed, the RXs shift only 10.5CFM. This means that the RX II fans can move more air at a quieter volume. It's the same when it comes to static pressure, with the RX II fans producing a minimum of 0.21mm-H₂0 compared to the previous generation’s 0.12mm-H₂0. Additionally, at a more typical 1,000RPM, the RX II fans move more air than the original RXs.

Eagle-eyed spec list readers will have noticed that the original RX fans have higher maximum static pressure and airflow. So, if you are in the habit of running your fans at max RPM at all times, then the original RXs will perform better, but if you’re normal, then the RX II fans provide better performance at more acceptable RPMs and therefore tolerable volumes.

We can’t get too prescriptive about this, as it’s entirely subjective, and some may not even care if the case in question doesn’t show the fans much. But we can give you a bunch of images so you can see the differences.

One thing to note is that the RX II fans have four AirGuide fins on the exhaust side, whereas the original RX fans have nine, the RX IIs might be preferable if the exhaust side is going to be prominent in your build. On the other hand, if your build has a lot of small cables, then the higher number of fins on the RX fans lessen the probability that a cable will fall in and get damaged.

Another difference that will stand out for the real statistics people, is that RX II fans have a built-in temperature sensor. This allows you to monitor the temperature of the air flowing through each individual fan in your system. This means you can hone in the airflow of your system in real time on a fan-by-fan basis.