If you aren’t a fan of Corsair’s iCUE or simply don’t like too much software on your rig, Corsair has just launched a new website that allows you to bypass it entirely for software updates.
Simply titled firmware updater, you authorise the browser to access your Corsair devices, where it then recommends firmware to download. You can find a list of supported devices at the bottom of the page to check if your equipment is on there.
The new website compatibility includes peripherals like the Corsair K70 Core keyboard, Corsair Sabre RGB Pro Champion Series mouse, and Corsair Slipstream Wireless USB receiver.
If you have cooling supplied by Corsair, you will still need iCUE to control how fast the fans spin and what colours they display with their built-in RGB. The same is true of lighting in peripherals, macros in your keyboard, and other forms of customisation you may want.
You can register your Corsair peripherals to get notified every time there’s a new firmware update, which means you don’t have to manually check anytime you suspect something is wrong. This is a pretty good workaround for anyone looking to skip downloading more software.
Corsair iCUE is, at best, an okay piece of software, and actively annoying at worst. Polling the office, multiple members of the PC Gamer team directed ire at the software, though also admitted peripheral software from other companies can be worse.
I’ve had problems with Logitech and SteelSeries’ software, though I haven’t really touched iCUE for the cooling in my personal rig all that much.
I’d love to see more of the industry follow Corsair’s footsteps. Logitech has a firmware update tool but it only works for a handful of mice. SteelSeries GG, SteelSeries’ software, is necessary for its peripherals.
This means, that if you want to use a Logitech mouse and SteelSeries keyboard (my exact setup), you need two different bits of software just to make sure they’re up-to-date. These bits of software can sometimes cause as many problems as they fix.
I’ll take any possible way to remove more software from my machine, and the new website seems like a pretty good way of doing so.
