Building the New TSSDR Z890 Core Ultra 9 Arrow Lake Gen5 Test Bench

CORSAIR iCUE LINK 6500X RGB DUAL CHAMBER CHASSIS

This new 6500x Chassis is a mid-tower capable of accommodating a motherboard up to E-ATX and it is big with lots of room up front and in the back chamber.  It came with three RX120 RGB fans with the newest iCUE Link System Hub but there are so many other reasons why we have finally jumped away from the numerous 5000D cases which were a staple at TSSDR.  First off the glass provides a panoramic view as it is on the front and right side and the front swivels open as can be seen in this picture. It does not have to be removed each time we need to switch SSDs for testing.  Next up, even with ten fans, the 6500x achieves almost complete silence.  This chassis is also set up for the latest reverse connector motherboards and, even with a normal build, there are tons of openings to store cables neatly.

The glass also closes with just a click while pushing gently on the bottom right.  Not normally a view I would show others in this below shot but I neglected to get an initial shot showing the back chamber of this 6500x.

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Admittedly I am not the most concerned with cable organization but this view demonstrates that this chassis will fit any modular PSU one could imagine.  In addition, for the first time ever, power cable installation into the PSU was struggle-free.

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The top panel connectivity includes power, reset, audio in/out, and 3 x USB 3.0 ports which are yellow meaning they are ‘always on’ and can provide charging solutions.  There is also a Type-C port which is actually a 20Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 port that will reach speeds of 1900MB/s read and write for compatible USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 20Gbps devices. This build will be the first time we have both USB 3.2 2×2 and Thunderbolt 5 functioning on the same PC.

Checking Amazon, we can find the Corsair 6500x RGB Dual Chamber case with 3x Corsair RX120 fans and that iCUE Link controller for $269.99.

CORSAIR iCUE LINK RX120 MAX RGB PWM THICK FANS

For our specific build, we included three RX120 RGB fans on the bottom and a RX140 fan on the back, which added to the three that came with the 6500x and three that were included with the CPU cooler, for 10 in total.  The iCUE LINK System Hub can hold 14 in total.

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The Best thing about the new iCUE Link System is that one can daisy chain from fan to fan and both short and long cables are included.  In our system, we linked from the three back integrated RX120 fans to the three bottom fans to the one on the back side and then the three fans attached to the CPU cooler.

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Checking Amazon, we can find the Corsair iCUE Link RX120 MAX RGB 3 PACK for $129.99 and the single RX140 RGB Fan for $39.99.

CORSAIR K100 AIR WIRELESS RGB MECHANICAL KEYBOARD

The K100 Air is not the newest keyboard on the block but it has just become my new favorite. Not only do I love the silent keys, but also, this keyboard is as thin as it gets.

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It is ultra-thin, sub-1ms slipstream, low-latency Bluetooth, and has Cherry MX ultra low profile key switches.

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Check Corsair K100 AIR Wireless RGB Mechanical keyboard pricing at Amazon.

CORSAIR DARK CORE RGB PRO WIRELESS GAMING MOUSE

The Dark Core RGB Pro is just about the best you can get in a gaming mouse as it sits in this price range. It has a 18,000 DPI Optical Sensor adjustable in 1 DPI resolution steps,  eight fully programable buttons, and can be connected by USB, wirelessly or by Bluetooth.

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Checking Amazon, we can find the Dark Core RGB Pro on sale for $79.99

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