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Corsair Commander Mini

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#1 ·
Corsair Commander Mini

Description:
The Corsair Commander Mini is a centralized control unit for Corsair Link. It has four Corsair Link Digital ports, six fan control connectors, four temperature inputs, and a port for connecting Corsair Link LED lighting strips.

Installation is easy: place the unit inside your case and secure it with the included mounting kit, attach a SATA connector for power, and use the included cable to connect it to a USB 2.0 header on your motherboard. Then, download the free Corsair Link Dashboard software and take command of your system like never before.

Corsair Link gives you ultimate control - your system, your rules.
Corsair Link marks an end to the days of case fans, component fans and case lighting that must be managed manually with hardware switches and dials, while simultaneously offering more advanced control and expansion options than motherboard BIOS settings. Everything is available on your screen with a software interface that's advanced, intuitive, and fun to use.

Precise Monitoring
Understand how your system is operating at a glance, and with an unprecedented level of detail. See coolant temperature and ambient temperature at multiple points, and track the speed of your case fans and fans built in to compatible system components. Corsair Link Dashboard displays everything you need via an attractive, customizable interface.

A New Level of Control
Manage fan speeds individually, set up customized cooling profiles, or program fans to respond to changes in ambient temperature - the choice is yours. You can program lighting to relay critical system information, change the look of your system to provide an instant visual indicator of your selected cooling profile, or just have fun. And with Corsair Link Dashboard, you can do it all without opening your PC's case.

Expandable Eco-System
The fan controllers work with virtually any standard PC case fan, and the included temperature sensors can go anywhere in your case. Expand your power by adding compatible peripherals, including Corsair i-Series liquid CPU coolers, i-Series power supplies, and DRAM cooling systems which feature the Corsair Link Digital logo.
 

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#2 ·
Best currently avaliable pwm controller

review by aka13

I have recently purchased the commander mini and must say, I was positively surprised by it.

I doubt that to anyone who is interested in buying a fan controller the packaging really matters, so I really will not bother with making pictures of the packaging. I am interested in the product, not in the box it comes it.
Nevertheless, the corsair mini came in a neat, tiny cardboard box, with the corsair logo printed on it. It was exactly as big as needed, not a huge fancy box with windows and graphics and colors, but just a tiny minimalstic one. That was the first thing, that actually made me "believe" in my purchase - that propably not 1/4 of the price I paid went to the box design facility, but rather to the production of the controller itself.

The purchase had multiple goals -
1. A pwm fan controller in an acceptable price range.
As you know, there are currently almost none pwm controllers at all, and I prefer to have my fans precisely controlled, instead of goofing around with voltage. PWM extends motor life, is a "cleaner" solution to controlling the fans, so therefore The Corsair COmmander Mini fitted perfectly for my intentions.

2. A fan controller with software monitoring and control.
Almost all controllers are in form of a front panel with 4-6 potentiometers and maybe a screen to show voltage/rpm of the fans. Now, I like all my pc stats and parameters monitored and preferably archived and analyzed, and I would rather prefer not to have to pause my game and take notes on the front panel of my pc. The corsair commander mini was great for this purpose, since it works with Corsairs Link Dashboard Software, which in return has all the features I need as a control freak.

3. A fan controller without a massive front panel/preferably no front panel at all.
As stated before, I would rather have the temperatures monitored digitaly, so there is no reason at all to give the controller a full 5.25" slot. It would be a waste of space. The corsair mini itself is only what is included in the pictures in the product description - a slim cuboid, which can be placed virtually anywhere in your pc, as long the usb cable and fan cables are long enough to reach it.

4. Temperature control - preferably with removable sensors.
Now, the commander has only 4 ports to connect thermoresistors, and sadly 0 information tecnical characteristics on the enclosed 4 sensors which are there "from the box". So you will be limited to only 4 temperatures and will propably not be able to manufacture custom thermostats for your system. Still, the 4 sensors are a norm in fan controller market, so it was neither bad nor good - just standart. ALthough, only 4 of them will be propably not enough to a water-cooled system, if you plan to monitor everything.

Additional nice features, which I did not llok for, but still got for the same price -

1.A nice LED RGB controller, which can be used with standart rgb strips. You are limited to 2A on the LED, and to overall 4A for the fans and LEDs together. That is a solid value, and should be enough for all your needs.
2. Corsair link connection. The COmmander comes with 4 Corsair link ports. Now, I do not use the corsair hydro coolers, but this is a nice addition if I ever should use one.
3. A modding-friendly case/board of the commander mini itself. The plastic hull is easily removed, it is not glued to the board. The usb cable is not soldered, but connected using standart 2.54mm 5ppin connector. The sata Connector is soldered on the board, but the polarity is marked and the soldering is made easily resolderable, without the risk of damaging any components. The board itself is cleanly and professionally made, and has 2 holes for m2 screws, and enough spacing to drill the m2 holes to fit m3 screws.

Overall, I had a great experience with the controller and would recommend it anytime as my favorite pwm controller.

If you want additional info/pictures, you can always pm me or leave a comment.

ProsCons
Easy and fast installation, price/quality ratio, functionality, usable with water/liquid cooling, modularity, LED controller, Corsair Linkno information on temperature sensors nominate resistance for making custom sensors/sensor replacement

Ratings
Overall4
 
#3 ·
Best currently avaliable pwm controller

review by aka13
i aggree, and when i have the AX1200i it was an obvious choice.
though i plan on soldering a custon power connector on, and use fan splitters with power directly from the PSU. and i plan on doing the same for the LED when i get to that.

quick question, i would assume that it uses 12 volt, can you confirm that?
 
#14 ·
Public Beta

review by mafi0s0

This is barely worth the review as it wont even work correctly for me but serves as more of a warning.

It has a lot of potential and the software is currently at version 4 which was a complete rewrite from version 3 however still carries 1 of the same bug which is high CPU usage, checking the support forums up to 25% in some cases.

It is not usable as the fans run at different speeds and can not be set below 500rpm despite reporting they can go lower. They also have very different min, max and set speeds despite being the same model, connected at roughly the same length, 1 per header and set to the same RPM.

The Corsair link software must be used to use this controller, for some reason it shows a lot of local network traffic back and forth to itself.

Hopefully it works one day but for now I will be returning it and using my MSI motherboards controls which should be much better.

ProsCons
Compact, customizable, good GUISoftware may as well be labelled beta, bloatware, sensors can not be calibrated, 500rpm minimum fan speed, propriety software

Ratings
Overall2
 
#15 ·
Public Beta

review by mafi0s0
Opened a Ticket regarding the fan speed and confirmed that 500rpm is the lowest for the current software version.

I am really keen on returning this for store credit as I feel mislead both by corsair and the reviews everywhere. Checking the support forums it's very clear the software could be considered beta stage.
It also baffles me why after 4 versions a big company like corsair can't get this working properly.
 
#17 ·
The Corsair Commander Mini and SIV: With the right software, it is The dominant fan controller for PWM control.

review by d0mini

Introduction

Every review of the Commander Mini (CL Mini) that I have found so far utilised the official corsair software Corsair Link, and concluded that while the hardware of the CL Mini is excellent, the software heavily lets it down. This review will look at the functionality of the controller when used with the third-party software SIV, which can be found here, along with a guide, on the author?s website. This free software turns the CL Mini into a reliable performer that dominates due to its functionality, size and pricing.

The Size

At 145 (length) x 58.9 (width) x 13.5mm (height), this controller can find its way into pretty much any case, attachable with the very strong adhesive pads provided. Here it is in the front of my M1, a very small mini-ITX case measuring 338 (length) x 160 (width) x 250mm (height).



Being so much smaller than the 5.25? form factor already places the CL Mini ahead of much of the fan controller competition in this regard, including the famed Aquaero series. The only real competitor in terms of size is the NZXT Grid+ V2 - unfortunately the Grid lacks functionality compared to the CL Mini, as we will see in the next section.

The Potential of the Hardware

With 6 fully controllable (full RPM range) PWM/DC fan headers; 4 temperature probes for measuring case temperatures or otherwise (VRMs, RAM, PSU, etc.); 4 Corsair Link connections for products such as the H100i AIO, AX860i PSU, and Dominator Platinum RAM, and finally a connector for powering and controlling case LEDs, the CL Mini boasts a variety of functions, many of which are hampered or rendered useless by Corsair Link.

So many different uses are excellent and appreciated. The inclusion of PWM control is functionality enough, however, to make this controller shine where so many others have failed. Motherboards commonly only have one PWM header for the CPU, making separate control of more than one type of PWM component impossible without a controller such as this.

The only other fan controllers out there that support PWM can either only control all fans with one fan curve, such as the Phobya 4Pin PWM 8x splitter, or are prohibitively expensive and large, as with the 5.25? Aquaero 6, which starts at ?125 in the UK.
Due to firmware, it is currently impossible to turn off components completely with any software, making this controller undesirable for any who absolutely need this functionality.

All things considered, there is currently no better option when taking cost into consideration if individually controlled PWM fan headers are required, as they absolutely are if using a PWM water pump and fans, or any other configuration involving more than one PWM component.

The Functionality of the Software

Software is key for this controller to deliver all of its many features; without usable software, the CL Mini is rendered useless.

Unfortunately for Corsair, this has been the crippling factor for the CL Mini for quite some time, with many users returning the product due to the unreliable and at times non-functional official software Corsair Link. This is where SIV steps in. Here?s a few of the main differences between the two applications:

? Where the Corsair Link?s fan control service can use up a large amount of CPU resources, SIV uses less than 1%. The usage can be so high on Corsair Link that it prevents the CPU from down-clocking properly.

? Where custom fan curves for Corsair?s link-enabled PSUs are not possible with their own software, they are with SIV.

? Corsair Link allows for only one temperature to control fan curves, whereas multiple temperatures can be used to control any one fan with SIV.

? A form of hysteresis (fans not spinning down until temperatures have decreased past a certain point) is present in SIV as a Hold-up time, where there is nothing in Corsair Link.

? Start-up can take half a minute with Corsair Link on my system ? it takes less than a second for SIV.

? DPC-latency issues have been prevalent with Corsair Link for some time, no such problem exists for its replacement.

These seemingly massive differences in functionality can be partially explained by the frequency of updates. While SIV is updated regularly, with community suggestions frequently making it into releases, Corsair Link is updated sporadically, with no real regard to issues the community has raised. Issues brought up on their forums years ago are yet to be fixed in the current version.

In my experience, the SIV developer red-ray gives better community feedback and support than any company has ever given me. He is incredibly fast at helping with your issues, and even creates beta builds of his software in response to user feedback. All of this without having to pay a penny.



The one downside of SIV that I have found may be seen in its dated UI. The interface means there is a slight learning-curve before the software is able to be properly used. This issue would prevent many users from using this software, including most likely myself. This is, however, not the case due to both the terrible state of Corsair Link, and the excellent documentation given in the guide available on the website, linked to in the introduction. Once you get to know how it works, it becomes very intuitive and easy to tweak or maintain.

Conclusion & Pricing

Considering the value SIV adds to the Commander Mini when compared to Corsair Link, it turns the ?56 (including tax & delivery) product from being a risky purchase to being the most cost-effective, most functional and smallest fan controller out there today.

If you will never need PWM, do not and will not ever have Link enabled devices, LEDs or temperature probes, the NZXT Grid+ V2 is the better and cheaper choice for you. If you don?t need to budget, and have the space required for a 5.25? component, the Aquaero 6 has greater functionality at a significantly higher price point. If you are conscious of money, have little space, and do need PWM control or any of the other multiple features now or in the future, then this is the controller for you.

The reason for not giving it full 5 stars is due to the inability for fans to be completely stopped. This could be the one thing stopping some from buying this product, as it is the only real issue remaining after SIV resolves all the others. The only way this could be implemented is through Corsair updating the Cl Mini's firmware. Considering their track record for responding to the community's needs so far, I wouldn't hold your breath.

ProsCons
Software control of PWM/DC fans, small, cheap. SIV can control fans via multiple temperatures, software regularly updated, low CPU usage.Not able to turn the fans completely off, software UI takes a little getting used to.

Ratings
Overall4
 
#18 ·
The Corsair Commander Mini and SIV: With the right software, it is The dominant fan controller for PWM control.

review by d0mini
As of SIV 5.19 I implemented a 1.0.06 firmware work around which enables a far lower minimum fan speed to be used, but to stop the fans the firmware would need to be changed, see http://forum.corsair.com/forums/showthread.php?p=901440

SIV can also control the NZXT GRID+ V2.
 
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