Corsair One i500 review: a water cooled wooden wonder

If you’ve long coveted a premium mini gaming PC without wanting to invest time and effort into building one yourself, then this company has got you covered – they take care of that task with ease, in fact. While this traditional case’s attempt at innovation is commendable, its unique features also include an intricate internal structure and cooling system, boasting twin all-in-one liquid coolers strategically positioned near the CPU and graphics card. With its exceptional build quality and stunning appearance, this device is truly impressive, boasting an astonishing level of performance that surpasses even the most powerful full-size gaming PCs.

This compact Corsair mini PC may not boast cutting-edge hardware credentials. The i500 offers an attractive wooden entrance panel featuring intuitive touch-controlled RGB illumination. This sleek PC boasts an unparalleled level of refinement, with minimal room for improvement – the only possible enhancement being the addition of a transparent side panel, allowing for a glimpse into its internal hardware architecture. Are these truly among the top gaming PCs worth considering for your next purchase in this category? I spent a few days putting it through its paces, using it as my primary gaming PC to gauge its performance and delve into its inner mechanics.

Specs

Despite its compact size, which could fit comfortably within a shoebox matching that of a standard footwear box, the Corsair One i500 liberates an impressive amount of desk real estate compared to a full-size ATX system, yet eschews mini-ITX motherboards like those found in earlier Corsair One PCs. A compact MSI micro-ATX motherboard serves as a suitable replacement, efficiently utilizing every available space within the enclosure. The board’s design provides an added layer of versatility compared to mini-ITX boards, boasting four DIMM slots instead of two, along with additional PCIe slots beyond the standard 16x graphics slot.

We have two options to consider, featuring our benchmarking setup equipped with an Intel Core i9-14900K processor, a Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Ti graphics card, a 2TB Samsung PCIe 4.0 solid-state drive, and 32GB of Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR5 memory, all priced at $3,599.99.

When you upgrade by paying an additional $1,100, you’ll receive a powerful GeForce RTX 4090 GPU paired with a generous 64GB of memory. The lack of upgradable options for the solid-state drive (SSD) is particularly disappointing in this micro-ATX motherboard, considering it features ample available M.2 slots, which is uncommon in high-end gaming PCs. In today’s market, it’s reasonable to expect a 4TB solid-state drive for around $5,000.

While it may seem daunting at first, this behemoth of a specification is actually a game-changer, thanks to the Core i9 14900K’s impressive combination of 24 cores: eight high-performance P-Cores for maximum productivity, and 16 efficient E-Cores for power-saving feats. at a peak clock velocity of approximately 6 gigahertz. Despite these efforts, the primary issue remains that the CPU rarely, if ever, achieves this velocity, and its multi-threaded workload can only marginally boost clock speed to a mere 5.4 GHz across all P-cores? The performance is significantly lower, by a few hundred megahertz, compared to the same CPU model’s benchmarks in other systems under heavy multithreaded loads.

A major concern is the CPU’s excessive temperature output and energy consumption, which is exacerbated by the fact that the Corsair One i500 relies on a single 120mm all-in-one cooler to manage this powerful processor, with only one thin fan dissipating heat away from its radiator. The cooling system’s inadequate power is insufficient to effectively cool the current flagship Intel CPU, necessitating a more robust solution.

The GPU boasts a remarkable doubling of cooling capacity, thanks to its robust 240mm radiator design, allowing for a peak GPU temperature in gaming environments of just 64°C, comparable to top-tier air-cooled graphics cards. The graphics card’s memory reached a relatively toasty temperature of 76°C, but it didn’t exceed the threshold required to throttle its frequency.

In the meantime, upgrading the PC is relatively straightforward, as two aspect followers swing out on a bracket, providing quick access to the RAM, SSD, CPU, and MSI B760M Mortar WiFi micro-ATX motherboard. Since Intel’s next-generation Arrow Lake CPUs won’t be compatible with this motherboard, that’s a crucial consideration to keep in mind when planning an upgrade or future-proofing your system.

Options

The Corsair One i500’s compact design belies its impressive array of ports, with both front and rear panels offering a comprehensive selection, including two USB-C ports – the rear panel also featuring a high-speed 20Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 port for added connectivity.

With two USB 3.0 ports conveniently located on the front panel and a total of seven Type-A USB ports available on the rear I/O panel, users can rest assured that all their connectivity needs are thoroughly met. While lacking Wi-Fi 7 support, this omission is not unusual among current motherboards; instead, the Corsair One i500 excels with its Wi-Fi 6E capabilities and dual 2.5Gbps Ethernet ports, offering robust networking options.

While the core feature on the entrance panel’s central spine is a slider controlling the RGB lighting within the entrance and base, allowing you to adjust brightness and hue; the freely available Corsair One dashboard software provides more precise control, including customizable effects. Unfortunately, the software programme failed to allow adjustments to fan speeds, with the Corsair One i500’s motherboard EFI (BIOS) only capable of managing one of them, resulting in most fans being automated and unable to be customised.

Although I previously expressed enthusiasm when Corsair extended its standard one-year warranty on their PC systems beyond just a year. If an issue arises with your PC, a comprehensive two-year warranty comes into play, covering both parts and labor. In the unlikely event of a malfunction, Corsair’s dedicated team will either repair or replace the entire system to ensure seamless performance. Furthermore, you’ll have access to a lifetime of technical support, providing unparalleled peace of mind throughout your ownership experience.

Design

The Corsair One i500 case exudes elegance, boasting a masterful blend of craftsmanship and durability that is truly exceptional in its quality. The rich, dark wood paneling on our assessment pattern may strike some as unlikely, but a lighter wood option is available if you prefer an alternative aesthetic. Despite potential cable management challenges in compact PCs, Corsair has excelled at organizing cabling within the constraints of this design, most notably on the rear panel where wires are skillfully concealed and secured using Velcro ties.

Two magnetic mud filters are connected to aspect panels to prevent any debris from entering the interior. Although the ambient ventilation feature in the side panel can be intriguing, it’s compromised by the muddy filters that severely diminish the effect of the subtle RGB lighting, making it nearly impossible for it to cast a noticeable glow on your workspace. While we acknowledge that large vents are beneficial for air circulation, their design seems incongruous with the lavish components employed throughout the rest of the system.

With an airflow system in place, dirt is apt to accumulate externally on the case itself, necessitating regular cleaning to preserve a tidy appearance, especially around the dual 120mm intake fans at either end. It’s crucial to avoid adding anything to the rooftop area, as this is actually the primary location for hot air to escape and circulate freely.

The subtle RGB lighting on the entrance panel serves as an attractive flourish. Two RGB lighting strips are discreetly positioned on either side of the wood fascia, remaining largely concealed from view except when viewed directly from the front, where they are fully revealed. Given the level of customization available through its RGB controller, we’d ideally like to explore more possibilities for personalizing the lighting on this Corsair product.

The Corsair One i500’s design is somewhat marred by its fan noise, which is unexpectedly loud during video games due to the two roof followers that cool the GPU’s liquid-cooling radiator generating more sound than expected from a typical air-cooled RTX 4080 Super card.

Given the conspicuous lack of fan control here, you’re stuck with this cacophony, which is a shame when you’d want to simply tone down fan speeds – especially since the GPU ran remarkably cool during our testing, far exceeding typical temperatures. While the whirring isn’t overwhelming, its constant hum can be intensely distracting if your computer is situated mere inches from your workspace?

Benchmarks

While the Corsair One i500’s dual purpose involves showcasing its sleek design and building a compact, customizable powerhouse, the other half focuses on delivering efficient performance for gaming and content creation, where benchmark results tell the story. Cyberpunk 2077 showcases the latest advancements in gaming technology, with the Corsair One i500 delivering impressive frame rates of 75fps when running the game at 2,560×1,440 resolution and utilizing the Ultra ray tracing preset.

The game’s frame rate soared to a staggering 106fps, thanks to a perfect synergy between Nvidia’s DLSS 3 technology and the body era feature. This innovative technology leverages AI capabilities to generate additional frames that seamlessly bridge gaps between those rendered by your graphics card, thereby optimizing performance and eliminating lag.

While the Corsair One i500 struggled to deliver a smooth 4K experience with identical settings and DLSS quality, its average frame rate of 51fps remains respectable – you can simply adjust the settings slightly or enable DLSS Super Resolution to achieve a seamless gaming performance at 4K.

Meanwhile, the Components 1 2023 benchmark revealed a modest performance boost for the Corsair One i500’s spec, delivering a median frame rate of 63 frames per second at 4K and 111 frames per second at 2,560 x 1,440 resolutions, which increased to 94 frames per second and 145 frames per second when DLSS was activated. This tech is pushing boundaries of refresh rate monitoring, ideal for rendering high-end visuals.

The latest installment in the Complete Warfare: Warhammer 3 series boasts impressive performance, boasting a minimum frame rate of 121fps and a median of 151fps at a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440. Despite its expected decrease in efficiency, the system still achieved a respectable average of 80 frames per second in this game. Primarily, this mini PC is capable of playing video games at extremely high graphics settings while maintaining respectable frame rates.

In the interim, our artificial benchmarks demonstrated efficiency comparable to that of a GeForce RTX 4080 Exceptional, trailing only slightly behind an RTX 4090 in the 3DMark Time Spy Extreme test, with an overall score of 14,136 and a graphics rating of 14,349. The standard Time Spy benchmark yielded a consistent outcome, boasting a graphics score of 28,676, well in line with expectations for this graphics card.

Despite potential limitations in reaching peak clock speeds, the CPU remains surprisingly agile and responsive. The 3DMark CPU profile showcases the impressive performance of our processor, boasting a most threads rating of 16,114, surpassing even the mighty Ryzen 9 7950X in this regard, and more than doubling the typical score from a Ryzen 7800X3D. In the interim, Cinebench R23, a freely accessible benchmark, reveals a single-threaded rating of 2,289, outpacing any current AMD offering. Meanwhile, its multi-threaded rating of 37,392 matches the performance typically seen in Ryzen 9 7950X scores.

Notably, this cutting-edge specification does not consume an unlimited amount of power from the mains supply either. We achieved a peak of 531 watts drawn from the wall during gaming periods, an impressively environmentally friendly figure considering the substantial amount of energy required by this notoriously power-hungry CPU.

Worth

While the Corsair One i500’s price tag may be daunting, buyers do reap the rewards of an exceptionally well-equipped system across all configurations. The value of Intel’s Core i9-14900K processor and NVIDIA’s RTX 4080 graphics card already totals $1,619 before considering additional components, let alone the innovative design and engineering that has gone into crafting the bespoke chassis and cooling system.

An equal-sized desktop PC is likely to be significantly cheaper in most cases, but won’t offer the same level of portability and sleek design that comes with the One i500’s compact package. While expensive, the value it provides is largely justified by its quality.

Verdict

The Corsair One i500 is a sleek and stunningly beautiful PC, its angular lines and gleaming aluminum surfaces exuding an aura of sophistication and technical prowess that is impossible to ignore. While the wooden panels may appear unconventional, the compact desktop footprint is intentional, as Corsair’s engineers have invested significant effort in crafting a bespoke case that showcases their attention to detail. Praise is due to the ingenious engineers who successfully accommodated a liquid-cooled Core i9-14900K processor and an RTX 4080 graphics card within this remarkably compact space.

This mini PC has some notable drawbacks, including the limited cooling capacity for its powerful Core i9-14900K processor, which runs hot, and a GPU liquid cooling system that, although efficient, generates more noise than most air-cooled RTX 4080 graphics cards I’ve tested.

While Corsair might insist that their liquid cooling system enabled them to successfully house a high-performance graphics card in a compact space, it’s equally important to note that the ability to fine-tune fan speeds was also instrumental in this achievement? Although the processor runs hot, it still meets expectations in all evaluations; however, it will not reach peak performance across all cores when gaming simultaneously. While the noisy GPU cooling system poses an additional challenge, its intrusive sound during video games demands attention, making it even more troublesome when coupled with the same design in the RTX 4090 model.

While the Corsair One i500’s subtle design may not be as noticeable when placed under a desk, it’s an alluring device that deserves to be showcased prominently. For those seeking a premium mini PC experience with impressive specs, the Corsair One i500 stands out as an excellent choice, but note that it’s essential to pair it with a high-quality gaming headset to mitigate the noise generated by its fans.

Alternate options

Origin Chronos

Owned by Corsair, Origin also produces an array of compact, tower-shaped mini PCs that pack impressive specifications despite their tiny desktop footprints. The Origin Chronos V3 can be configured with either a high-end setup consisting of a Core i9-14900K processor and a GeForce RTX 4080, or a more affordable option featuring a Core i5-14600K and an RTX 4060 Ti, offering customers greater flexibility in their build options. Although the Chronos V3 lacks the aesthetic appeal of the Corsair One i500’s wooden casing, it still offers a comparable level of compactness at a more affordable price point.