Corsair One Pro 1080 Ti Compact Gaming PC Review
Corsair One Pro 1080 Ti Final Thoughts & Conclusions
As mentioned at the outset, I only had a few days to spend time with Corsair One Pro 1080 Ti gaming PC, but in that short time what do I think? It’s definitely a sexy yet diminutive powerhouse system. To level set, my personal system is no slouch and fairly close in specs. I’m running an i7 6850K at 4.3GHz (water cooled) with 32GB of DDR4 3200 RAM, an M.2 SSD, and a 1080 GTX Ti as well, so a pretty close performance comparison for my perceptions on system responsiveness and performance. However, my system is in a white Graphite Series 760T full tower and even if I crammed everything in a mid-tower, it would be nowhere near as compact as the Corsair One Pro. Not that I would define it as portable but certainly easier to transport or move when needed.
One of the benfits of the small form factor is that can be put most anywhere and takes up very little real estate on a desktop. It almost looks like a sub-woofer next to the Corsair SP2500 speakers. The build quality is superb and I found no defects though not for lack of effort. The interior, while understandably cramped, still has a level of organization to it with thoughtful wire routing and components placement even though to the uninitiated it may not appear so. As a package, it’s both a performer and a beauty. The black anodized aluminum exterior is susceptible (but not overly so) to greasy fingerprints as evidenced by some of the images so if you are OCD about such things, expect some insanity ahead. It performed beautifully with smooth frame rates in near-4K and did so without excessive fan or pump noise. Of course, with a 1080 Ti, 32GB of DDR4, the OS on an speedy SSD, and an i7 7700K on board, you’d expect there to be very little it would find to choke on. I’ve had issues with the Oculus Rift on a few builds, mostly with it’s finicky sensors complaining about USB speeds (hey ASMedia, get a handle on your drivers!) and I half expected to experience the same here but everything worked beautifully from the start.
With all the sexiness and performance aside, there are a few chinks in the armor. First, while there’s some ability to make upgrades (i.e. parts aren’t permanently affixed as with some off the shelf systems), the same great design that makes it compact also can hamper component upgrades. Not that anything would need upgrading anytime soon. There may be some that want to up the RAM amount to do media creation/editing and that should be relatively easy to do (just standard-sized sticks used)but the cooling components are mostly custom so that could be a roadblock. Second, and this is a very picky grievance – there are no dust filters anywhere. The design doesn’t really lend itself to supporting them and if they were present, they would probably be a real pain to access. Also, Corsair would probably prefer customers not be cracking open the case on a periodic basis to clean them but I know from experience that the radiators are wonderful dust collectors and even a fine layer of it can have a meaningful impact on temperatures over time. With the convection cooling setup and no active airflow directly on the radiators, they are more apt to become dusty.
Lastly, and this will be the complaint of many, is the $2,899 price tag as our 32GB RAM loaner system was configured. While I agree that’s a serious amount of coin to lay down for a systems sans monitor or peripherals, I don’t think it’s off the mark and I’ll even go so far as saying it’s not a bad value – especially for those who are unable or unwilling to piece a system together themselves. Before you go thinking I’ve been hitting the sauce before writing this, hear me out. I did a quick (my time was limited, remember) price rundown of exact or comparable components as best I could and without sales/rebates/deals I priced out a 16GB build at around $2400 and $2600 for a 32GB system. That’s means there’s roughly a $200-$300 differential between a DIY system (complete with OS) and a Corsair One Pro 1080 GTX Ti – though don’t confuse this with Corsair’s margins on such a sale. Being the manufacturer of the majority of the components, their bill of materials cost is a sight less than what you’ll find in the marketplace. Even so, if you do a compare to true boutique system prices, you might come around to my point of view if you aren’t there already. Granted, if you put the time and effort into it and have the patience, you can find parts used or on sale and increase the cost disparity. I get that. But also consider the full system 2-year warranty and dedicated support page/service center with 24 hour phone support – all of which add value. Not to mention the kick ass design. Unless of course, you want a true showpiece with case window, lights, glowing coolant, ad naseum. If so, go boutique and dig deep.
The elephant in the room is the aforementioned majority share acquisition by EagleTree Capital. How this will affect Corsair’s business model, warranties, and service in the near and long term remains to be seen. Ostensibly, nothing changes but consumers don’t like even the hint of uncertainty when it comes to big ticket items. That aside, if you have the financial resources – namely $2699 – $2899, would rather have Corsair to all the hard work for you, and potential upgrade limitations don’t keep you up at night, then I can’t really come up with a single reason to dissuade you from getting one of your very own. I’m kinda sad to have to send it back, mainly because my wife says I don’t have enough computer equipment strewn about my office </sarcasm>. In all seriousness, it’s a sweet rig and would be welcome in my home.
Legit Bottom Line: If you’re a gamer or even a power user who wants an attractive but not garish, compact and quiet, high-end system that just works and are willing to part with considerable funds, the Corsair One Pro 1080 Ti is waiting for you. Quietly.
