Corsair One i500 (2024) Review w/ 14900K + 4090

It's been about two years since I last got my hands on a Corsair One, but this new i500 has brought the series well up to date, considering it is packing in an Intel i9-14900K and RTX 4090.

No doubt about it, that combination of hardware, along with 64GB of fast memory, makes this a potent 4K gaming machine, and in our testing it was performing almost identically to a full-size desktop mid-tower with a 4090 Founders Edition, so you can be confident gaming performance has not been compromised despite the compact chassis.

Power users may notice the 200W PL1 limit for the CPU, as this does limit clock speed to around 4.6GHz when usually we'd expect more like 5.6GHz from the 14900K. The motherboard VRM looks rock solid so we can only think this is down to thermals, considering the 14900K is cooled by a custom 120mm AIO cooler in the One.

By and large, I have been impressed by what this system is capable of, and only have a few minor criticisms. The first is just 2TB of storage, which feels stingy to me considering the £4700 asking price. The second is the fan noise, as the One can get a bit loud under load – though I suppose this is to be expected considering the hardware inside.

We also have to mention the lack of VRM cooling for the RTX 4090. As mentioned, I am not able to accurately test MOSFET thermals, so without that data I cannot say whether this is an actual issue for the Corsair One, and certainly nothing from my game tests hinted at any instability. All I would say is that it does feel odd to install such a high-end GPU and not provide any sort of heatsinks for the VRM, but I'll have to leave it at that.

My final point comes down to the size, and then pricing, of this machine. At £4699.99 it is obviously incredibly expensive. Now, I've always understood that line of thinking doesn't always work with something like the Corsair One, given it's always been an incredibly diminutive system, packing high-end hardware in an incredibly well built case.

That's still true today with the i500, but I do just wonder if the increased size of the machine – up to 21.7L, compared to the 12L chassis of two years ago – hasn't taken some of the magic away. After all, the mini-ITX case market has come on hugely in the last few years and it's now possible to build some incredible high-end systems in tiny chassis. It could just be me, but the main allure of previous Corsair Ones was the flagship hardware in such a compact and unique case, and I can't help but feel that has been diminished slightly with this new model.

Nonetheless, if you are looking at the Corsair One i500 and love the aesthetic along with all the high-end hardware inside and are happy to pay the hefty sum required, I have no doubt you will have a great time with it – it is an objectively good machine. For me personally, I just don't think it quite captivates in quite the same way as previous models given how much bigger it is.

We don't yet have a buy-link but the model I reviewed will be on sale for £4699.99. A lower-spec version with 32GB of DDR5 and 4080 Super will also be available for £3499.99.

Update 10th May 2024: We have since published an even more detailed thermal analysis of the Corsair One i500 which you can find HERE.

Pros

• Beautiful aesthetic with wooden front panel.
• Top-tier gaming performance thanks to the RTX 4090.
• CPU power has been increased to 200W, up from 165W on previous Ones.
• 64GB of fast, low latency memory.
• Nifty front panel controls to adjust RGB lighting.
• Easy to access the internals.
• Plentiful I/O.
• Not reliant on iCUE to adjust system parameters, unlike previous models.

Cons

• Very expensive.
• Significantly bigger than previous versions of the One.
• Only 2TB storage feels stingy at this price.
• A small amount of CPU performance is lost due to the 200W PL1.
• Gets reasonably loud.

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