Corsair bucks the pattern with lots of its pre-built PCs, as a substitute providing a high-performance bundle in a diminutive and compact case the place many would go for a extra commonplace mid-tower. The Corsair One a200 isn’t any much less an thrilling proposition, bringing collectively the newest AMD Ryzen and Nvidia GeForce expertise in a surprisingly neat and well-managed bundle no greater than a bread bin.
Should you’re acquainted with Corsair’s compact One lineup, you will know that appears could be deceiving. This is not Corsair’s first try at a compact gaming PC, and we have beforehand ranked its compact machines as a number of the best gaming PCs going, small kind issue or not. Being solely 20 x 17.3 x 38cm in measurement seemingly has little or no affect on these PCs’ efficiency—the brand new and improved a200’s specs listing is each bit as mouth-watering correctly.
That each one begins with the a200’s AMD Ryzen 9 5900X CPU, which is powered by the highly-successful and well-rated Zen 3 structure. It is a 12-core/24-thread chip with loads of grunt, rated to three.7GHz at its worst and 4.8GHz at its greatest. Because it’s our prime decide for the best CPU for gaming at the moment, I anticipated rather a lot out of it even earlier than getting the a200 out of the field.
Corsair One a200 specs
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080
Reminiscence: 32GB DDR4 @ 3200MT/s
Storage: 1TB NVMe SSD
Entrance I/O: 1x 3.5mm audio jack, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Kind-C.
Rear I/O: 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (Kind-A and Kind-C), 4x USB 3.2 Gen 1, audio ports, 2.5G ethernet, 3.x DisplayPort, 1x HDMI
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, LAN
PSU: 750W SFX 80 Plus Platinum
Dimensions: 200mm x 172.5mm x 380mm
Value: $3,800 / £3,300
Enjoying the supporting function for this performant bundle is 32GB DDR4-3200 reminiscence. That is loaded right into a bespoke motherboard with B550 chipset alongside a 1TB NVMe SSD of Corsair’s personal design, the Corsair Power MP600. That is a PCIe 4.0 drive, too, for quicker load occasions and switch speeds.
The latest introduction of SFX PSUs capable of driving over 1000W has helped cement the idea {that a} small kind issue PC will also be a excessive efficiency one. But even the compact a200’s 750W SFX PSU provides sufficient wattage for a commanding PC construct. Environment friendly wattage, too, rated to 80 Plus Platinum.
Crucially for our gaming wants that 750W PSU is sufficient to give the a200 surreptitious command over an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080. Coming in as our favourite graphics cards today, we could not ask for far more from the Corsair One. With out something holding it again, the RTX 3080 makes fast work of 4K and 1440p.
And I am happy to report that nothing is seemingly holding it again.
In Metro Exodus at 4K, the Corsair One manages to remain abreast of our desktop Founders Version RTX 3080. No small feat for such a tiny machine. It is solely negligibly slower than our desktop take a look at bench in Horizon Zero Daybreak, too.
Benchmarks
Gaming efficiency
3DMark Time Spy: 11,601 (CPU) 17, 563 (GPU)
Hitman 3 (Dubai): 228fps (1080p) 176fps (1440p) 102fps (4k)
F1 2020 (Extremely, DX12): 216fps (1080p) 167fps (1440P) 127fps (4K)
Metro Exodus (Extremely, DX12): 126fps (1080p) 101fps (1440p) 66fps (4K)
Horizon Zero Daybreak (Final) 155fps (1080p) 129fps (1440p) 77fps (4K)
3DMark Port Royal: 11,640
Metro Exodus (RTX) 109fps (1080p) 88fps (1440p) 63fps (4K)
System efficiency
Cinebench R20: 8,020 (Multi) 601 (Single)
X264 v5.0.1: 67.87 fps
Sandra (reminiscence bandwidth): 31.48 GB/s
Hitman 3 (Dartmoor) : 117fps (1080p)
Closing Fantasy XIV Recreation load time: 9.016 Sec
What meaning for the precise gaming efficiency is 60fps or extra at 4K in a few of at the moment’s newest video games, which is what you may count on from these elements on paper, however maybe not a lot from the shape issue.
Maybe the important thing to the a200 puzzle lies with its thermal efficiency. When a lot of CPU and GPU efficiency now lies with thermal headroom, more and more so with Zen 3 and Ampere, it’s also more and more essential to over-spec your thermal answer to hit max efficiency potential. Fortunately, the a200 does simply that, permitting the CPU and GPU to ship their greatest according to much less confined desktop elements.
That is by and enormous due to the dual liquid cooling answer of Corsair’s design. Each CPU and GPU are liquid-cooled, independently of each other, with every part’s respective radiator situated on both facet of the PC’s case. Recent, cool air is then whipped up previous both radiator by means of using a single fan situated on the prime of the PC.
The result’s a max GPU temp throughout benchmarking of 69°C, the envy of even some discrete desktop coolers. The max CPU temp could not spark fairly a lot envy, nonetheless, coming in at 91°C. That is notably inside AMD’s thermal spec, but additionally in extra of standard working temperatures for such a chip with a fairly chunky liquid cooler.
The one system fan additionally has to work exhausting at occasions to maintain the PC working comfortably, which implies it will possibly get fairly loud below load. That mentioned, it’s a single-fan system, which is notably quieter than some desktop builds I’ve had with 4 or 5 followers all working on an an identical fan curve.
Simplicity and value, although, are one thing that Corsair can ship in swathes with the a200. The ports are inside simple attain on the rear of the machine, and there is a helpful USB Kind-C port on the entrance to make life simply that a lot simpler. The innards will also be uncovered by means of the highest, too, which implies you would entry the SSD or RAM should you fancied a shakeup.
I am coming away impressed from Corsair’s newest small kind issue PC.
You could possibly even entry the GPU and CPU blocks should you so wished, though discovering appropriate boards with the present cooling answer could also be a little bit of a battle.
Then to the general aesthetics of the Corsair One and the a200 is quiet tame for a gaming all-in-one, it have to be mentioned. There’s simply two addressable lighting strips extending practically your complete size of the machine, which is a few miracle. Its good exterior would undoubtedly match the function of highly effective workstation in a pinch, too.
So I am coming away impressed from Corsair’s newest small kind issue PC, particularly now that it is working with the newest cutting-edge expertise. It is clearly a effectively thought out gaming PC and designed with the consumer in thoughts. By its nature, it is extra restrictive for future upgrades than another small kind issue circumstances, but it surely’s nonetheless a superb machine for at the moment.
