Happy So Far - New i300 (3080)

[Queeg]

So my new i300 (regular 3080 version) arrived last week to replace my three-year-old i160.  And I'm very happy so far.

A few observations compared to the i160.

• The i300 certainly is much faster.  I'm not a huge one for benchmarks, but just based on real-world FPS, I seem to be getting a 20-35% boost over the 2080 Ti at 3440 x 1440, depending on the game.  Everything I've thrown at it so far has been smooth at ultra settings - settings I never could have handled before.  So all good there.
• The CPU definitely gets hot under full load, but it's been fine for gaming.  I ran a couple of stress tests, and it hits 90C+ pretty quick.  I'm sure there's some serious throttling going on, but it's not really a factor for games.
• The 3080 also runs hotter than the 2080Ti - 65-75C depending on the game (vs. 50-55C for the 2080 Ti).  But well within the expected range for the card.
• One thing that has surprised me is the fan noise - it's actually a bit less noticeable than the i160.  It has a higher max RPM (2000 vs 1500) but it never really exceeds 1500 in games, so it's basically operating in the same range as the i160.  It has the head room to jump to 2000, but I've only seen that in max stress test conditions.  For gaming, it's basically the same performance as the i160.  BUT, the sound from this fan at 1500 RPM, while probably as loud as the other fan at the same speed, has a lower frequency - it's much more of a hum than a buzz and blends into the background better (at least to my ear).  So very surprised and happy there. 
• I had already upgraded my i160 to Windows 11 so no surprises there.  The Corsair Diagnostics software seems a bit more useful then the older version.  And iCue has played just fine (but that's been my experience generally) - custom fan curve working as intended.

I swapped a 4TB 2.5-inch SATA SSD from my i160.  The i300 has the same internal drive bay (on the CPU side, just below the AIO pump).  There's a power cable, but no SATA cable (I just pulled the one from the i160, which is short and low profile - no air flow problems). 

I had planned all along to get the 3080 Ti version.  But then the new QD-Oled monitors were announced, which I want, and which are 3440 x 1440, which I like.  So since 4K gaming is now not an issue, the 3080 gives a nice bump for a much better price.  In fact, Amazon currently is selling the 3080/32GB RAM version for $3,750 (US), which is nearly $1,000 less than the 3080 Ti version.  Hard to justify that much cash for ~10% more FPS - heck, $1,000 will get me most of the way toward an awesome new monitor. 

I loved my i160 - best PC I've ever owned.  The form factor is incomparable, and well worth slight performance compromises (Linus is an idiot on that point).  So all good here. 

[LeDoyen]

Opinions are like ass holes, we all have one 😛

The only thing that matters is that you like what you paid for with your hard earned monies. On that account you're golden

[Queeg]

Thanks for your insight.  Useful post. 

[LeDoyen]

i was commenting on Linus opinion eh, not yours lol

[Queeg]

Sorry!  I get it now!   (Needlessly had my elbows out on that one.)

[LeDoyen]

I would have been outstandingly rude indeed!