General Analysis

Overall, the system is quite attractive with the RGB LED illumination between the system, keyboard, and mouse all working well together for uniform lightning. While some will find it a bit garish and over the top, for many, this type of a system is now synonymous with PC gaming, and that won't be changing any time soon. While the LEDs are a defining feature, Corsair's Crystal series 280X RGB chassis is also unique enough to stand out from more typical designs, and the included peripherals are good enough to act as a solid entry for buyers to discover what works best for them. For those with a preferred keyboard and mouse wanting the system, a version of the system without the peripherals for a little less would have been nice.

When it comes to the system build itself, all the parts are for the most part off-the-shelf components, meaning replacements or upgrades are a simple endeavor. From memory and storage to motherboard and graphics card, anything and everything can be changed if a user wishes to do so later on. That said, with its MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ventus, 480 GB SSD, 2 TB of mass storage, 16 GB of DDR4, and an Intel i7-8700, any upgrades or changes will likely be years away. Overall, while not the best I have seen, Corsair does strike a solid balance of features, performance, and build quality.


The reviewed system comes with no bloatware or garbage software; the only add-on software to be found is Unigine's Heaven Benchmark. There is no trial anti-virus software or worthless search bar add-on. This is how gaming systems should be delivered: devoid of junk and ready to go out of the box. If end users have to spend hours uninstalling useless software, you have essentially failed as a PC gaming manufacturer, so good job Corsair, you didn't fall victim to that temptation.


The system itself never got loud when pushed to the limit with the AIDA64 FPU stress test. Noise levels peaked at 42 dBA, while the average noise level when gaming hovered at around 39–40 dBA. This makes the Corsair Vengeance 5180 Gaming PC very quiet overall, but what about temps? Well, worry not even though the CPU does get a bit toasty under extreme loads, hitting 88°C; in regular gaming tests, temperatures were in the 70°C range with the system remaining utterly silent. The MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ventus peaked at 75°C when gaming and was seldom audible. Instead, it blended in with the noise from the Hydro Series H100i RGB Platinum, and their combined noise level was unobtrusive. No coil whine or other issues cropped up during testing either. As for power consumption, it hovered at around 335–345 watts when gaming, while extreme loads on both the CPU and GPU could see it climb past 400 watts. Overclocking the graphics card will likely push this up a bit as well, but the CX750 power supply offers more than enough headroom to handle it. In terms of load balance, the Corsair CX750 operates at around 50% usage while gaming, meaning it's at peak efficiency as well, which is a nice bonus.

While the Intel i7-8700 may not allow for overclocking, it still does exceptionally well in all tests with performance that will easily meet the majority of a user's demands. Looking at the graphics tests, the RTX 2080 holds its own as well, with the Vengeance 5180 system as a whole proving to be the fastest of the systems currently at my disposal. The only real issue is price. $2399.99 is steep for a large number of users. The Corsair system is not the best bang for the buck, but it is unique and does perform well. For someone wanting a system to show off, it will certainly fit the bill. My only criticism for Corsair is to offer a system without the extras, and next time, leave the lettering on the side panel in the brochure, which is where it belongs. If you want to add the Vengeance name, pick a better spot, like smaller lettering on the front panel, where your logo or name already make an appearance. That way, it's less in the customer's face and can be considered a bit more tasteful.