Mars Hydro TS3000 or FC4800 ??

hands down the FC-4800. better efficacy by miles... the ts3000 is 1016 diodes for 450 watts. that is 0.44w per diode... samsung diodes run at 0.25watts per diode, like on the fc4800, will actually meat advertised claims about high efficacy and 50,000hours of life before it reaches 90% of original intensity. you will absolutely hit 90% intensity with the ts3000 LONG before the fc4800.. maybe 2 years difference? maybe 3? must consider that as part of cost of ownership. these 2 lights are not in the same tier of quality. 1 is significanlt better. both will grow equal quality buds if used properly, but the fc4800 coverage is better, so it should do better in that regard, too. what you pay for is efficacy and longevity. The FC 4800 will last longer and produce more photons at advanced age.. it will save you money every month on your electric bill (or in this case, produce better g/w yield than ts3000, since there is only a 30w difference.... but the fc4800 produces more photons per watt). i doubt the 2.7umol/J listed for the ts3000 efficacy... it is more likely lower. ask mars which diodes they are using.. if not sj/sk or higher, it's closer to 2.5umol/J at best. The fc4800 advertised efficacy is accurate.. no more than 0.1umol/J off due to odd rounding or typical marketing/sales scheming bullshit, lol, but at least close enough not to care much. You will have a better g/w efficacy from teh FC4800. You will get longer high-quality use of the FC4800 before it reaches 90% intensity too. dimming only speeds up with time... chek out samsungs longevity curve.. it is specifically for diodes running at 0.25w/diodes. more power per diode will only make them degrade faster. sure it can produce same light, initially, but over time it will be outpaced more and more.