My current PC is a mid-tower with a Ryzen 9 5900X, 32GB of DDR4-3200, an RX 6900 XT, and a 1TB NVMe drive. It handles gaming, office work, and everything else perfectly, but it lives upstairs. I want a second, much smaller system for the living room while I wait for a new console-style PC, and I'm impatient enough to build one myself.
AM5 would offer more performance and a better upgrade path, but the CPU, motherboard, and memory alone would cost roughly $600 more. My current idea is a Ryzen 5 5600X3D, 32GB of RAM, a 2TB SSD, and a Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB in a small-form-factor case with an ITX motherboard. The total should be around $500 for the graphics card plus the rest of the build. Most of the games I play are JRPGs, with occasional action RPGs, so I'm not targeting extremely demanding titles.
Would AM4 be the sensible choice for this kind of living-room build, or is AM5 worth the extra cost for longevity? I'm also open to alternatives such as streaming from my main PC or using a docked handheld, although I'd still prefer having a dedicated small PC. Since this is my first build focused on compact size rather than maximum performance, I'd also appreciate any advice about case, cooler, power-supply, and component compatibility.
5 Answers
If you want the strongest long-term option, build AM5 with something like a Ryzen 5 7600 or 7600X3D. It costs more now, but gives you a newer platform and an easier CPU upgrade later. That said, future upgrade plans are not automatically worth paying hundreds extra for—if the AM4 system already meets your resolution and frame-rate target, the savings may be more valuable.
AM4 makes a lot of sense here. For a 60Hz TV and mostly JRPGs, you probably don’t need an X3D chip or 32GB of RAM, especially with a 16GB graphics card. A Ryzen 5 5600 and 16GB or 32GB of memory could be plenty, letting you put more of the budget toward the case, cooling, and a quiet SFX power supply.
Before spending money on a second PC, try streaming your existing system to the TV with Steam Remote Play or Sunshine/Moonlight. It could be much cheaper and might perform well enough for JRPGs. A docked handheld is another option if you mainly want a console-like setup.
I hadn’t really considered streaming, so I’m going to test it. Part of the motivation is definitely that I want an excuse to build another computer, though—it’s basically expensive LEGO.
Your existing 5900X and RX 6900 XT are already far more powerful than you need for many living-room games, so test that setup on the TV first. It will tell you whether the TV handles PC input properly and whether the couch experience works for you. If the TV is limited to 60Hz, a modest AM4 build should be completely reasonable; the main reason to choose AM5 would be wanting the newer platform rather than needing the extra gaming performance.
The main constraint is physical size. The 6900 XT is enormous, and I’m specifically trying to make the living-room system much smaller. I usually buy near the high end and keep a PC for eight to ten years, so this is a deliberate experiment with a smaller, less cutting-edge build.
Small-form-factor builds can cost more than expected. The case, ITX motherboard, SFX power supply, and cooling add up quickly, so compare the complete build rather than just the CPU and motherboard prices. Also check every dimension carefully: graphics-card length and thickness, cooler height, RAM clearance, power-supply format, and airflow. Some compact cases only fit specific versions of a graphics card.
I’m skeptical of planning an entire build around a future socket upgrade. CPU upgrades can be a hassle, and by the time the current processor feels too slow, a new motherboard and memory platform may be worthwhile anyway.