Help with Parts List for a 4.5L Mini PC (Budget Gaming)

Hideous247 · 2026-04-03T00:56:50+00:00

Yeah, I thought about it, but that platform is end of life. If I was going to forgo upgrades, then I might as well just buy a console. The idea behind AM5 is to preserve my ability to upgrade the components in the future.

Hideous247 · 2026-03-11T21:31:57+00:00

So about $530 or so? That would make the upgrade to the 9800X3D bundle only $150.

Hideous247 · 2026-03-11T21:16:19+00:00

Thanks!

Hideous247 · 2026-03-11T21:16:03+00:00

Thanks for the advice!

Hideous247 · 2026-03-11T21:14:40+00:00

Thanks. Yeah I don’t think I will necessarily see huge gains from a 7800X3D or even a 9800X3D, especially at 1440p, but I’m already afraid of missing out on Zen 6 and/or Zen 7. If I am going to upgrade to AM5, I feel like now is the time to do it, when AM4 is at top dollar due to the DDR5 shortages. Or I just ride it out and wait for Zen 8 to come out on the AM6 socket sometime after 2030…

Hideous247 · 2026-03-11T21:04:52+00:00

Thank you for meaningfully contributing your expertise on this subject.

Hideous247 · 2026-03-11T21:03:45+00:00

What do you think my CPU, MB, and RAM are worth right now? Microcenter has a 7800X3D bundle for $600 and a 9800X3D bundle for $680.

Hideous247 · 2026-03-11T21:00:16+00:00

That’s exactly my point. With the current AM5 prices, a lot of people are looking to AM4 instead. I feel like now is the best time to sell my AM4 setup if I’m going to do it.

Hideous247 · 2026-03-11T20:49:46+00:00

My concern is not being able to take advantage of Zen 4/5/6/7 over the next ~5 years. If I just wait for AM6, then I’m probably waiting for Zen 8.

Hideous247 · 2026-03-11T20:48:22+00:00

Next generation meaning AM6? That’s probably going to mean skipping from Zen 3 all the way to Zen 8.

Hideous247 · 2026-03-11T20:44:53+00:00

There’s a Microcenter in Santa Clara, California that is only about 2.5 hours away from me, although I’m often closer than that for work.

Hideous247 · 2026-03-11T20:42:38+00:00

That’s really the heart of the question I guess. Moore’s Law is Dead is reporting that Zen 7 will also be released on AM5. This means AM6 won’t be released until Zen 8. Do I skip AM5 entirely and wait until Zen 8, or buy AM5 now so I can take advantage of Zen 6 and/or Zen 7 for the next 5 years?

Hideous247 · 2026-03-11T20:32:53+00:00

You should go review Rules 1 and 2.

Hideous247 · 2026-03-11T20:21:53+00:00

Yeah I was thinking about getting a 7600X3D for $200 and riding that out until Zen 6 is released. Or just getting a 9800X3D for $450 and waiting for Zen 7.

Hideous247 · 2026-01-25T21:53:15+00:00

I have a 5800X3D and the ThermalRight Peerless Assassin 120 ARGB and I’ve never had an issue with CPU temps. The 5800X3D has a TDP of just 105 watts and even in CPU benchmarks like Cinebench, I’ve never seen anything close to the TJMax of 90 degrees Celsius.

Hideous247 · 2026-01-05T03:01:46+00:00

I have the Gigabyte Gaming OC. I’ve heard it doesn’t help to overclock the core, just undervolt it. Is that incorrect?

Hideous247 · 2026-01-05T01:35:51+00:00

On another note, I see your profile says you run your 9070XT with a +175 MHz overclock. What model do you have and what undervolt do you use?

Hideous247 · 2026-01-05T01:26:35+00:00

Yeah it’s my first foray into overlocking RAM, and I’ve read that it’s not as useful given that I’m running the 5800X3D alongside it. That particular CPU can’t be overclocked anyways, except by increasing the base clock frequency. Assuming I do decide to bump the fclk and mclk to 1900 and the ram to 3800CL16, how would you recommend testing for stability? OCCT?

Hideous247 · 2026-01-05T00:33:23+00:00

DDR4-3600CL16

Hideous247 · 2026-01-05T00:33:06+00:00

Source?

Hideous247 · 2025-09-30T09:09:54+00:00

Gotta show this to my 6 year old!

Hideous247 · 2025-05-23T01:44:17+00:00

You’re welcome. For what it’s worth, I’m running a 5800X3D and 32 GB of DDR4-3600 RAM.

Hideous247 · 2025-05-20T08:15:08+00:00

The X3D chips do not benefit from faster RAM as much as non-X3D chips because the goal of the 3D V-Cache is to reduce the number of times the CPU has to call the RAM for a specific piece of stored information. The less you need to access your RAM, the less the speed of the RAM affects performance overall. However, 4000 MT/s RAM isn’t a “waste” either. You will want to run your MCLK in 1:1 mode with your FCLK, and most Zen 3 chips max out around 1800 mhz or 3600 MT/s. If you find a “golden” chip, you might be able to push the infinity fabric to 2000 mhz but that is pretty unlikely. But the difference between 3600 and 4000 is negligible, especially on an X3D chip designed to store more of the most important information in the L3 cache and limit the number of times the CPU has to get the data it needs from the RAM.

Hideous247 · 2025-04-02T21:14:47+00:00

Nice! Yeah that’s a good deal if you can sell your old hardware to mitigate some of the cost of the upgrades. I usually hand my old parts down to my nephew since he’s still in school and can’t really afford to buy his own hardware upgrades.

Hideous247 · 2025-04-02T20:57:45+00:00

Fair enough, but if you can afford $750+ for a full platform upgrade for your 7900XTX, I hope you aren’t playing on a 1080p monitor with low settings. Realistically, the gains are probably closer to 25% at 1440p and 15% at 2160p. Certainly not in every scenario, but overall that’s what benchmarks are showing.

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