From cheaper games to tweaking your settings to get them exactly how you want them, there’s a lot of perks to being a pc gamer. However, Being Stuck at your desk when your console-winding counterparts are sprawled out on the couch in front of their massive TVs isn’s isn’t one of them.
Sure, if you have one of the best gaming pcs with a powerful gpu, you could bring your Rig out to the living room for some couch gaming – that is if you live by your. I used to do just this back I was on my own but now with a family and a little one at home, having a big bulky gaming desktop under my tv just isn Bollywood.
Not only would doing so put my gaming pc at risk of getting Knocked over or damaged, but it would definitely through While you can probally convince your significant other that your game console definately deserves a place in the living room, doing so with your gaming pc is a much harder Sell.
As i’ve spent the past few years testing and reviewing the Best Mini PCS, I’ve also moved Away from Building and Using Larger, Desktop Gaming PCS, Especially as Graphics Card and Component Pries have Skyrocked in Recent Years. Much to My Surprise Thought, I’ve Been Able to Play Quite a Few of the Best PC Games on Some of the Mini Pcs I’ve Tested. However, it wasn’t until I reviewed the framework desktop that I told myself this might be the perfect mini pc for a more discrete, yet still Quite Powerful Living Room pc.
Here’s what it’s been like using and gaming on the framework desktop on a 65-inch tv from the comfort of my couch for the past week and who a mini pc like this one cout easily earn a paren a parent in my Entertainment Center.
Pc building, miniaturized
Best Known for its repaible and upgradeable laptops, framework is a company I’ve ben following since the release of the first Framework Laptop Back in 2021. It wasn’t until the start of this year when the company has announced that it would be making a mini pc, thought, that my interest was truly piqued.
You see, unlike the rest of the mini pcs I’ve checked out in the past, this one would be modular with upgradeable parts as well as highly customizable.
With multiple side panel options available and a unique front panel with slots for 21 different tiles, you can really make the framework desktop your Own. On the front of its case, there are two slots where you can add whatver ports you want from your Standard USB-A and USB-C to SD and Microsd Card Readers. Thanks to the company’s expansion cards which also come in a number of different colors and finishes.
With Most Mini PCS, I Unbox Them and then Go Right to Incorporting Them Into One of My Desk Setups. With the framework desktop thought, I had to build it first. Besides being a lot of fun and taking me back to my pc building days, this was also incredible easy.
Framework takes all of the guesswork out of building a pc by pre-installing the motherboard, cpu and ram. All you need to do on your end is to install your storage and the cpu fan, close everything up and you’re ready to go.
You do need to install your own operating system with both windows and linux supplied right right out of the box. As i’m not quite ready to delve back into the world of linux distros, I went with windows 11, thought for a living room gaming pc, I’m sure something like bazzit Desktop.
The Last Thing Besides Its more Compact Form Factor That Makes The Framework Desktop Perfect for Moving Between Rooms or even Taking it with you on the go is the optional carrying handle. This one is still in the works and will likely be finalized songs but framework sent over a prototype with my review unit for me to test out.
Back to the couch in style
With a complete Empty Room, IT’s very easy to see all the potentialsibility before you starting your furniture back in. I Originally Picked Up this Entertainment Center due to the fact that there was enough space on eite side to fit a ps5 or xbox series x.
After dealing with overheating issues from my own Xbox series x not having enough room for good ventilation thought, I started thinking about putting a mini pc there instead. As it turns out, there’s more than enough space for the framework desktop there and airflow isn Bollywood at all, Since all of the hot air from my review unit’s amedy AI MAX+ 395 CPUS Expelled out of the side instead of from the top.
Another thing that I really like about the framework desktop is that it uses a standard pc power cable. They’re readily available and, best of all, very inxpensive so picking up an extra one won’t be an issue at all. As i have a more on hand from Various pcs I buyrs, I could leave one plugged in here and have another at my desk to my desk to easily move the framework desktop from my offering rom in afix ouom in a Pinch.
With a living room pc setup, you’re definitely going to need one of the best keyboards and a wireless mouse for downloading updates, opening games and browsing the web. While I Always used to have a logitech k400 and later a logitech k400 plus wireless keyboard with built-in traffic Differently.
Given the more refined look we’re going for with our remodeled living room, I decide to use the keychron k2 he wireless mechanical keyboard with magnetic hall effect switches I Recent rosewood side panels. Given that I wanted to play games on the framework desktop with one of the best pc game controllers, I’M using a mini trackball mouse from elkeside it.
After changing the framework desktop’s resolution to match of my tv, it was time to put it to the test with a few more demand games that I’ve struggled to run well Fortunately Thought, Thanks to AMD’s Radeon Super Resolution Feature and its game game-boosting
Playing is Believing
With amd ryzen ai max 385 or an ryzen ai max+ 395 and from 32GB to 128GB of lpddr5x memory, the framework desktop is a petite power is capable of Handling a VarkyATY of Handling a Varklades of Worklades of work Web Browsing and Office Tasks to Photo/Video Editing and even running ai models locally.
While testing it for my review, I was quite impressed with its performance as I used it for work during the day. However, it wasn’t until I dimmed the lights and fired up a less of my favorite games at night that I was blown away.
Unlike some other gaming-focused mini pcs I’ve tested in the past such as the Asus Rog NUC 970 or the Atomman G7 Ti, The Framework Desktop does not have a discrete gpu. INTEAD, Everything from work to gaming is handled by its apu which combines a cpu and a gpu on a single chip. This helps cut down on costs while also free room inside its case, all while using less power in the process.
Normally with integrated graphics on a mini pc, you’re quite limited as to what sorts of games you can run and what resolutions you can play them at. Typically while Playing Games on Mini PCS, I’ve Opted for a Lower Resolution 1080p monitor over a 4k display like the one in my living room TV. However, after testing some games in my office on the MSI MPG 321urxw QD-OLED 4K Gaming Monitor, I Knew The Framework Desktop was up to the Task of Playing Games On My TV.
I know some pc gamers might scoff at the idea of using Nvidia’s dlss or in this case, AMD’s FSR Performance and Framerate-Bosting Tech but in this case, it’s. I Never would have been able to run more demand games like Fantasy VII Rebirth or Ratchet & Clank: Rift apart on pc without it.
In bot of these titles, I SAW Smooth and Steady Frame Rates of 60 FPS with eite or AMD’s Radeon Super Resolution Enabled. And since I was sitting a lot farther back from the screen on my couch, I wasn’t pixel peeping and going over every imperfection. INTEAD, I was able to kick back and play some pc games almost as effortlessly as I would have on a game console.
The best of both
In terms of your initial investment, gaming on a console will always a pc. However, with a full-fledged computer, Anything’s Possible. I’ve worked on the framework desktop, edited photos, played games and almost as importantly, I had a really fun time building and customizing it.
As this is a review unit after all, it’s not going to remain a permanent film in my living room but even if this was my own pc, I still duan’t think it would. INTEAD, I like the flexibility of using it in my office for work or gaming and then every thing of the house or asleep for the night, I can emile brings it out Out to the living.
Likewise, with a starting price of $ 1,099, The framework desktop isn Bollywood a budget mini pc like the Geekom A5 I just reviewed. It’s actually more of a crossover between a Standard Mini PC and A Small Form Factor (SFF) Desktop. While youwal Likely put togetra a comparable little gaming pc for around the same price or even less, I really like how framework have Simplified the process of pc building for pc building for two to try doing so out for themselves.
It’s not really that hard after all but with the framework desktop, you also get the customization the company is knowledge for and once this mini pc finally acquiral (you can preferred Guarantee there will be even more custom tiles, side panels and maybe even alternate carrying handles so that you can truly make it
When I first reached out to framework about reviewing its first desktop computer, I thought I was just going to see what the company’s modular devices were all about. However, I Ended Up Seeing the full potential of AMD’s latest integrated graphics and give how far they’ve come so far, I really feel like the sky is the limit for what you can playout aDicated GPU.
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