As a result, I've been perusing components to build a new PC from the ground up. This time around, though, I'm considering a couple of things that I haven't until now. First, there is a very good chance that the OS I go with will be Linux. Which specific distro remains to be seen, but at this point there doesn't appear to be much reason to use Windows. I've been wanting to move to Linux for a while, but it was only halfway there for my uses. Applications-wise, it's basically fine and has alternatives for anything that I might use in a Windows environment. Up until recently, the one thing holding me back was how well games run on it.
Now, though, the gaming situation on Linux is very good, maybe even excellent. Yes, Wine was a thing for years on it, and still is, but it never really convinced me because a lot of the games I play on PC are JRPGs, and they seemed quite touch and go on Wine. However, Proton is a whole other story. That has been working wonders for getting games to run on Linux, and it just keeps getting better. Seeing the sheer amount of games that run great on Linux thanks to this, I think I need to seriously consider Linux on my next system.
I'm on the fence about which distro to go with right now. My exposure to Linux is extremely limited, mostly just fiddling with a Raspberry Pi 4 that I have and treat as a mini desktop for fun. It runs on a version of Debian and has been fairly easy to get around if I treat it as a traditional GUI-based desktop experience. However, I have very little knowledge of the terminal. I have been fiddling around with it, doing simple commands and what have you. When I build my desktop, I may go with Debian on that as well, or maybe start off with Mint. I know that one is considered a very beginner friendly distro to go with. So, that might be a good place to start.
It's not like I'm a programmer or do terribly techy things on my computer. I just want something for getting around the web, checking email, playing games, and whatever other odds and ends I might need. About the only thing that I'm mildly concerned about is printer compatibility, as I hear that can be a real pain. I want to make sure my current printer works with whatever distro I use. I'm not going to get a new printer specifically to use on Linux. That would be annoying.
Not only am I giving serious thought to switching my OS, I'm also considering using an APU in this build instead of a GPU. There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, video cards are still comically expensive. I'm looking at a minimum of $1,000 in my area for a new video card, which I have no intention of spending. Second, most of these are 4K-plus, which I don't need. Both of my monitors are only 1080, and much of the time, I'm content even sticking to 720. I don't need 4K, I don't want 4K, I don't even care about 4K. My third reason for an APU is a good reason why this is the case: I mostly play older games. Everything from retro stuff that is 30 or 40 years old up until around the PS3 era interests me, but after that I'm in no rush to try super current stuff. The only relatively current game I play is Final Fantasy XIV, and I don't need a very powerful card for that.
There's also the question of where gaming will go in the next 10 years. Streaming services are becoming a thing. GeForce Now isn't terrible, that Microsoft Game Pass thing doesn't seem too bad either. If everything shifts to gaming as a service, I don't reckon I'll need a beefy video card for much longer. At most, it might be necessary for specific bits of emulations, but even then, who knows. APUs are actually getting pretty decent at this stuff, and I'd mostly be playing old PS1 and PS2 games on the higher end of things. Meanwhile, SNES, Mega Drive, and games of that era can be powered by a hamster wheel. For my needs, it is very hard to justify getting a fancy, new video card.
In any case, it's going to be an interesting few months gathering these new PC parts and fiddling around with a new OS. I don't think I'll build this system until the new year, but when the time comes, I'll be sure to do a little write up of how things are going and how well I'm acclimating to the new environment.
- Xuderea
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