Advice for upgrading beyond windows 7 ?

[Hobbit XIII]

So picture a single mother with little knowledge of computers would understand :
She buys some computer and her offspring can buy games with pocket money through steam.
Now the games they have bought might not work coming the new year she has little technical know how and is not going to have time searching randomly through bins to find some computer for her children (before anybody says you can probably find one in a bin).
She has a tiny budget and Christmas is a cruel time of year.

What is your advice to her?
What should she buy?
Where should she buy it?
This is obviously not me but it is for users to picture that kind of scenario and make a basic / simple way for the person to follow.
Include a minimal spec/hardware to look out for.

[Muppet among Puppets]

The best advice is to tell how to find the tutorials.
I dont understand why at this point in the topic its still as if there was something missing, and it was impossible to find.

[Hobbit XIII]

Publicado originalmente por Muppet among Puppets:

The best advice is to tell how to find the tutorials.
I dont understand why at this point in the topic its still as if there was something missing, and it was impossible to find.

People have different takes on the ' how to go from 7 to 10/11/linux ' question.
Later I will be going through and putting what has been written that is useful onto the first post.

Some questions will forever baffle us for example how are simians able to read and write online?
We will never know but one day when we do it would be better to just ignore the answer.

[( ( < < <🤖> > > ) )]

i would say first... get a bit more informed about computers

Youtube is a good place to start... get the family involved...

how to build a computer.... just for knowledge so you know what your buying into..

how to install OS...

how to Upgrade from windows 7 to windows 10/11

find youtubes you can relate too...

you can ask youtube anything..

how to download and where to save files for easy access...

how to.. how to.. how to..

know your computer and what it can and cant do..


also depending on where you got your computer from..
go back and ask for help if you need it... they will know what they
have sold you and what it can do..

[D. Flame]

Install Linux Mint. Super intuitive and user friendly. Installing Steam games designed for Windows is now just two extra clicks.

I have installed Linux Mint for 60 and 70 year olds that are not technologically gifted at all, and who have used Windows there whole life. They have had zero issues using it as their daily driver for years now.

Just find a PC with an intel i5, and at least 16GB of RAM, then put a Radeon RX 6400 in it, and install Linux Mint on it if you need to replace Windows 7. A Radeon RX 6400 should cost like $150 or less.

[lsdninja]

Publicado originalmente por D. Flame:

IA Radeon RX 6400 should cost like $150 or less.

That's 50% more than a card like that should cost :/

[Muppet among Puppets]

Publicado originalmente por D. Flame:

Install Linux Mint. Super intuitive and user friendly. Installing Steam games designed for Windows is now just two extra clicks.

What are those 2 extra clicks?
My last linux game try was not that easy and games did not run well.

[lsdninja]

Publicado originalmente por Muppet among Puppets:

What are those 2 extra clicks?
My last linux game try was not that easy and games did not run well.

There's a setting in Steam that enables Proton across the board. You need to enable it otherwise you only see games with native Linux versions (and supposedly games that are known Proton-compatible, but I'm not sure I have any of those in my library since I only saw the Linux compatible ones until I enabled it). If you have games on Epic or GOG (edit: and Amazon, if you're a Prime Gaming member), then Heroic Games Launcher[heroicgameslauncher.com] can handle those, almost as seamlessly as Steam can. Your distro of choice will hopefully have it in its repos or have the flatpak runtimes installed allowing you to install it from flathub[flathub.org].

There's also Bottles[/ur] for "loose" games, but I wouldn't recommend tackling that right away as a newbie. It basically does what Proton/Heroic do, but exposes more of the settings and can be a little overwhelming.[usebottles.com]

[D. Flame]

Also IGNORE ANY DISCUSSIONS OF DISTROS, the only one that you should focus on is Linux Mint. "Mint" is the Distro. None of the others are worth it to a Windows user, and the discussions of such will just muddy the waters for no reason.

Publicado originalmente por Muppet among Puppets:

Publicado originalmente por D. Flame:

Install Linux Mint. Super intuitive and user friendly. Installing Steam games designed for Windows is now just two extra clicks.

What are those 2 extra clicks?
My last linux game try was not that easy and games did not run well.

I put 2, but meant "a few," sorry.

https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/0/3874841853287005389/

To install Windows games in Linux you just need to do a few extra clicks. On the page with the install button for your game -> click the gear icon near the right side of the screen -> click properties -> the properties box will open -> click the compatibility tab -> put a check mark in that box, and leave it set to "Proton Experimental" and close the popup. Then just click install like normal.

I was playing Resident Evil 4 remake and Armored Core 6 on it. wIthout issue.

Publicado originalmente por lsdninja:

Publicado originalmente por D. Flame:

IA Radeon RX 6400 should cost like $150 or less.

That's 50% more than a card like that should cost :/

It is probably the best 1080p card that you can get that also supports small form factor cases.

[lsdninja]

Publicado originalmente por D. Flame:

It is probably the best 1080p card that you can get that also supports small form factor cases.

That's not strictly true. There's the A2000 (I swear there's also another one, possibly Ada based, but I can't find it right now) and that crazy 4060 LP that Gigabyte just launched, but they're crazy expensive and the latter still requires external power. It sucks that this segment hasn't meaningfully advanced since the 1050/1050 Ti.

[D. Flame]

Publicado originalmente por lsdninja:

Publicado originalmente por D. Flame:

It is probably the best 1080p card that you can get that also supports small form factor cases.

That's not strictly true. There's the A2000 (I swear there's also another one, possibly Ada based, but I can't find it right now) and that crazy 4060 LP that Gigabyte just launched, but they're crazy expensive and the latter still requires external power. It sucks that this segment hasn't meaningfully advanced since the 1050/1050 Ti.

The A2000 takes up two slots and costs more than double. It isn't even remotely worth the costs. So, for now at least, the 6400 is still the best option.

[lsdninja]

Publicado originalmente por D. Flame:

The A2000 takes up two slots and costs more than double. It isn't even remotely worth the costs. So, for now at least, the 6400 is still the best option.

None of the cards currently vying for this segment are genuinely worth the cost, that's the problem.

[D. Flame]

Publicado originalmente por lsdninja:

Publicado originalmente por D. Flame:

The A2000 takes up two slots and costs more than double. It isn't even remotely worth the costs. So, for now at least, the 6400 is still the best option.

None of the cards currently vying for this segment are genuinely worth the cost, that's the problem.

It works in a smaller case, generally doesn't require extra power, is cheaper than a console, and lets you play modern games.

Should we keep wanting more? Sure. But this isn't as bad as you are trying to make it, especially for someone on a budget like the OP.

[lsdninja]

Publicado originalmente por D. Flame:

It works in a smaller case, generally doesn't require extra power, is cheaper than a console, and lets you play modern games.

Should we keep wanting more? Sure. But this isn't as bad as you are trying to make it, especially for someone on a budget like the OP.

Believe me, I'd love a card like this that's actually worth a damn to replace the 1050 Ti in my lounge room PC, but nothing that's come out since then has been convincing enough of an upgrade to justify the price.

[D. Flame]

Publicado originalmente por lsdninja:

Publicado originalmente por D. Flame:

It works in a smaller case, generally doesn't require extra power, is cheaper than a console, and lets you play modern games.

Should we keep wanting more? Sure. But this isn't as bad as you are trying to make it, especially for someone on a budget like the OP.

Believe me, I'd love a card like this that's actually worth a damn to replace the 1050 Ti in my lounge room PC, but nothing that's come out since then has been convincing enough of an upgrade to justify the price.

The PC I put this in went from having on board graphics to being able to play modern games.

[lsdninja]

Publicado originalmente por D. Flame:

The PC I put this in went from having on board graphics to being able to play modern games.

It's still not worth USD$150.

Looking in to it now, I am seeing the Sapphire Pulse variant locally for AUD$200 (~USD$128) which still isn't great, but it's not terrible...