Hey y'all, I lack the vocabulary to search for what I'm looking for. I have a bazzite desktop, and I found an old nvme with Mint on it. I want to wipe the mint ssd and install windows onto it, and then install that into my bazzite PCs second nvme slot. I know there's some stuff I need to do to make sure windows doesn't fuck my bootloader (I think?) but I'm not sure what. And the stuff I've been finding is about setting a partition up on the same drive, usually setting up a Linux partition on a Windows drive. So I'm not sure how much of this applies to my situation. I would really appreciate some help/ being pointed in the right direction haha

I wanted to give gate to sovngarde a try, and was following the Linux tutorial on their site, but things quickly fell apart when I couldn't get steam tinker launch to get vortex running. It would throw out a "downloading" then "installing" popup, and then nothing would happen. Vortex appears to be installed in my Skyrim prefix, but STL just get caught in this loop of downloading and installing.

The way the gate to sovngarde devs have the process laid out is fresh install of Skyrim -> install some dependencies in the prefix via protontricks -> force STL (installed via protonup-qt) as compatibility tool -> install and run vortex

Things I've tried so far: attempting to launch vortex w/ the terminal, installing dotnet desktop 6 in the Skyrim prefix (I've read that can be an issue sometimes) using flatseal to allow protonup-qt and protontricks to view system files, and using bottles to get vortex installed just to see if I can even get it running on my system (some success, got through the install wizard, the vortex launch popup appears and then disappears).

Today I'm going to try installing the protonup-qt appimage instead of the flatpak, as that's the recommended approach, but fedora/bazzite lacks FUSE 2 so I have to get that handled first. E: I let the appimage version run as an executable and it just opened. Not sure if that's going to cause problems, but that's what I did

I would love any suggestions, the handful of threads I've read pertaining to my issue haven't worked. I feel like it's either a bazzite specific problem or I simply lack the vocabulary and knowledge to find what I need

E 2: yesterday, STL created a program shortcut for vortex that has remained even after wiping STL, protonup-qt, and any files related to vortex off my system (and rebooting). When I click it, it throws an error saying "failed to change to directory /.config/STL/vortex/compdata/pfx/drive_c/program files/vortex

I followed that path and it doesn't exist (like my machine is saying), the problem is that between/compdata/ and /pfix/ there's /Skyrim/ in my actual system. I tried to give it the right directory in STL to no avail. It's still throwing the same error. Not sure if that has anything to with my problem or not

I was hyped for the gabecube but the delays and uncertainty around the pricing have left me wanting to build something that fits a similar niche instead. A Linux box (bazzite or steam OS, haven't made my mind up about that yet) that will keep up for the foreseeable future while being repairable, upgradeable, and (preferably) a small-smallish form factor to sit on top of my media center. That's the big picture for me. However, I've never built a PC before and I'm not sure what that looks like in practice.

I'm looking for advice and hardware suggestions on how to achieve this, I haven't set a budget because I'm not sure what's realistic, and having a reliable system is imore mportant to me, but I'm also pragmatic and don't want to overdo things just because. Below is relevant information and performance goals/questions in no particular order

I'm currently using my steam deck on a dock to fill this niche and it does ok, but it struggles with some titles and the graphics aren't always great when blown up on my TV. I have a 4k TV with a 60hz refresh rate. I want to build a system that can hold a stable 60fps on high settings for most games. Not sure about resolution, either 1080p or 1440p. I struggle with small text in a lot of modern titles (especially sitting ~8 ft away on the couch) and I've read that 1440p can help with that. I also do couch co-op fairly regularly and want support for 4 controllers that are a combination of Bluetooth and 2.4g. Since it'll be a Linux machine I know AMD is the way to go, but that's about as far as my hardware knowledge extends. I'm ok with buying second hand, and I'm fine with using framegen and upscaling to smooth things out.

Does 1440p make much of a difference, and is the higher hardware demand worth it? If so, what's the best bang for your buck CPU/GPU that could reliably achieve 1080/1440 @ 60fps, and do so for the next few years?

How much/what kind of RAM do I realistically need?

How on earth do I pick a motherboard? Lol

Thanks for reading!

That would make our sinuses/brain cavity the attic and the tops of our heads the roof

Between school and working full time I have less than 0 energy to cook food when I get home. I also don't have the energy/time/attention span to pack a lunch most days. I've been eating like a raccoon for a month just waiting to feel up to meal prepping because this current pattern is bleeding me dry. What works for you?