Linux or Windows?

As for your questions:

• this CPU will be fine for years for absolutely everything except AAA gaming.
• On Linux, 16Gbs of RAM is fine. As other said, prefer 2x8Gb instead of a single 16Gb.
• 250Gb of storage is very cramped by modern standards. I would go at least 512Gb. Buy your SSD from elsewhere, it’s much cheaper.
• maybe grab an extra USB-C in case you need to plug an external drive while charging your PC.

Best “Classic WipEout” homage I ever played.

Vita3k + WipEout 2048 + HD DLC + Fury DLC = almost Omega Collection on PC 🤣

Runs great on Steam Deck too.

BallisticNG

Hey fellow WipEout junkie 👋

Very good choice going with Debian. It is simple, clean, can be as minimal or as “bloated” as you wish, and once you’ve worked out the kinks it will happily run for years without maintenance (except updates of course).

There’s a steep learning curve because as a user you’re expected to configure stuff yourself (although defaults are most of the time very sensible), but if you’re willing and able to truly learn Linux and the terminal and you’re familiar with your hardware, it’s one of the best platforms out there.

You and me brother.

Which machine did you choose? I went for the Lelit Bianca, never regretted it.

Public transport in Europe is often in a sorry state, but trust me, it’s nothing compared to the US. Here in France, a lot of regional trains are very unreliable at best but at least high speed trains on dedicated tracks are fine (very expensive, but ok).

I don’t remember UK rail to be a shitshow and/or that expensive but my only experience is going to/from central London to/from neighboring counties and it was fine.

But in the US, oh boy. About 15 years ago I was living with some roommates in Campbell, CA and we went to SF one day. 1h drive mostly on shitty concrete motorways, including probably around $5 of gas. They were heading north for a romantic getaway so I went back to Campbell by myself. It took almost 4 fuckin hours, on maybe 4 or 5 different private companies, and cost me like $25 to get back.

Public transit in the US is so fucked up im almost convinced it’s by design.