How did we get here?
With Microsoft kindly retiring millions of older devices due to new security constraints, I have been forced to explore options to either install a new Operating System or upgrade one of my PCs in an unconventional way. Having a YouTube channel centered mainly on budget PCs and PC related equipment, I find myself with several PCs that worked well on Windows 10, but for one reason or another, will not play well with version 11.
Some of these are justified. There are instruction sets on older CPUs that do not meet the new requirements, similar to how some video games won’t run on older hardware. This is normal and I wouldn’t expect to try running the new OS on a Q6600. Some of these ‘rules’ seem arbitrary, like the 7000 series Intel CPUs not being supported even though they have secure boot and the now required TPM 2.0. There is seemingly no difference in the architecture of the 7tb vs 8th gen. In fact, both of these are even on the 14nm node that Intel was so proud of for several generations.
For that matter, the 6th gen Intels were also on 14 nm and fit in the same sockets. The only thing I would be able to point to would be if DDR3 were an issue, but if so, make that the requirement, not the CPU. It is true though, that even though six through nine fit in the same socket, the motherboard chipset is different, but again ,make that the reason, not that it ‘can’t handle secure boot and TPM2.0″ .
I can complain endlessly.
What can we do about it?
The first thing and the least likely is just to leave the PC on Win10. It won’t get updates, but it doesn’t just stop working. Second, we can look at alternate ways to install version 11. I am actually exploring this with my laptop where I write this blog a majority of the time. It has an i5 7300 HQ, that is otherwise a solid machine. I am putting together a video to explore that and give it some totally unnecessary upgrades, and I may touch on that process a bit further in this blog.
The more interesting option is to try to install one of the many flavors of Linux Distros that are available. There are about a half dozen major distributions with more specialized versions forking from those. CachyOS off of Arch Linix, Bazzite from Fedora, and so on. There are advantages and disadvantages to all of them, but the requirements for my new OS are relatively simple. I have to be able to Play some games, use OBS to record video, and I have to be able to edit using DaVinci Resolve.
That doesn’t sound like a huge deal, but there are many that can do one or two, but the struggle is finding one that is intuitive for a newer user and can do all three. I believe i may have found that in Nobara Linux. I was able to easily install Steam and OBS, and they worked out of the gate. Steam gave me issues later, but I believe I just have to find the right combination of Proton and graphics card drivers.
Not all Rosey
This distro did come with a few challenges that were harder to overcome. Davinci Resolve would install, but would crash every time I went to the edit screen. I was running out of time before I had to post a video, so I gave a review of what was a positive experience for the most part and published the video here. Almost immediately I got some helpful feedback on the installation and part of it worked. Resolve is working and although I haven’t editing a video yet, I was able to set up all of preferences and I haven’t had any failures.
While I was having my struggles with Nobara, I also gave CachyOS a try. The installation was easy enough though there were more choices to make and it wasn’t quite as intuitive. I did like the lightweight nature of the distro and it was very quick. The issues though were in trying to install the games and programs I needed . It seems CachyOS doesn’t support Resolve yet, and that takes it out of the running, at least for now.
I have recently tried a third distro and will go back again to see if OBS and Resolve will install, but Bazzite very easily ran most of my games, It’s not a far stretch for me to have a Gaming PC and a Creation PC. I have inadvertently set that up as my current default. My main PC is an AMD build with an RTX 5070, and my Editing Rig is an Intel 12700KF with a B570 in it. It’s not unheard of for me to split the workload even on the same OS.
What about Eleven
I won’t give a step by step, or tutorial, but it is possible with a USB tool for ISO’s to select some of the parameters beforehand. My ISO tool of choice is Rufus, and I actually use it for all of my Linux and windows ISOs. It’s easy to find and download and very intuitive, and although copying the ISO onto a USB can take ten or fifteen minutes, it’s a small investment to make for a free tool.
I don’t know what the eventual split will be between any of the Linux versions and finagling of new Windows, but I am relatively sure anything I sell will have windows installed. not because I prefer it, but because anyone buying it will be more familiar with it and I will have fewer call backs. There may be a time when Linux is a widely accepted as Windows, but that time isn’t now.
For an easy read on one of the PCs that won’t have any issues with upgrades click here or feel free to go back to the blog page here.