Exactly, that information isn’t coming from inside the black hole. In fact it is the lack of information that tells us such things. We know the ratio between the lack of information (the event horizon) and the mass of everything inside.

Those are both solid pieces of hardware. However, I would suggest getting a Ryzen 5600 for a notable per-core CPU buff over the 3600x, which should help quite a bit with games like Civ’s AI turn time. And since that CPU, Motherboard socket isn’t latest-gen either, you can buy used for cheap still.

Ryzen 3600x vs Ryzen 5600.

On a slightly different note: The 7k series Ryzen CPUs get you on the latest slot, AM5. This will get you future upgradability if you want it, but it will also come with higher costs as AM5 is the newest socket, so people aren’t unloading them onto the used market in quantity. Such cost considerations are best determined by you. Both are a solid choice though.

For the GPU, I think the Radeon 6600 is a good choice. Radeon stuff works better in linux and that particular one is plenty strong for what you listed.

I highly, highly recommend PassMark’s benchmarks for comparing hardware. They are the first place I look to get relative numbers. And from there I determine what I need/want.

Single-thread CPU chart

GPU Chart

Reseat the button cell for the bios?

This is a good one too! And if you have a volt-meter, see if it’s low (or just replace it if you have a spare).

Since it is something with the computer itself and not the OS, some things to try:

• Check for any motherboard status lights.
• Reseat your RAM.
• Run a memtest. Let it do a full pass, takes ~3 hours. If you see anything more than a single error, it’s the RAM.
• Reset your BIOS to factory settings.
• Update your BIOS.
• Reset your CMOS.
• As redxef said, unplug from the wall, hit the power button a few times to fully drain the system, then plug back in.
• Unplug everything you possibly can. Leave just a single monitor, a single stick of RAM, the cpu, and the power cable plugged in. Literally nothing else, not even a keyboard. (You will need to keep your graphics card plugged in as the 2700x doesn’t have onboard graphics)
• Swap to a different single stick of RAM and put it in a different slot.
• Visually inspect for any exploded or bulging capacitors.
• If you have gotten to here, swap in any spare parts you have from the prior list. Different graphics card, different ram stick, different monitor, different cpu or mobo if you have one.
• Unplug/replug your internal power cables, and unplug any unnecessary internal cables (fans, rgb, etc) (Is it this? Probably not, but we are getting to the desperate part of the list.)
• Reseat your CPU (don’t forget to clean off and re-apply thermal paste)
• Cry a little

The goal is to narrow down which piece of hardware is failing.

The Framework 12 has a touchscreen, which the OP wants. I have the 13 and can vouch for it’s quality and upgradibility.

Though, OP also only wants to spend 300€ max used, so, both of our posts are out of the running.

no distro is best

And the nice thing is this isn’t like MacOS vs Windows. Knowledge gained in one distro is transferable to other distros. Just pick one and get started, you can always change later if you wish.

Ok, he actually did a good job with the sponsor slot, writing a script for it complete with ascii art.

• This has been my yearly allotment of saying nice things about an ad.

Run it via the terminal, this will usually give you some more detailed error messages to work with. After doing that, post them here and we can help better.

Absolutely!

Here is a feature comparison between the two.

tl;dr: It’s a great piece of software that does everything the vast majority of people will ever want it for. For the other percent, it does some things MS Office can’t do and vice versa.

Seconding Framework, they make great laptops.

Highly recommend getting one with an AMD processor, as AMD drivers are built into the Linux kernel updates. Driver updates will just work without you having to think about them.

What is a good linux program that serves this same purpose? Specifically removing formatting from copied text.

Honestly, Mint works well for games too. Been running it for the last year. :)

Depending on what VPN software you use, they may already have a linux version. All of the big-name ones do, as well as a good chunk of the smaller ones.

For anti-virus, you don’t need one in Linux. Even for Windows I would recommend using the built-in AV, rather than Norton.

Edit: I see you use Norton VPN. That one doesn’t have a linux version. Check out Mullvlad or Nord VPN.

Yep! In steam, Add Game > Add Non-Steam Game > Select the Game. Then in the game’s properties, go to the compatibility section and choose “Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool”, which will then run the game under Proton.

That said, I actually run a number of games under Wine. The Heroic Launcher covers GOG, Epic, and Prime games, and will install them with Wine enabled for them by default.

Your first link doesn’t separate correlation and causation. Is a high murder rate area more likely to cause people to buy a gun, or the inverse? I can tell you for sure people who are in a bad situation generally don’t just sit on their asses and do nothing.

When the intruder alarm goes off, police are minutes away, the intruder is only seconds from you. You are the only person who can reliably protect you. Buy a gun, learn how to use it, and keep it in an accessible place.

or if he’s just playing up the shock value like an edgelord

Nothing shocking about it, South Africa discriminates based on race.

Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by Musk’s SpaceX, has been unable to enter the South African market due to the country’s Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) regulations. These laws require that companies providing communication services be at least 30% owned by historically disadvantaged groups to receive an operating license.

We can also change a single variable and have him sell 30% of it.

And if he sells 30% of it to people of ‘the wrong race’, South Africa still won’t allow in the company. The critical variable is the race of the owner(s); South Africa is demonstrably discriminating based on race.

Under current conditions Starlink cannot exist in South Africa. If we change a single variable, Musk’s race to black, then Starlink can exist in South Africa (it would be >30% owned by a black person).

South Africa is discriminating based on race.