In my experience that is not a big issue anymore, it is quite easy to get rid of the dual-boot Linux installation nowadays with modern GPT/UEFI PCs. As far as I can tell, all that is needed is:

1. Delete all the Linux partitions (with e.g. Windows Disk Management or diskpart).
2. Go to your BIOS/UEFI settings and remove the boot entry for Linux that Linux installation had created there, separate from the Windows boot entry.

Same steps, regardless if the Linux installation is on the same hard drive (on a separate partition), or a totally different hard drive.

In the old MBR/BIOS times, IIRC it used to be harder because Linux injected its boot configurations and whatnot to the Windows boot partition (MBR?), and apparently the right way to wipe it out was to boot your PC from a Windows setup CD and run some command to wipe the MBR (some command with a /fixmbr option I think...). That, in addition to removing the Linux partition(s).

Then again even if you failed to do that, the only "problem" you would have was that you would get the grub boot menu every time you boot your PC, letting you select whether to boot to Windows or (now removed) Linux. Booting to Windows from that menu still worked fine IIRC. I think I was stuck with that on one PC because I didn't have an actual Windows installation CD, Windows was pre-installed on that PC. Oh well, I had that unneeded grub boot menu until I wiped everything out and reinstalled Windows from a scratch.

3000 euro's seem to be bare minimum for a system that will create a banger 2k experience... yes,
and will disappoint on multiple fronts, yes it is also a question of power stuff and tier level management

so you have a 1500 euro card..... you won't combine that thing with a 300 euro cpu and 250 euro motherboard, you know.... you would like at least to have the cpu at above 500 and accompanying motherboard.... Ram is another issuem that also needs to be fast, so that will be at least another 400 euro.... M2 drives.... at least 3 at that point.... case, fans watercooling because you need the best... and the most silent options.... 1000W platinum PSU , 300 etc etc

I see you've already gotten a lot of suggestions already, but I'll dump mine as well :D

Since no gaming and maybe Linux in the future (tried the pc builder on microsenter but it refused to show anything lower than 32GB ram):

CPU: Core i3-14100 (110, save 40)
MB: MSI B760M-P Pro (120)
MB: ASUS Z790-PRO TUF (47 if choosing St.Davis?)
RAM: G.Skill Flare X5 16GB (1 x 16GB) DDR5-6000 (50, save 40)

Actually, you can play simple games on this one, and you can always upgrade later on if you want. Should include both igpu and cpu fan from what I can se.

That's the most important part as those have to work together, then all you have to add is what you can't strip from your older pcs, like case, psu, ssd/hdd, and such. (SATA cables usually comes with the mamaboard).

SSD: Inline Professional 256GB SSD (20, save 13)
Case: Inland X1 Tempered Glass ATX (40, save 5, you can probably find something cheaper and/or used, but it comes with 3 fans in the front)
PSU: Thermaltake Smart Series 500 W (42)

Build Total: $346.92 + tax (that's with the more expensive 32GB (2x16) ram, and the TUF MB).

But here's a crazy idea: Buy used/t1a/refurbished workstations and save even more. XD

https://www.microcenter.com/product/670293/hp-elitedesk-800-g3-desktop-computer-(refurbished)
($140)

I have that one + a couple of other HP and they're really great, especially for Linux and older games. HP still has drivers for these ones up on their site, even 7.

Leaving liquid cooling aside, has it been this expensive for high-end PC gaming for... how long? 10 years?

The last time I bought a high-end desktop gaming PC, it certainly wasn't this high, even if I try to account normail inflation. Plus, I would have thought now there is an abundance of PC hardware when cyrpto mining is not as hot anymore (right?) and generally the economy is down so less people buy high-end gaming PCs...

I have generally just followed the prices of gaming laptops, and I would have thought you can always get a great gaming laptop under 2000 euros, and respectable little over 1000 euros. Yes yes they don't have as much power as a 4000 euro desktop PC but still can run even latest games pretty good...

Anyway I guess this doesn't affect me that much because I practically never play brand-new AAA games. I may play them when they are 3-5 years old, or even more. So older hardware works fine for my gaming needs. Oh and i don't care for 2K or 8K graphics, 1920x1080 at 60 fps is still fine for me.

Now back to Divine Divinity, which runs great on my old potato laptop with Intel HD graphics and Linux...

We all know the scalper stories of course and the greedy corporate bastards but there also seems to be some relation between the data processed and its price

for example, if only look at my cpu, 100W on my 10900k was completely different compared to 100W on my 285k

Now THAT's an ARPG done right. Minus the final part where they ran out of funds and had to rush through, but until then, really puts the big names in the genre to shame, and showed what Larian could do well before they became well known.

As for high end PCs, I never had one and wasn't bothered by it.
Here's the "history":
- 1992: 386 SX 16 MHz, 512 KB probably Trident video card, 2 MB RAM and I think 120 MB HDD. Some chance it may have just been 80 MB.
- 1994: 486 DX2 66 MHz, same video card as above, 4 MB RAM later upgraded to 8 MB, 540 MB HDD.
- 1998: Pentium II 266 MHz, S3 Virge 4 MB, 32 MB SDR 66 MHz RAM later upgraded to 64 MB, 3.2 GB HDD with a 20 GB one added I think in late 2001.
- 2002: Pentium 4A 2 GHz, GeForce 2 Ti 64 MB, 512 MB DDR 266 MHz RAM which in 2006 went down to 256 MB as one module failed, the 20 GB HDD mentioned above replaced with a 160 GB one I think at the start of 2005.
- 2008: Core 2 Duo E8400 3 GHz dual-core, initially GeForce 8400 256 MB upgraded to GeForce GTS 250 1 GB in 2009, 2 GB DDR2 1066 MHz 5-5-5-15 RAM, initially 500 GB HDD replaced with a 250 GB 10000 rpm one in early 2013, the 500 GB remaining as backup.
- 2015: Pentium G3440 3.3 GHz dual-core, just using the integrated graphics, 4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz 9-9-9-24 RAM, at first same HDDs as the upgraded configuration above but OS on the 500 GB one, 250 GB SSD added in 2018.
- 2024: Ryzen 8700G 4.2 GHz 8C 16T (cTDP down to 45W), just using the integrated graphics, 64 GB DDR5 5200 MHz 36-40-40 RAM, 1 TB NVMe + 4 TB NVMe + the old 250 GB SSD.

SOYO SY-P4VTP motherboard
4 MB of SO DIMM Viking RAM
Pentium 4 Willamette
512 MB Seagate hard drive
geForce 2 64MB GPU


Perfect for non-gaming

Sorry for the late reply. I hadn't considered having a 2nd slot open for learning Linux. I guess I'll have to ask them when I get to the store.

I could just install it on my current pc (Win 10) on a separate SSD and keep that online for learning right? While leaving another SSD (Win 10) offline just for gaming.
.

Yes, you will then choose wich SSD to boot from pressing the (Asus typically F8) key during pc startup.

There was a thread a couple of weeks ago, I cannot for the sake of my knee recall the wich, where a user gave some often overlooked advice on this precise matter. It's a good idea to remove all the drives from your system during the install process, except the one you want to install some Linux distro on to avoid erasing/formatting a unwanted disk drive.
I highly doubt the energy consumption difference while decoding video, it's sometimes surprising how good energy management modern cards have.

here you go

That's it, thank you :)

Timppu makes a valid point above but recovering the boot is not easy for the non-initiated, not mentioning that is not always possible to "merge" the deleted Linux partitions and expand them into the Windows main partition. At that point is usually faster to backup the files and reinstall Windows than learning what a freaking ton of commands do and will they fix/break your disk...

I'm that lazy!

Thanks, I still got a bit of time to change things if need be. I will indeed look into that option, since it seems like something to invest in for future learning.
.