Does a desktop environment really draw that much more resource than another?

I forget what GPU I currently have but I may be upgrading soon anyway so I'll be sure to keep that in mind for the purchase. That's the first big step: finding software to fit my needs as they come up but that can be piece by piece!

Thanks for the response!

The "fixing every problem I run into" is what is making me apprehensive in the first place. I don't really have the time or energy to troubleshoot at home, especially being a pretty light user. Given enough time I feel I could figure things out, but I don't think they would be worth the effort since what I have now does work for me. I was just looking for the most convenient way to slide into it as opposed to making a switch and hitting a break wall if that makes sense.

Okay great! What made you make that jump?

This is perfect! Thanks for linking it!

Thanks! Why specifically an NVIDIA card?

Oh that's a shame.

Okay thank you for clarifying!

Okay that's good advice. Thank you!

Oh, why would the Rift not work? Just no compatibility? I've used it with some Steam games which I thought I understood to work fine in Linux.

Okay great I'll add it to the list to research! Thank you.