Help with windows for a non windows pleb

By Doll Eye, 29 November, 2025

Forum

Windows

Hi,

So, I know I went on about getting a Windows laptop, did the whole circuit and ended up just slapping Parallels on my Mac and, you'd hope, job done... Nope. I want more!!

I've been getting into Stardew Valley and found a few other mods, Hades II which doesn't run on Parallels, and some other mods that have slipped my mind.

A really useful resource for all accessible mainstream games is here:

https://gist.github.com/Molitvan/50e3b5060ab9465b1da895155d5c0480

It's rather a gold mine of info and I was delighted to find it. But, what I did realise is, if you want to game on a platform-agnostic system, Windows is the way forward either using Steam in big picture mode or Windows Xbox full-screen experience which is rolling out to make your Windows machine look like and act like an Xbox, presumably in preparation for their upcoming Xbox which will be a pc rather than a locked-in gaming system.

Anyway... All this being said, I'm looking at the Minisforum AI X1 Pro with the rationale that it’s got Optilink if I need a GPU boost in the future, but also has a very respectable iGPU already in there.

I do have concerns though which I'm hoping you Windows people can help with.

BIOS... what do we do about BIOS? Also... Uh, what is BIOS and when might we need to access it?

Can mini PCs, or any pc really, run headless? The specific mini pc I'm looking at has speakers built in so that's great, but, why do we need screens... Come on!

That's it for now. I'm sure I'll have more questions down the line.

Thank you in advance.

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Comments

Some answers, maybe, if you're lucky...

First, I did not know about the new Xbox/PC all-in-one. Although it makes sense. The Xbox application works beautifully on windows, and it's basically an Xbox emulator. As well, the Xbox OS is essentially a dumbed-down version of Windows 10, or 11, depending on your unit. Next, I would highly recommend a dedicated GPU over an integrated GPU. Performance is everything in gaming, and dedicated will outshine integrated any day of the week. Just my two cents.

Regarding BIOS, the Basic Input Output System, or BIOS, is essential for the computer to run. It controls all of the hardware and firmware/software parameters required for a successful boot. Without it, the computer won't do much of anything. However, you should seldomly, if ever, have to deal with bios. Depending on the machine you get, and how it is set up, you, might, have to deal with it one time, to adjust the FN key parameters. For example, I had to deal with it once, when I first got my current laptop, so that the FN key was required for the function row controls for brightness, volume, airplane mode, etc. However, there is a very simple Powershell command that will allow you to do this as well. If you manage to get lucky and get a machine with an FN lock command, typically the FN key plus escape, then you will likely never have to touch bios. Ever.
More on BIOS can be found at the following link:
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/operating-systems/introduction-of-basic-input-output-system-bios/

Regarding "headless" interaction, I am not sure. Although I think you were the one who mentioned before, that the current Xbox models can go that way, so maybe there are certain desktop PCs that can as well? I have honestly never considered it, so unfortunately your guess is as good as mine.

HTH.

Re: BIOS, headless.

So I'm told by a few sighted folks running them, e.g. as media servers, yes, mini PCs can run headless.

As for BIOS, you also need to access it to set boot devices and/or change boot order. You may or may not ever need to do that though. If anything goes wrong, obviously you might have to access it. Some machines have a program that let's you do this from the OS, e.g. at least some Lenovo models.

Generally though, it's inaccessible and you're going to need some kind of sighted help if you need to access it, this could include AI on your phone, possibly. To be fair though, you shouldn't really have to access it much, if ever. Function keys will be a big one, unless you don't mind hitting fn for everything, assuming you're on a laptop, I forget if you have to do this with desktops or not, I haven't used a desktop in years.

Oh also if you need/want to boot something other than Windows, I think you have to go disable TPM/other security features these days. You probably won't need to worry about that since you want to run Windows for gaming. But just in case you feel like dual-booting Linux or something, then you're probably going to need to get into it.

Oh yeah, and again probably not, but if you want to do hardcore gamer stuff like overclocking or whatever, again, that's where you'd go to change those kinds of settings, unless that's not a thing any more. I never did anything where i felt the need to mess with all of that stuff, so I'm not really up on it.

@Doll Eye Re: Accessible Games

That is a pretty decent list in your first post. I wonder if they would consider adding the following game; "Lost and Hound".

It is technically a game designed for blind accessibility, however it is an actual, video, game rather than an, audio, game.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1054350/Lost_and_Hound/

Thank you all!

Some great information.

I'm really flip-flopping between a mini computer that can run light gaming, Stardew etc., and plugging in a beastie GPU for more demanding games (do like the idea of the modularity), or going full out and getting something more like a tower with the discrete card in there. The trouble is, I tend to live in two locations, one of which has pants internet. My plan is to use Apollo and Moonlight to game on the go, dual sense PS5 remote and an iPhone is a pretty cool experience, but if I'm lacking the internet grunt it is pointless. I'll have to have a good think... Or just convince my parents to upgrade their whack internet. It's an old house though, not a great signal in general.

Regarding Lost and Hound, I believe the list is games which aren't 'blind games', IE, mainstream games. I do understand there is a grey area though, and if The Vale is on there, which I think it is, Lost and Hound should be too. I suggest putting a comment on the list. I've bookmarked it and found quite a few games I wasn't aware had accessibility baked in. Currently playing F1 25... And though the menus aren't narrated and I have to rely on click counting, the actual game is playable, which is mad... So many games with menu narration and no gameplay...

Anyway. Thanks again.

If any have an idea for my internet/portability problem, please let me know. If it were a mini PC it is something I'd have to slip in my bag when I come back on the train. I'm not sure if many have discrete GPUs and imagine the cooling is pretty poor on such things.

Is Cellular broadband an option?

I honestly do not know what Internet service providers are like overseas, but if you have access to a decent cellular broadband ISP, I think that would maybe solve your problem. With Cellular broadband, it's like having home Wi-Fi, that's portable. There's no hooking anything up to the building, no mainlines going to anything, you won't have to hardwire anything. You simply plug one end into your computer, plug one end into the wall for power, and stick a little box Outside of a window. The box is essentially your transmitter/receiver, and it is, powerful.

Anyways, that's best I can come up with for your Internet needs, that or get yourself a really, really, really high data hotspot device. That might be pricey though.

Regarding a portable computer, obviously get yourself a gaming laptop. Battery life will suck. No doubt about that, but gaming laptops are monsters when it comes to performance, otherwise.

TLDR,
A gaming laptop plus cellular broadband (or a hotspot device) equals about as close to perfect portability as you are going to get right now.

Cell is not an option...

If I were back home, it's a great 5 g signal. Where my parents live, it's junk.

I'm upgrading their network with a TP-link mesh system which, I'm hoping, will fix a lot of issues. Equipment provided by the ISP is usually minimum viable product.

In light of this, to see how this works, I've just signed up for a cloud PC thing called FirePower which is UK based. Hoping it will have a low enough latency to be fun. It's expensive, about £70 a month, but it will give me some insight over the next couple of months as to what runs on what without the massive outlay of building a new computer with a discrete graphics card. I'm using moonlight which, having played with it in the past, isn't great for accessibility unless you tinker under the hood. and create launcher apps to point moonlight to apps hosted by sunshine. It's quite a cool set up. I'll have something very much like parallels but a full on gaming rig with all controls locked in to windows mode.

Just fingers crossed the mesh works in my parent's 16th centry farmhouse... Thick walls... Suspiciously thick come to think of it...

Sounds, overly complicated

Then again, I understand there are certain areas that are dead zones in your neck of the woods, so best of luck, whichever way you go about it. :-)

Mesh

Just set up the TP-link deco and it's amazing. Properly lifted the internet speeds and reduced ping. The TP-link deco app is also very accessible.

What ever I do now, Have a server running back home, or elsewhere, I should be good.

Living with bad internet is worse than being blind... Fact.