If I did it again, I'd probably use Linux Mint Cinnamon.
IMO, Windows UI/UX has gotten so bad, even Gnome seems like an drastic improvement.
I did a T480 motherboard integrated i7-8550U -> discrete i7-8650U swap and rebinding of the license with their phone support. I somehow finagled a Windows 11 Enterprise (retail channel) license that Redmond doesn't have a problem with. It's a cheapskate gaming machine for an eGPU RTX3060 Ti. They can try to pry my dual battery T480 from my cold dead hands, but I'll probably reinstall Qubes on it.
Yes, a few weeks I spent an hour on the phone walking my Dad through registering Windows 11 and registering his copy of Office. It was abso-fucking-lutely terrible. He didn't even want a live account/address, nor one drive. My Dad browses the web and writes short stories.
Despite spending $149 on his Office license, he has warmed to Google docs, especially that he can share the document and I can help him with the layout very easily. I hope he'll just stop using Word altogether.