I currently have a low end Windows gaming laptop that I was planning to upgrade to Linux before Win10 goes end of life, but my HDMI port stopped working, so now I’m debating buying a new Linux laptop instead. Can anyone provide any recommendations?

I would prefer to have something preloaded with linux. On my current laptop I don’t play anything too demanding because it can’t handle it, instead I either stream more demanding games from my desktop or Xbox. I would likely run a VM with Windows because I need to use MS Office for school and I assume I could use that for streaming Xbox games as well.

I would prefer something that can handle a moderate game load without going nuts on fan noise. I would like to have a decent amount of storage (at least 1-2 TB), so either preloaded with that or easily upgradeable would be important.

I’m still figuring out my budget, it depends on what happens with work this summer. I will either be looking for something below $1k or possibly up to $2k if it seems worthwhile. I haven’t really used Linux very much before and not at all in the last 10 years. Any ideas?