This thing has trouble running anything made past like 2012 and the newer emulators out there totally bust it. I tried recently running citra and it could barely hit 30%. Would switching over to linux lighten the load on the cpu and free it up so I could run more demanding games?
Also how is linux for emulation and gaming in general?
The computer would absolutely feel more snappy and responsive with Linux in productivity tasks, but I don't think it would improve emulator gaming performance by a lot.
Just checked on ebay and there are some good thinkpads in the $140 to $180 range (+ shipping). Make sure you get one with an SSD. Read the listings closely because many of them do not come with a charger.
That's cheap. I will keep them in mind when deciding on my next PC when this one dies. A thinkpad with linux to do emulation sounds cool.