what's wrong with win 11 for you? with this cpu you'd need w11 to properly use the ecores so i guess that's a personal choice going with the 12900k. i use win10 for my main pc, and w11 for my razer laptop (really just to try it out). i've found im' fine with win11 after i've installed "startallback". my biggest issue was with the taskbar and folder layouts, and SAB seamlessly fixes all that, so i no longer have qualms with w11. I was like you, pulling my hair out, before.