Exactly the problem I had... yet these issues are all too often passed off as 'user errors' by PC enthusiasts, which is, of course, bollocks.
First, dood, please quit feeding into the form of 'PC is the cause of all problems'. I am really starting to get annoyed by your judgment about PC's. People read your comments as truth, and they are far from it. You need to let go of your issues, and realize that you just had a bad experience, with the one you started with.
Second, if you start off with the goal of having a flawless PC, without spending a few bucks to get there, you are asking for problems. Comparing a cheap (or really poor-off the shelf) PC, to one that is put together with compatible parts, and is setup for one particular task, is like asking a Fiero, to run like a Ferrari.
"The incessant and problematic nature of the PC"? ......
That is your poor experience, brought on by your need to mess with the software/OS, before taking the time to understand that the cheap stuff you were trying to use-to do everything, did not have the capability to do so.
It is not the platform that has caused you issues. It is the misunderstanding, that any cheap setup of a MS based PC, will do what you want it to. And obviously your setup, did not work out for you. That only means that you selected the wrong starting point, or you messed with things that should not have been messed with. Not that a PC setup is by nature, 'problematic'. This is a completely belligerent, and untrue statement.
Yes, yours sucks. Mine does not. Don't even ask me to state how many there are that don't have issues with PC.
Please, do not make blanket statements about things that you have not the knowledge to make judgement upon. It makes your credibility, and that of typically great advice of this forum, look skewed.
This is your particular opinion, and experience. Not majority outcome by any means.