Why exactly can't you use hardware acceleration with an nvidia card? We have Arch Linux with a Quadro P400 and using the nvidia driver Tdarr runs super smoothly. The way to get all your content in x265 is just by decoding and encoding, which Tdarr, Handbrake etc can do. But it's one stream per nvenc/nvdec at a time so it takes time.
My two cents: bottom line she needs the cash, and fast. Don't worry about pride. Don't have her do your garden work if you're not hiring her because of her skills.
You can ask if there is anything you can do to help and don't be vague about wanting to give financial support. If she says she won't take your money, call it a loan. Make it very clear the the first priority is that this cat is healthy and the kid has a nice birthday. Money, pride, all that stuff comes not even second. Not even third.
Seems like Logitech is the way to go. I have the Sharkoon Shark Force M50. I like the shape and the precision. It's not overly ergonomic though. The software is not great either.
I've had it for 5 years and it is absolutely amazing.
Essentially the 12 volt cigarette lighters in cars are fireless. There's also plasma-like lighters that work with electricity.
So yeah, do they work just as well? Depends. Fire lighters are a handful in windy conditions. Electric lighters are less efficient but they work just fine.
Who uses chrome anyway even there's vivaldi