Sorry about not answering in time, but I'm currently working on some
documentation, which is a priority for me.
I checked the links you provided, and wasn't found more information, as
listed in your post (info about TXT isn't on the page in the first link).
I'm not really sure if Intel vPro, and the so-called "Trusted Execution
Technology" (TXT) are the only privacy-hampering technologies that should be
circumvented (there is also the "Anti-Theft Technology" I doesn't know too
much about). You should better open a separate thread on this forum, dealing
with these (Intel) processor features.
A temporary solution for the vPro problem, is to switch off the PSU (there is
a black switch on the top-back side of the case) after you turn off your
computer, since the computer will obviously doesn't start without any power
supply. There is also this video (posted in another thread, about VPro),
demonstrating vPro in practice. Also, if you're interested in the future to
buy a cheap laptop PC, that's free software friendly, doesn't contain any of
these privacy-violating techs, and comes with Coreboot (the free software
BIOS), look up for the TBA Chromebooks, mainly the HP Chromebook 14, and the
Acer C720.
Also look for older threads about vPro here.
Graphics
Generally, the bigger number, the better the graphic performance. You should
note that very recent hardware will not work as good as it can, because it
will take some time to implement, and properly optimize the drivers.
Nevertheless, whenever you can, go with the latest Intel microarchitecture
generation (which is Haswell at the time of writing this post), but I'm not
sure if the processor socket will be compatible (you need to check it
yourself before you make a buy).
If you do some gaming, in case the Intel graphics will not wanna work, you
should check those ~10 bucks NVidia cards, that's well supported by nouveau.
As far as I can say, there are some games, that refuse to work with Intel
based graphics (e.g. Penumbra Overture), and other proprietary games running
either in Wine, or using emulators (e.g. Dolphin-emu, PCSX2, etc.). It's
cheap, and if you like tinkering with your computer, then why not?
