Getting started section in README

README.md

@@ -44,6 +44,16 @@ Qrack has a community home at the Advanced Computing Topics server on Discord, a
 
 For help getting started with contributing, see our [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md).
 
+## Quick start checklist
+
+To get up-and-running most easily with maximum performance, this is the minimum checklist:
+
+1. Install `pyqrack` from PyPi, if Python could be appropriate as an environment and language for your experiments. (`pip install pyqrack`)
+2. Run a preliminary round of CPU-only benchmarks (such as on the [quantum Fourier transform algorithm](https://github.com/vm6502q/pyqrack-examples/blob/main/qft.py)) to **tune the [`PSTRIDEPOW`](https://github.com/unitaryfund/qrack?tab=readme-ov-file#build-and-environment-options-for-cpu-engines) environment variable for best performance.** This can make a _big_ difference to CPU-based simulation performance, and be aware that CPU-based and GPU-based algorithms and implementations in Qrack work **together** to return the best possible performance for even GPU-based benchmarks.
+3. Consider [tuning light-cone optimization qubit threshold](https://github.com/unitaryfund/qrack?tab=readme-ov-file#qtensornetwork-options) and [setting manual system resource limit variables](https://github.com/unitaryfund/qrack?tab=readme-ov-file#maximum-allocation-guard) (though these are not strictly required and might be recognized accurately by default by Qrack).
+
+That's it, basically! 
+
 ## Installing Qrack
 
 If you're on Ubuntu 18.04, 20.04, 22.04, or 24.04 LTS, you're in luck: Qrack manages a PPA that provides binary installers for _all_ available CPU architectures (except any that require administrative attention from Ubuntu or Canonical).