But yes, after some use (which could not have happened prior to, well, time passing) I found that of all the tablets and phones and such in the house, this device drains the battery faster than anything else. I’m not sure it is the batter, though. I think it is the way the OS is set up. Not sure. But, draining down in sleep mode at this level is not what one would expect.

And yes, the USB hookup does not really charge the battery when it is being used, but rather, maintains its level or slows down the draining.

I still manage to use this tablet all the time though. For my particular uses, I just keep it plugged in a lot.

This will backfire on them, since the surface is a zombie operating system.

I’m pretty sure you can get around that Windows hardware restriction thing.

https://www.linux.com/learn/how-install-linux-windows-machine-uefi-secure-boot

You have to careful now when shopping, to be sure that the boot loader check can be disabled. I’m not against buying a system from an OEM that delivers it with Windows (after all, that covers me to run a Windows virtual machine on it), but I damn well won’t put up with any vendor trying to force me to only run Windows.

And even then, I refuse to use Windows Nein! Er, I think they’re calling it Windows 10 now. I call it “Spyware”.

Thank you, Brainstorms, for the detailed explanation. I assumes it was Microsoft being evil. I have a Linux lap-top, which I bought with Windows Vista already installed, because I was told newer versions of Windows would prevent the Linux installation. I am astonished a corporation would willingly “take a hit” in public relations like that.

In 2014, I built my current machine, and the driver then was the (at the time new) Haswell “E-series” CPUs. These are 6/8 core i7s with superior features, many unique to the Haswell line. I’ve got a dual Sandy Bridge Xeon system at work, and my Haswell E is the equal to one of those “workstation” CPUs.

It’s not a Skylake, of course, but it’s still fast, thrifty, and capable. (I got the middle of the 3, the i7 5930K. Best price/power break.) It was the best CPU at the time, so I built my system around that.

I then went shopping for motherboards for the E-series. Didn’t take long to settle on the ASRock X99 Extreme6 RT, from NewEgg. It accepts up to 64 GB (mine has 32 GB), and has excellent expandability. It’s a full-size board. I’ve got it mounted in a CoolerMaster HAF-922 case. The case has great airflow, and I’ve got a water cooling kit installed for the CPU (my first water-cooled system).

It will be a while before I build another, so I don’t have anything regarding current hardware that I could offer you. Maybe just manufacturers that I’ve had good experience with and that make good-quality gear. I tend to somewhat overbuild for my needs and I buy quality… That results in systems that are good for maybe 5 years before they start to “feel old”.