I’m looking for a cheap and portable tablet that I can use for writing. Microsoft Surface Pro tablets, at least around the gen 4 models, are rather cheap to buy used, and they seem decently well made. Naturally, were I to buy one, I would have to install Linux onto it.
I’ve been peripherally aware of the Linux Surface project for some time now. I looked at it recently, after having not for some time, and it seems that they have really made good progress compared to what I remember, and it’s making me much more interested in trying to install Linux on a Surface Pro.
Having never owned a Surface Pro, I’m not sure which models are the most reliable and sturdy. I’m not looking for something that’s the flashiest; I want something that works well. I want something pragmatic — something akin to the idea of an older era of Thinkpad (eg T460). I want a pen with low input delay and good accuracy, reliable and responsive touch controls, and a decent display. I was thinking the Surface Pro 4 might be a good choice, but it’s hard to know as there aren’t many videos out there of people installing Linux on them, so I’m wondering what your experience has been with Microsoft Surface Pro’s and installing Linux on one.
Cross-posts:
Im running Ubuntu on a Surface Pro 5 (i5 7300u, 8GB) with the linux-surface-kernel.
Generally, things pretty much worked out of the box, the only tinkering I had to do was to optimize battery life / cpu power usage when not plugged in. Theres packages that will limit your CPU frequency depending on the status of your battery. I dont remember the exact name, but it was pretty much the first hit I googled “linux limit cpu power” or something like that. Without that, the battery life wasnt great, especially when watching YouTube, but with some tweaking and the proper h264/h265 drivers, my surface achieves some 3-4 hours of video playback right now.
Other than that it’s smooth sailing all the way.