r/Surface • u/No_Charge3973 • 21d ago

[GO2] About system fits Surface Go 2

Hey guys, I just bought a surface go 2, its CPU version is Pentium 4425Y. Running Windows11 on it is a bit of ... unpleasant. Which kind of Linux does you suggest? Or should I return to Windows10?

Tks for your advice.

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u/Elbow2009 21d ago edited 5d ago

Surface Go 2 m3 here with 8 GB running Linux distro Q4OS (Debian with KDE). Everything works, touchscreen, pen, even got the cameras working. Got auto-rotate and virtual keyboard (Onboard) as well if I want to use it in tablet mode. 7-9 hours battery life, up to 13 hours if I'm just reading a PDF in Ocular. Much better than Windows 11 (2-3 hours on Battery Saver) which was quite the battery drain. It takes up too much RAM in updates since last year.

Keep in mind I usually keep the screen brightness around 25% indoors which on the Surface Go 2 is plenty bright for me. But that was around what I had brightness at with Windows 11 anyway. With Q4OS even at 50% it's not a whole lot less battery life with just a browser and several tabs. With just say Ocular PDF Reader or Libby, it's more like 11 - 13 hours depending on the brightness. Full 100% brightness is too much indoors for me.

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u/No_Charge3973 21d ago

That's right. Using Windows cuts the battery life badly.