Computing devices are often designed in view of a particular usage scenario, but may be unsuitable for usage in other computing scenarios. For example, a notebook computer with a large display, an integrated keyboard, and a high-performance processor suitable for many computing tasks may be heavy, large, and power-inefficient; and a tablet lacking a keyboard and incorporating a low-powered processor may improve portability but may present inadequate performance for many tasks. Presented herein is a configuration of a computing device featuring a display unit with a resource-conserving processor that may be used independently (e.g., as a tablet), but that may be connected to a base unit featuring a resource-intensive processor. The operating system of the device may accordingly transition between a resource-intensive computing environment and a resource-conserving computing environment based on the connection with the base unit, thereby satisfying the dual roles of workstation and portable tablet device.