Does it really, though? I haven't used Windows as a daily driver in forever, but I'd have trouble believing that my Linux Mint desktop isn't less hassle than Windows (e.g. the ads, windows updates etc you mention)
Yes it really does. I use both Linux and Windows daily and for most office and gaming tasks windows is much much easier to setup and get going in. I say this as a technical/person/engineer and not just an average user.