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  1. #1

    Windows 7 vs Windows 8

    A friend of mine snagged me a copy of Windows 8 Pro 64 bit just about 3 hours after I finished reactivating my copy of Windows 7 64 bit. I have not used Windows 8 or really seen how it is set up. My questions are: Is it worth it to upgrade to window 8 now? Is it better for gaming?
    I know that I have some games on Steam that aren't Win 8 compatible. It isn't that big of a deal since I don't play them much anyways.

  2. #2
    Win8 is faster and you can make it look like 7 if you really want to so there's no real reason not to upgrade.
    Never going to log into this garbage forum again as long as calling obvious troll obvious troll is the easiest way to get banned.
    Trolling should be.

  3. #3
    I haven't been convinced to upgrade yet, I just don't see the point in it.
    Windows 7 is working fine for me and I don't know of any function in Windows 8 that would make me upgrade, perhaps when DirectX 11.1 is necessary I'll upgrade.
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  4. #4
    Deleted
    If it's mainly for gaming, I would wait a bit.
    While some games run better on Windows 8, many still run worse. This will change ofcourse (in general Win8 is faster) but it always take some time to get a new OS to play nice with everything.

    Hold of for a bit longer is my reccomendation.

  5. #5
    Speaking as someone who has used both, there are some nice touches to Windows 8, but really you need to install a few mods to make it usable, and at that point, why bother.

    It's not really any faster (only has the illusion of faster boot times), and only uses a tiny amount less RAM.

    If I had Windows 7 already, I wouldn't bother using 8. But if you got it for free, you can try it, I guess.

  6. #6
    If you don't need or desire any of the new stuff added by Windows 8, then stick with 7. It's had a lot more time to mature and become stable, and it's what most current software is designed to run on. Once Windows 8 has more time to mature and permeate to a larger user-base, and software devs start targeting 8 as their main OS, then maybe Windows 8 will make more sense.

    But if you really can't wait to use Metro (not that I know why you would) then it's probably better to upgrade to 8 now on your clean install, before you start setting everything up in 7.

  7. #7
    Windows 8 is a much better version of Windows 7 in my opinion. Many new convenience features in W8 such as built-in ISO mounting, improved task manager etc. Minor things like this is why it's a improved version of W7.

    If you don't like the new interface, you can just DL a program to remove it and add a start menu and it's like old W7 again, plus the upgrade is really cheap. So why not?

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by azthal View Post
    If it's mainly for gaming, I would wait a bit.
    While some games run better on Windows 8, many still run worse. This will change ofcourse (in general Win8 is faster) but it always take some time to get a new OS to play nice with everything.
    Been running Windows 8 for a few months now. If you install a program called 'Start8' you get your start menu back and it disables the UI for Metro. It becomes just like Windows 7 if you want it to be that way. It runs faster so if your computer is starting to age (like mine, its 5 years old in april) you will see a performance increase. EXCEPT if you are running dual monitors, at the moment the drivers? software? or whatever with windows 8 doesn't like it when you game on one monitor and play videos from youtube or any source on the other. But to fix this you just need to turn the game's software compatibilty to windows 7 and the problem fixes itself. Other than that there are no problems with Windows 8 I have encountered.

    TLDR
    Reasons to upgrade:
    -Faster OS
    -Built in Image software that allows you to open .img files like a folder (they auto-mount when you open them)
    -Access to the 'Microsoft store?' and apps. Can download music movies etc legally, and other programs through the store that you wouldn't otherwise be able to do on previous versions of Windows. This is great if you are like me and cant stand using iTunes and may want an alternative.

    Reasons to not upgrade:
    -Need to install a start bar to get a similar experience to Windows 7 (but you can download one here http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/)
    -Possible secondary monitor compatibility problems, but they can be fixed by switching application compatibility.
    -Costs money to legally buy Windows 8.

    Other than that the are virtually the same platform.

  9. #9
    Don't upgrade yet. Windows 8 doesn't run the latest games all that best as compared to Windows 7. Wait until Windows 8 gets many many updates.

    Borderlands 2 ran like dogcrap on Win8 compared to Win7.

    Classicshell does the same or similiar features as Start8 and has been developed much longer. It also has 3 million downloads. http://www.classicshell.net/
    Last edited by majinsnake; 2013-01-17 at 01:57 PM.

  10. #10
    Deleted
    From what i have seen the difference is fairly minimal unless you have a touchscreen, if Win 7 work fine for you there is no need to currently change.

  11. #11
    High Overlord Codyak's Avatar
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  12. #12
    Been on Windows 8 for a while, noticed some improvements in boot time as others mentioned. All the latest games seem to run from what I can tell (no issues so far).

    Haven't bothered to change to Win 7 start menu as some people have. One feature I really like is the two task bars for Multiple screens so when I minimize one program on my right screen it goes to the taskbar on the right instead of going back to the left screen, There was probably a program on Windows 7 that could add the same functionality.

    Edit: Already mentioned but I love the new task manager.

  13. #13
    I don't just play games. I do some minor recording and work related spreadsheets. The copy my friend gave me was the 32/64 bit upgrade kit and it was still sealed. I might try it since its 100% free for me. Guess if I don't like it I could always go back to Win 7.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Codyak View Post
    He just sucks at using it. How about pressing the windows key and use it like 7? Some of the arguments don't even make any sense. I've never got random stuff pop up on my screen when I'm using the normal desktop.

    Also, windows key + x. Gah, so many problems solved there.
    Last edited by Thes; 2013-01-17 at 02:12 PM.

  15. #15
    Windows 8 is great. After using it for a bit you get used to it.

  16. #16
    Deleted
    Will BF3 and WoW work seamlessly after I upgrade? If so thats all I need.

  17. #17
    WoW works, never played BF3

  18. #18

  19. #19
    I am Murloc! Cyanotical's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Codyak View Post
    i agree with most of his complaints, but i still hold that 8 is probably the best consumer OS microsoft has ever made, (the best period is 2K8R2)

    most of his complaints are the same that everyone has, and the reason everyone has them is because they are so obvious, the problems with 8 are generally in your face, and your first time trying to figure it out is frustrating

    however, once you get past that, W8 really starts to shine, a better desktop UI and powershell really make things better, and comparable to linux

    but i do agree that it feels more like an OS for consumption than production, but most desktop users are going to spend a majority of their time in the desktop

  20. #20
    If you are the kind of person who can get used to something new, you will have no problems and will probably like w8 more. If you cant get used to something being in a new place and need computer lessons to figure how to use windows, you probably should stick to w7. For example the moron in that youtube video, he complains for 20 minutes about things that are easy to find or things that are just plain lies or a result of him messing up hard.

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