New PC build, WoW, choosing Windows 7 or 8

[jader]

I'm at the last steps of ordering everything for a new computer build. I'll pretty much followed the most recent "Setup of the month" here at MMO-Champion, and getting Intel i5-3570K, Asus P8Z77-V LK mobo, 8GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 RAM (might go with 16GB though), and Gigabyte GTX 670 video card. Can't decide between Windows 7, which I have used, or going with Windows 8, which I haven't used. Any recommendations? Stick with what I already know or is there some reason to venture into Windows 8 as my OS? Thanks for any discussion. Hoping to place orders within the next day or two.

This PC will be used largely for gaming, mostly World of Warcraft at the moment. Also general web browsing, MS Office, etc.

[Deleted]

For the purpose of gaming it makes no difference which you choose. Choose whichever you are most comfortable with or you find cheaper (maybe even give you some budget room to upgrade the memory that you want).

[Eon Drache]

It really won't matter performance wise which you use. The controls for windows 8 are pretty easy to get used to. However, I went back to windows 7 simply because the little things bothered me.

What did it for me was the Logitech Gaming Software did NOT work on windows 8 when also using Razer Synapse. I had to unplug all my logitech products before logging into my account, then plug them in AFTER synapse loaded.

[Gurushock]

I like windows 7 myself. But I know a lot of people that are running windows 8 and are very much happy with it.

[Sidewinder]

if you are going SSD and running windows 8 , say hello to 5 second boot times.

[maniac2009]

Works fine on either. There will be things that will not occasionally work on Windows 8 but for those, just install a Windows 7 VM using Hyper V or dual-boot the machine with Win 7 as a last resort.

[Maelstrom51]

if you are going SSD and running windows 8 , say hello to 5 second boot times.

I have 5 second boot times running windows 7. The 256 Gb Samsung 840 Pro is a beast.

[Liteside]

Works fine on either. There will be things that will not occasionally work on Windows 8 but for those, just install a Windows 7 VM using Hyper V or dual-boot the machine with Win 7 as a last resort.

Don't necessarily need to do this except in extreme cases. Most things can be run with a compatibility mode to allow certain programs to run as if it were Windows 7 or lower.

I have 5 second boot times running windows 7. The 256 Gb Samsung 840 Pro is a beast.

I can attest to this that I love my 5 second Windows start up times on an SSD. Helps even more if the Mobo that you are getting allows you to make full use of the SATA 3.0

[skatblast]

I would personally go with 7

[Deleted]

Don't let the new start menu deter you from Windows 8, it's more efficient and uses less memory out of the box. It's the logical and best choice, imo.

[Deleted]

If you don't mind 50% FPS drops in windows 8 in some games thanks to great optimizations and don't mind having tablet os without touchscreen, then win 8 is for you!
Huge fps drops 50%+ on World of Tanks, Guild Wars 2 and Minecraft

[jader]

Perfect, just the kind of discussion I was hoping for. And yeah, I'll be going SSD, of some kind, for primary drive.

[Annoying]

You can expect a ~0.5-2 fps gain by using Windows 8.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ance,3331.html

AKA, pick which you're comfortable with.

[Killora]

If you don't mind 50% FPS drops in windows 8 in some games thanks to great optimizations and don't mind having tablet os without touchscreen, then win 8 is for you!
Huge fps drops 50%+ on World of Tanks, Guild Wars 2 and Minecraft

I've never heard in large FPS drops attributed to Windows 8 in any game, let alone Guild wars 2. Win 7 and Win 8 should work the same in the gaming aspect.

The "touchscreen" can be worked around.

[chazus]

If you don't mind 50% FPS drops in windows 8 in some games thanks to great optimizations and don't mind having tablet os without touchscreen, then win 8 is for you!
Huge fps drops 50%+ on World of Tanks, Guild Wars 2 and Minecraft

False. Utterly false.

If you're having problems with those games, it's likely your setup. I had a minor FPS increase on all those games going from 7 to 8 on the same system. And most reports show the same.

So far, in all the benchmarks and testing that has been done... A majority of games show a minor increase. I think theres like... ONE game that, at the time of testing, had a notable (5%) decrease.

What Fauier stated is incorrect.

I would get Win8 simply because it's marginally better, but will have a longer lifespan for updates.

What would you rather have? A brand new, undriven 2010 car, or a brand new, undriven 2013 car? They're both great, will run great, and last a while. The newer one will probably last a bit longer, though, and with marginally better features.

[vesseblah]

Better get used to Win8 now. All the luddites who say 7 are wishing for unicorns, ie. Microsoft somehow reverting all UI changes in Win9 which is not gonna happen. Alpha version of it has already leaked to the internet few weeks ago and it's a refinement of 8 with same internals, just like 7 was refinement of Vista with same internals.

From gaming pov there are some minor compatibility problems but google will fix those. I never ran into any problems and everything works just as fast or faster than before.

[neuk]

Go for windows 8. You just need to install one of the many programs out there that bring back the start menu 9 (i'm using start8) and you get a super charged Windows 7.

[imabanana]

I've never heard in large FPS drops attributed to Windows 8 in any game, let alone Guild wars 2. Win 7 and Win 8 should work the same in the gaming aspect.

Same for me, never heard of fps drops with 8. And never saw any real difference on the few games I used on both on the same computer.

Also had no compatibility problem at all, even with some exotic stuff in my computer.

[Nexsa]

Look up Classic Shell in your fav search engine. It will bring back a start menu, and can also skin the new metro start screen all the time. It also has a lot of other tweaks.

I love making my start menu look like Win XP again.

[Warrax]

Can't decide between Windows 7, which I have used, or going with Windows 8, which I haven't used.

I do not recommend Windows 8 to anyone who hasn't see or tried it yet. I suggest you look for reviews and youtube videos before using it or you risk re-installing Windows 7 afterward :P (or you might be lucky and be part of the 5% that like Win8).