New PC build, WoW, choosing Windows 7 or 8

[vesseblah]

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).

Watching any youtube 'reviews' is really bad idea because those are done by haters and luddites. I haven't yet seen even one honest video.

Short answer for OP would be: if you're buying new get 8 because that's the way things are going to go and you'll better get used to it. If you already have 7 and are thinking of upgrade, there are no major reasons for it yet. I upgraded to 8 (pro) because I like the multiple monitor support and built-in Hyper-V and IIS.

[Deleted]

Agree with vesseblah. Get Windows 8 and get used to it. It doesn't take long, after an hour you'll probably be wondering what all the fuss was about. It's like natural selection - adapt or die. This is the way things are going so you may as well get used to it now. It's not like Windows 8 is a major change anyway, the start menu looks slightly different, that's about it. I get the impression most Windows 8 haters just don't like a little bit of change and haven't been willing to adapt thus far. In my opionion it's an overall improvement behind the scenes, more efficient and reliable. If you're building the new PC go for 8 and enjoy! I don't see a logical reason to hate Windows 8, aside from the start menu debate I think it's the best Windows yet.

[chazus]

Watching any youtube 'reviews' is really bad idea because those are done by haters and luddites.

I'm almost certain that anyone still clinging to Windows 7 because they dislike Windows 8 isn't smart enough to know what a luddite is.

[shise]

Windows 8 is stupid.


Seriously, it is stupid for computers, makes no sense at all. It's quite obvious that it was designed for tablets, not for computers.

In terms of performance they are both the same, so, imo, get W7, at least it allows you to do thing fast.

[Kilpi]

Windows 7 anyday. On desktop usage there is not a single reason to get Win8. Not a single.

---------- Post added 2013-04-30 at 06:11 PM ----------

I'm almost certain that anyone still clinging to Windows 7 because they dislike Windows 8 isn't smart enough to know what a luddite is.

Why should anyone like Win8 over Win7 if the machine isn't a touch-screen-based? Because it's more recent it's automatically better?

[Deleted]

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 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

I think that you are talking about SATA 6.0

[n0cturnal]

I think that you are talking about SATA 6.0

There is no such thing as SATA 6.0, the latest version of SATA is 3.0 and it happens to be 6Gb/s bandwidth. (Excluding SATA 3.1 and 3.2 which have nothing to do with this)

[Kilpi]

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.

This doesn't work with Windows 8 though. It doesn't have better features. AKA I would go with undriven 2010 car if it was better than the undrived 2013 car.

[Deleted]

Just get W8 and download an app for the start button. I downloaded classic shell for my laptop and i never use the new metro interface.

There are some new features which are fun, like the new and improved task manager. And boot up times are pretty ok as well. My laptop runs a 7200 RPM hdd, but boot up times are not that much longer than on my desktop with an SSD and W7. (It is longer of course, but still pretty fast for me. )

[ZappBrannigan]

This doesn't work with Windows 8 though. It doesn't have better features. AKA I would go with undriven 2010 car if it was better than the undrived 2013 car.

Pretty much this. I support Windows 7 and Windows 8 on a daily basis, I wouldn't go with 8 until they release "Blue" (or SP1) later this year.

[imabanana]

Windows 8 is stupid.


Seriously, it is stupid for computers, makes no sense at all. It's quite obvious that it was designed for tablets, not for computers.

In terms of performance they are both the same, so, imo, get W7, at least it allows you to do thing fast.

In terms of speed of "doing speed" I find almost everything to be exactly the same since every single shortcut still works and does the same, only slower thing is I found on 8 was turning off computer (which I did with win key, right twice enter twice)... not huge loss. But I found file indexing to be much better on 8, making quick app launch (or file opening) by typing its name or part of it way quicker than in 7. But overall, it's almost the exact same thing.

I always wonder what people do "faster on w7", still haven't found anyone who really could answer this question.

And no, it was not designed for tablets, it was design for what's coming (soon ©) : the narrowing (some would say disappearance) of differences between what people currently call computers and tablets.

[Sarevokcz]

And no, it was not designed for tablets, it was design for what's coming (soon ©) : the narrowing (some would say disappearance) of differences between what people currently call computers and tablets.

It was designed for something we wont see for a decade? please...

[Deleted]

There really isn't a big difference, especially once you customize Windows 8 to boot straight to the Desktop.

It runs slightly faster and boots a little quicker than Windows 7 but is slightly more cumbersome to navigate. At the end of the day it doesn't make a big difference.

Personally I'd go with Windows 8 now, just because it's more modern and most support issues have been solved.

[imabanana]

It was designed for something we wont see for a decade? please...

What ? You mean all these tablet-laptop hybrids we're starting to see everywhere won't exist until a decade ? please...

[Zookii]

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.

Alpha Win9? You talking about Blue? Pretty sure they said Blue was going to be like 8.5 and not 9. If a real Win9 alpha was released then correct me if I'm wrong.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Win...ges,22285.html

Is that what you're talking about?

@OP

Win8 is fine. If you hate the start screen there are alternatives to it like Classic Shell. I have very little problems with Win8 except for an occasional GPU driver crash.

[Yuyuli]

If you like W7 and don't want any change than go with W7, want something new then get Windows 8, very simple, there are no downsides using either W7 or W8, there are no issues with either the Interface or Performance, it's just different. The 8.1 Update for Windows 8 brings back more "start menu" features the current Start Screen is missing, but it will still be.. the Start Screen. The Start Menu will see no return, so better get used to it or stick with W7

If you go with 16GB ram, be sure you get 2x8GB modules.

[vesseblah]

Alpha Win9? You talking about Blue? Pretty sure they said Blue was going to be like 8.5 and not 9. If a real Win9 alpha was released then correct me if I'm wrong.

There are some very strong rumors going around that Microsoft will go for the cheap yearly release cycle of OSX (and major Linux distros) and "blue" aka. Windows 9 will be the first of those, roughly a year after Win8 release. "Blue" is not SP1 but a new release, that much is certain.

Will know for sure if that is the case somewhere around august/september, because by then they need to have some public info out.

[theWocky]

Windows 8 is more stable, has better performance (generally). It certainly manages memory better (less overhead). It's newer, so why not go for it. Lot of the irks from window 8 are going to be gone in win 8.1, however - start bar is back, etc.

[Zookii]

There are some very strong rumors going around that Microsoft will go for the cheap yearly release cycle of OSX (and major Linux distros) and "blue" aka. Windows 9 will be the first of those, roughly a year after Win8 release. "Blue" is not SP1 but a new release, that much is certain.

Will know for sure if that is the case somewhere around august/september, because by then they need to have some public info out.

Where are you getting this info as nothing I've read coincides with what you've stated? Everything I've read has been stating Blue to be Win 8.1 as a first major update to 8 and not a new version like 9. Which makes a lot of sense as current corp isn't really adopting Win8 as they just adopted Win7. Skipping Vista for the most part. So a year or more later Win 9 releasing would be more logical.

Not saying your info is wrong, just want sources to read for myself.

[vesseblah]

Not saying your info is wrong, just want sources to read for myself.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/28/3...pdate-low-cost
http://crave.cnet.co.uk/software/win...ates-50010769/
http://gizmodo.com/5985006/microsoft...om-here-on-out