I am planning on building a new PC soon for gaming and moderate editing/rendering. I have been thinking about which OS to install: Windows 8 or Windows 7. I seen reviews of Win8, and it seems to be a definite learning curve to get use to. I don't want to "jump through hoops" just to play a game or get a program to work. I know, in some cases, you get a preformance boost, but from the reviews it seems more of a hastle to get working.
So my question is: How is Windows 8 now, and should I upgrade to it from Windows 7?
It's not as bad as most people say also they are bringing back the start menu, but as i said i would wait until the 8.1 update to change over also i nearly never use the metro view.
There isn't a reason to buy an expensive upgrade, but if you are going to get one or the other then go with windows 8.. WHY?!?!?! because there really isnt any hassles for gaming. I have both OS's and 8 really is fine for everyday use.. You are kinda forced to use the start screen, but I basically just use it for opening a program like office, and the rest of the time am on the desktop screen.
You can get some great mods for it like "start is back" for cheap, and there is a free one that is better than start 8 floating around too, Its called "classic start".
Basically just enjoy the increased performance with pretty much no drawbacks for 90% of users... There are the 10% that might have a few technical drawbacks for certain tasks.. but there are usually work arounds with that.
Personally I hate W8. But since you are not me I'd probably do as advised above and wait for the next update and see what happens and if it turns out not being terrible get it over W7 as MS seems to have gone OCD about selling it and it will probably get a lot more attention than W7 in the next few years for updates and development.
I am in the process right now of teaching myself Linux so that I can eventually make the complete jump away. I downloaded and ran the 8.1 preview and I wasnt an 8 fan to begin with. I dont see anything justifiable in it. (making this post now from my newly installed Linux box.. Phase 1 complete)
I recently changed over to windows 8 64bit. I had a few hiccups like 8.1 preview wrecking my initial install. Since I didn't have a big time investment in setting my pc up from initial install I didn't mind the reinstall so much. Another hiccup has been selective boot making me unable to play flash videos. I had to reboot to even use twitch or youtube. I remedied this by installing the nightly 64bit firefox build. Other than those things I like Windows 8. I sit in desktop mode and use metro if I want to read news or something.
I am really enjoying Windows 8. After installing StartIsBack (my roommate uses ClassicShell) it turns it into a souped up Windows 7. The main bonus is the speed and smoothless of the OS and the added features are nice too. It also has really low RAM usage if that is a concern for you.
Thanks for the advice. I might try Rainmaker on my current PC, and may even try Windows 8 on my new one, just to see if I like it. I could always avoid Metro UI and just lock in to the desktop in the 8.1 update.
been using my moms laptop with windows 8 on it and i dislike it. sadly my mom likes vanilla 8. some features are kinda nice others make me want to break the damn thing in half. i will stick to 7 for my desktop. if i had my choice i would have stayed with xp but ms has officially stopped support and updates.