When it comes down to it , the threat of viruses and needing updates is what most revert to when talking about operating systems. One could argue windows 10 is better than 7 based on it's expected lifetime and security features and updates.
But how about offline? On a computer that never connects to the internet , is windows 10 actually better than 7? I'd be interested to know your opinion.
recently a friend of mine showed me a screenshot of his(my computer) on windows 10 which had an ad on it advertising One drive , which to me was cringe worthy to think about , an ad in the UI. Thats more or less how this question came to my mind.
In my own opinion ,
The os's main improvements over 7 are very heavily based on internet being present such as security and searching with cortana or using edge. I haven't seen many speed improvements over 7 (in terms of identical programs running significantly faster).
There are virtual desktops , however personally that doesn't interest me. I can't think of a situation where I'd find it useful over just using a single desktop with everything in one place rather than scattered across other desktops. To me I'd rather add monitors than add virtual desktops. Direct x 12 could be a performance improvement. But in all honesty I can't tell the visual difference between directx 9-12. Short of simply saying (they will eventually stop making windows 7 drivers for hardware) I find it hard to come up with a reason for it being better.
Overall Windows 10 is better. Windows 8.1 is actually much better than 7 and closer to 10 if not matching it in many areas. However; Windows 10 has a lot of telemetry stuff baked into it. So you have to deal with those things. In Win7/8.1 you simple don't even have to think about it.
With that being said. I think you should upgrade to Win10 anyway. and debloat it. it isn't hard. Also you may look into Windows 10 LTSB which is the least bloated version of Win10 and even doesn;t come with new metro apps, instead it will come bundled with win7 classic apps. it is a nice middle ground if you really don't wanna go with full windows 10.
In these days of "always online" DRM and Steam, I highly doubt you'll find DX12 games that run completely offline. So there's little/no reason to run Win10 offline for DX12 gaming. If the PC isn't going to come online, I'd go with Win7 or 8.1 for now.
On a recent WAN show Linust mentioned that they tested Vista to 10 and 8.1 consistently came out on top.
Timestamped to 58:28, but Luke's Win10 rant before that (lead-up starting at 57:00) is the highlight of the episode IMO.
It was widely demonstrated at its introduction, that W8/8.1 was faster/more efficient than W7. Microsoft made similar claims about W10, but I'm not sure that I ever saw this impartially demonstrated by a 3rd party.
Most importantly, use a supported OS and keep it updated. Remember that Windows (all versions) was never intended to be secure and while Microsoft may be trying to tack on some measure of security after the fact, they have not changed their underlying policy of permissiveness. Never loose sight of the fact that the most important security tool in your arsenal is between your own two ears. Also, consider the fact that if you are inclined to engage in risky behavior, Windows is probably not the best choice of OS for you.
Remember that just because your machine may be air-gaped from both your LAN and the Internet, that does not preclude infection by sneakernet, unless, of course, you also propose to disable all of your USB ports, serial ports and parallel ports as well as your floppy, Zip, CD, DVD & BluRay drives.
The number one most effective security precaution, apart from using a supported, updated OS, is to create and use a non-admin account for routine computing ... oh yeah, and use some damn common sense!
You can't get LTSB as a consumer. You have to have a special licence that says you'll use it for embedded systems, or pay a 7$ monthly fee to use it (enterprise environment). LTSB does also not come with feature updates, meaning if you want to actually update the machine to include new feature updates you will need to fully reinstall the operating system.
there are. games run better in 8/8.1 & 10 when compared to 7 with identical hardware. 8/8.1 & 10 have newer kernels. Those of us who are running with Windows 7 are doing to linux equivalent of CentOS.
To answer OP's question, I see the benefits of not connecting the computer to the internet. However, if the purpose of the machine is to be used for something like gaming, I'm not sure that will really work nowadays seeing as how you will need to be connected to the internet for at least the installation. At that point the OS would freak out and try to download all its updates and stuff making it difficult to install the game you want.
For a production machine this seems a bit more feasible. If doing a long render, all you would need to do is disconnect from the internet, that way it wouldn't install updates as part of the 'active hours' bullshit. Can't download updates if you're not part of the internet.
I would do manual updates to an offline machine. There is a nifty script WSUSOffline that can download any (except Win 8.0 shakes fist) Windows updates for manual installation off an USB drive. That includes Antivirus Definitions for Defender.
If I wanted a best-effort secure Windows machine I'd go with this lengthy guide
Which Windows version would be better for offline use? Kind of depends on the use-case don't you think?
As the only general statement I would say: A well customized Win X is better than a un-customized Win Y that was chosen because it has better defaults.
However , a production machine which never connects to the internet , doesn't need updates of any kind. Updates make the machine subject to change , and change is the biggest reliability issue you can ever have on a machine that needs to do the same task over and over. A machine can last 25 years if the software was never changed. It's when you start messing and wrecking the software that the machine gets worse. It was fast when it was new , so always keep it new.