game pc: stick with win 7 or go to win 10 ?

[you2]

I have a gaming pc with windows 7 (full license that can be transferred to another machine). Question is should i be upgrading the gaming pc to windows 10 now. This particular machine is used like an appliance; turn on; play game; turn off. I use a linux box for non-game stuff.
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The hardware is haswell refresh i7 with amd r390 (in case some drivers work better with win10 than others).
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On the surface I see no compelling reason to switch until win 7 expire (updates stop) other than perhaps dx something or other only supported on win 10.
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(wasn't sure if this should go in os or pc gaming but since it is targeted at the gaming computer only i figured this was the right forum)

 

[Revolution 11]

I would stick with Win 7 for two reasons. First, I have not experienced any gaming problems on Win 7 with the exception of mid 90s PC games that use 16 bit installers. Win 10 has (in my subjective view) considerably more reports of games not working properly. So stick with Win 7 for better game compatibility.

Second, there is no real reason to use Win 10. DirectX 12 is just now coming out in new games so unless you are going to play mostly newer upcoming games, there is no benefit to the vast back-catalogue of games.

For the vast majority of games, Win 7 is a more stable, more tested choice.

And I am not even going into any privacy/consumer concerns with all the forced/sneaky upgrade shenanigans Microsoft has been engaging in.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

What Revolution says.

 

[SAAA]

7 will be the new XP in a few years. I used vista a lot even tough there were so many complaints about it and the last 3-4 years I really noticed how much older XP looked than it, how I had no issues later and it even worked similar to 7. So I think the same might happen in the future if you stick with seven, while 10 and future updates move forward many aspects.

If you really game only maybe a bigger issue will be GPU anyway, regardless of dx12 and compatibility stuff.

 

[Jumpem]

Windows 10.

 

[nurturedhate]

Hmm, take the free, faster, required for dx12 OS or stick with the slower, EOL OS. You tell me.

 

[balloonshark]

Both! Image or clone your windows 7 install. Then do the upgrade or clean install of 10 using your Windows 7 license. Once you have it set up the way you want it or just after the fresh install then image or clone the Win10 install. Now from what I understand you can go back and forth as you please. I haven't done this yet but this is what I plan on doing to make sure I get the free upgrade then I'll go back to Windows 8.1.

 

[Gryz]

I would say there is no reason to upgrade to Win10 yet. Wait until the majority of the new games you want to play start using DX12. That can take a few years.

On the other hand, upgrading from Win7 to Win10 is free now. End of July 2016 that will change. Upgrades will not be free anymore. That might be a reason to upgrade to Win10 before August. One day we won't be able to use Win7 for everything anymore.

 

[Elixer]

Both! Image or clone your windows 7 install. Then do the upgrade or clean install of 10 using your Windows 7 license. Once you have it set up the way you want it or just after the fresh install then image or clone the Win10 install. Now from what I understand you can go back and forth as you please. I haven't done this yet but this is what I plan on doing to make sure I get the free upgrade then I'll go back to Windows 8.1.

This would be the best plan.

 

[RockinZ28]

10 seems fine to me. Made the switch on my home desktop after using it for a while on my company laptop.

Kept the Win7 partition intact just in case, but 3 months since switching, have yet to need to boot back to Win7.

Need to restore the stock Win8 image on my personal laptop and upgrade that to 10. Win8 I definitely couldn't tolerate.

 

[nurturedhate]

There's really no reason to not switch to win10. This isn't winME or even vista (though vista's issues were mostly lack of 3rd party drivers). Win10 is better than win7. You get your start menu basically back. There isn't metro by default. It is faster than win7. It is free until July 2016.

Imagine someone saying "I have a i7 870. I can keep this or get a free i7 6700 system for free" and then people recommending to keep the old platform....

 

[balloonshark]

There's really no reason to not switch to win10. This isn't winME or even vista (though vista's issues were mostly lack of 3rd party drivers). Win10 is better than win7. You get your start menu basically back. There isn't metro by default. It is faster than win7. It is free until July 2016.

Imagine someone saying "I have a i7 870. I can keep this or get a free i7 6700 system for free" and then people recommending to keep the old platform....

Except the new i7 6700 removes features, adds bloat, loses the ability to disable updates, spies on you, tries to sell you stuff, comes with ads, etc.

 

[BSim500]

Depends on what games you run. If you want DX12, then obviously upgrade to Win10. OTOH, if you play a wide choice of old & new games then Windows 7 is still the most compatible. I tried W10 and went straight back to W7 after "bumping heads" with several older games having issues. Eg, Medal Of Honor Allied Assault, Quake 4, etc, worked fine for a while but then refused to start for many people after certain W8/10 patches, whilst NOLF requires the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit to be downloaded and installed to remove the 30fps lock (introduced by Windows 8) whilst running perfectly at 60fps on W7 without hacks. Same goes with older DirectDraw 5-6 games, and you may need a number of "NoCD" cracks to run some old retail games on W10 due to blocking CD-ROM based DRM. Personally I didn't like the interface anyway, and certainly wasn't impressed by W10 "helpfully" auto-uninstalling several programs without asking (including several utilities like CPU-Z).

For many it depends on what you run and which UI you prefer. If all you do is turn on, play, turn off, and you like Win7's UI, then you certainly ain't missing much for the lack of "tiles". Likewise, the problem of lack of security updates after Windows 7 support ends is also hugely overblown for a pure gaming rig sitting behind a typical domestic router's firewall with a typical dynamic IP address. Common sense (don't open .exe e-mail attachments or download .exe "stubs" to download other files) plus a decent web browser with Flashblock + uBlock (that includes updated malware domain lists) does far more to stop viruses than MS's pushy updates ever have.

 

[Revolution 11]

Depends on what games you run. If you want DX12, then obviously upgrade to Win10. OTOH, if you play a wide choice of old & new games then Windows 7 is still the most compatible. I tried W10 and went straight back to W7 after "bumping heads" with several older games having issues. Eg, Medal Of Honor Allied Assault, Quake 4, etc, worked fine for a while but then refused to start for many people after certain W8/10 patches, whilst NOLF requires the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit to be downloaded and installed to remove the 30fps lock (introduced by Windows 8) whilst running perfectly at 60fps on W7 without hacks. Same goes with older DirectDraw 5-6 games, and you may need a number of "NoCD" cracks to run some old retail games on W10 due to blocking CD-ROM based DRM. Personally I didn't like the interface anyway, and certainly wasn't impressed by W10 "helpfully" auto-uninstalling several programs without asking (including several utilities like CPU-Z).

For many it depends on what you run and which UI you prefer. If all you do is turn on, play, turn off, and you like Win7's UI, then you certainly ain't missing much for the lack of "tiles". Likewise, the problem of lack of security updates after Windows 7 support ends is also hugely overblown for a pure gaming rig sitting behind a typical domestic router's firewall with a typical dynamic IP address. Common sense (don't open .exe e-mail attachments or download .exe "stubs" to download other files) plus a decent web browser with Flashblock + uBlock (that includes updated malware domain lists) does far more to stop viruses than MS's pushy updates ever have.

This. :thumbsup:

 

[KMFJD]

I've had no issues since i upgraded to 10, it was a painless upgrade for me and i wouldn't go back to 7.

 

[jlee]

I'm completely happy with Win10 except I can't get a microphone working properly (it's picking up at an unusably low volume).

 

[Markbnj]

I'm still running 7 myself, but...

Second, there is no real reason to use Win 10

Well there's the fact that 7 is out of support, and no longer gets security patches.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Windows 7. Just the fact that Microsoft gave away Win 10 for free threw up thousands of red flags and considering all the nonsense they were pulling on top of the countless problems people reported, it doesn't surprise me that they gave it away for free instead of charging the usual $100.

As many people have stated, if you plan on exclusively playing brand new games, get Windows 10 for the DX12 (assuming your PC can handle DX12). If you plan on playing more of the thousands of games available for PC that don't have DX12, just stick with Windows 7. It's far superior to Windows 10 in almost every facet.

Also, it's amusing to see people saying it's faster than Windows 7. Are your lives so hectic that loading notepad in one second instead of a second and a half is a huge deal to you? Perhaps the two second load times for Chrome were just unbearable and Windows 10 saved the day with one second load times? Give me a break.

 

[nurturedhate]

Except the new i7 6700 removes features, adds bloat, loses the ability to disable updates, spies on you, tries to sell you stuff, comes with ads, etc.

What features? I can disable updates... Win7 took your info also, so does steam, origin, battle.net, uplay, google, apple, and the rest. I have never had microsoft try to sell me something from within my OS and I have never seen an ad either.

Do you enjoy regurgitating disproved crap you read somewhere else?

 

[Revolution 11]

I'm still running 7 myself, but...



Well there's the fact that 7 is out of support, and no longer gets security patches.

Just use Google if you are going to state facts. Windows 7 is still in extended support and gets critical security patches until 1/14/2020.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/search/default.aspx?alpha=windows 7

 

[Crono]

What features? I can disable updates... Win7 took your info also, so does steam, origin, battle.net, uplay, google, apple, and the rest. I have never had microsoft try to sell me something from within my OS and I have never seen an ad either.

Do you enjoy regurgitating disproved crap you read somewhere else?

:thumbsup:

Welcome to the world of big data and data collection. Most of the FUD was because Microsoft - mainly for legal reasons, I'm sure - was actually upfront in the ToS about what they can do or are legally required to do if the government comes knocking. Unfortunately misinterpreting and creating sensationalist article headlines and thread titles have led to much ado about (mostly) nothing.

Anything you think Microsoft is doing to "spy" on you can be done on mobile, and even worse is that it can be done by far more dubious third-party apps that can have permissions to the cameras, sensors, and files on your phone. And if you aren't on an encrypted connection all the time, your ISPs can (and some do, for advertising purposes unless you opt-out or don't opt-in) collect just as much if not more data than Microsoft could, especially with more and more IoT devices becoming commonplace.

At least on Windows you can relatively easily opt-out and/or disable the offending data collection features/spying tools. Have fun rooting/jailbreaking or flashing custom ROMs (which themselves require a certain amount of trust) on mobile devices and trying to figure out how to use apps without granting them half the permissions they demand.

The bigger reason to not use 10 is if you have older hardware or peripherals that aren't well supported or aren't supported at all on 10. Also cryptocurrency minng is still better on 7 in many cases. I haven't had any issues on 10 with gaming, though. I think it's better to switch now while it's free. Not too risky if you have a new-ish gaming system and do a clean install.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Hmm, take the free, faster, required for dx12 OS or stick with the slower, EOL OS. You tell me.

Stick with a proven OS or go with a buggy intrusive new one? You tell me. I switched to Win 10 and wish every day I hadnt. Unfortunately, I left Win 10 installed too long and it is too late to revert to 7. I naively assumed updates would solve the problems, but it has been months now and no such luck. I hate Win 10 so much that I am seriously considering reverting to the original factory image in order to get Win 7 back.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Except the new i7 6700 removes features, adds bloat, loses the ability to disable updates, spies on you, tries to sell you stuff, comes with ads, etc.

+1

 

[postmortemIA]

Both! Image or clone your windows 7 install. Then do the upgrade or clean install of 10 using your Windows 7 license. Once you have it set up the way you want it or just after the fresh install then image or clone the Win10 install. Now from what I understand you can go back and forth as you please. I haven't done this yet but this is what I plan on doing to make sure I get the free upgrade then I'll go back to Windows 8.1.

I do dual boot - that way I can go back and forth with just a reboot.

In a few years Windows 10 will be the standard, but still I will need to run an older game or need to use Media Center - and that's why keeping Windows 7 around make sense.

Either partitioning disk, or getting another smallish SSD is all that it takes.

 

[BSim500]

Also, it's amusing to see people saying it's faster than Windows 7.

I didn't notice any speed difference at all when I 'upgraded' then reverted. Most benchmarks I've seen show mixed results (some faster, most no different, some actually slower). Half the reason it feels faster for some people overall is they're doing a clean install then comparing it to a several year's old image loaded down with cr*p. Loading W10 felt "snappy" vs a 4-year W7 install sure, however wiping W10 off and re-installing W7 from fresh also felt snappy too vs the previous 4yo W7 install.

Likewise, W10 disables more services by default that you can easily disable in W7 in the same way (BITS, Fax, Font Cache, Function Discovery, Homegroups, Media Center Extender, Offline Files, Parental Controls, PCA, Peer Name Resolution, Remote Assistance, Remote Desktop, Remote Registry, Secondary Login, etc). If you don't share any local files / printers across the LAN (or have just 1 PC), disable Server & Computer Browser. Static IP to router = disable DHCP. No scanner = disable Windows Image Acquisition. No MS encryption = disable Bitlocker, etc. All of a sudden Win7's "standard" memory usage falls and performance goes up the same imperceptible +1% too.