Which would you buy? Win 7 or Win 8.1?

[sweenish]

Honestly, complaining about how it must be for other people is not a valid reason.

 

[showb1z]

What explanation do these "less tech-savvy" people even need beyond: "Your programs are on this big-ass menu now" and "If you don't see an X in the top right corner, pull down to close the app."
That's all the guidance my mom needed anyway. Seeing people on a forum like this complain for over a year that they can't figure out windows 8 makes me question a few things.
I was just as biased by all the internet-crap going on about W8 as the next person, but actually using it for 3 days completely changed my mind.

 

[Griffinhart]

What explanation do these "less tech-savvy" people even need beyond: "Your programs are on this big-ass menu now" and "If you don't see an X in the top right corner, pull down to close the app."
That's all the guidance my mom needed anyway. Seeing people on a forum like this complain for over a year that they can't figure out windows 8 makes me question a few things.
I was just as biased by all the internet-crap going on about W8 as the next person, but actually using it for 3 days completely changed my mind.

Tech folks often forget that a lot of people can be intimidated by computers. Drastically changing the look of something that they have been using for years can be all it takes to throw a serious wrench in the works. But Win8 takes it a bit beyond that.

The simple fact that you need to tell anyone "your programs are-one this big-ass menu now" and that you have to pull the app down to close it (but only on metro apps) is a huge fail.

I am a windows 8 user, and I quite like it. I use it unmodified on my Surface, but I find I much prefer using a start button replacement because I don't use any Metro apps on my desktop. Not a single one.

My experience with friends is that Microsoft has made a serious mistake on how they are approaching traditional desktop users with Windows 8. A simple fact is, I know several people that were ready to return their newly purchased computers because of their initial experience with The Metro UI on a non-touch computer. That is a serious problem.

I can understand the change if the "start screen" added functionality over the "start menu", but it doesn't. MS has called windows 8 a "no compromise OS" but that is simply not true. And the Metro UI is just not good in a traditional desktop PC environment.

-The mouse wheel uses an up and down motion to scroll left and right on the start screen.
-You can't have more than two metro apps visible at once and even then it can only be on one screen.
-split screen metro apps can only be side to side. There are times when you would want an over under configuration to display more columns of data.
-The current batch of Metro apps are overly simplistic and offer few options for customization in the app. The mail app is an example. I HATE preview panes in my email client. There is no way to turn it off, nor have I found any 3rd party mail clients that allow me to.
-File management in metro is terrible.

As much as the desktop UI has never been a great fit on a touch device, Metro is just not a good fit on a non-touch device.

 

[Berryracer]

I vote for Windows 7, far more stable and compatible with all software

 

[SPBHM]

Dont try to use win 8 with older hardware. You will be sorry.

you mean like Athlon XP? yes it wont run,

but for any Athlon 64 it should work great,
my X2 4000+ is running Windows 8, now 8.1 since release, the ancient NV chipset (2004-2005) works great, it have all the drivers... the PC feels really fast, no problems at all.

here at home I have 2 PCs on 8(.1) and 2 on 7, the 8 machines are more pleasant to use imo, it also feels quicker, like if it was handling ram better, but in the end these are all subjective experiences more than anything, but for sure there is nothing wrong with Win8, is up to you hate "modern ui" or not, and even if you do, it's so easy to avoid... I don't see the need to upgrade from 7 to 8, but I also don't see the need to avoid 8... if you are buying a new OS or PC, go with the newest OS in this case.

 

[bgt]

Windows 8.1 all the way. Even my old Turion HP laptop works great on it. Windows 7 is out of the house.....gone...bye,bye. Windows 7 is slow and fat.

 

[CRCSUX]

you mean like Athlon XP? yes it wont run,

but for any Athlon 64 it should work great,
my X2 4000+ is running Windows 8, now 8.1 since release, the ancient NV chipset (2004-2005) works great, it have all the drivers... the PC feels really fast, no problems at all.

here at home I have 2 PCs on 8(.1) and 2 on 7, the 8 machines are more pleasant to use imo, it also feels quicker, like if it was handling ram better, but in the end these are all subjective experiences more than anything, but for sure there is nothing wrong with Win8, is up to you hate "modern ui" or not, and even if you do, it's so easy to avoid... I don't see the need to upgrade from 7 to 8, but I also don't see the need to avoid 8... if you are buying a new OS or PC, go with the newest OS in this case.

Have you tried on an athlon xp? I know it works on a duron http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR1L-ApJMKw

 

[SPBHM]

Have you tried on an athlon xp? I know it works on a duron http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR1L-ApJMKw

"Developer Preview"

final version does not work with K7 or older Pentium 4 (lack of NX Bit, and SSE2 for the k7),

 

[Underclocked]

Don't buy either, talk cheez out of his copy of Windows 7.

 

[cheez]

Don't buy either, talk cheez out of his copy of Windows 7.

You troll, you've got something that bothers you that much take it to PM. I will deal with you there.


cheez

 

[Soundmanred]

Don't buy either, talk cheez out of his copy of Windows 7.

I tried. He wanted $34,000 for his Advanced User Edition.

 

[davelpg]

My cut on the 7 / 8 thing.

Yesterday - 7

Today and future - 8

I like 8 and don't see the warts others do. YMMV

 

[Totori]

I'm just putting together my new PC now. I'd like to try Win8. I should be going for 8.1 Pro, and it will perform approximately the same as Win7 for my gaming needs?

Also, I haven't bought my copy yet but would like to download it now. Am I able to download it without a key? My bandwidth is extremely limited and my data is about to roll over.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

I'm just putting together my new PC now. I'd like to try Win8. I should be going for 8.1 Pro, and it will perform approximately the same as Win7 for my gaming needs?

Also, I haven't bought my copy yet but would like to download it now. Am I able to download it without a key? My bandwidth is extremely limited and my data is about to roll over.

Why not just get a retail edition on DVD? You don't have to buy 8.1 online.

BTW unless you need the extra features (bitlocker, RDP, ability to join a domain etc.) standard 8.1 is just fine and doesn't have the 16GB RAM limit of 7 Home Premium.

 

[Totori]

Why not just get a retail edition on DVD? You don't have to buy 8.1 online.

BTW unless you need the extra features (bitlocker, RDP, ability to join a domain etc.) standard 8.1 is just fine and doesn't have the 16GB RAM limit of 7 Home Premium.

I don't really have any local store I can go to for purchases.

Also, I'm not sure if this is against the rules to talk about or not, but is there any downside to purchasing a BizSpark key? If this is not allowed, I will edit it out.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

I don't really have any local store I can go to for purchases.

Meant one of these...

It includes both 32bit and 64bit images.

 

[spdfreak]

I've never been able to get my TV tuners working with MC in 8 or 8.1. Plus, they expect you to pay for MC as an add-on. Everything works flawlessly with 7 so I don't expect to be "upgrading" to 8.1 anytime soon.

 

[Remobz]

I've never been able to get my TV tuners working with MC in 8 or 8.1. Plus, they expect you to pay for MC as an add-on. Everything works flawlessly with 7 so I don't expect to be "upgrading" to 8.1 anytime soon.

That is the key right there for many people. Windows 7 is just safe for many small business people with older hardware or programs. It might not be as good as Windows 8.1 in some areas but it gets the job done and is a nice little upgrade from Windows XP pro.

 

[Mem]

I've never been able to get my TV tuners working with MC in 8 or 8.1. Plus, they expect you to pay for MC as an add-on. Everything works flawlessly with 7 so I don't expect to be "upgrading" to 8.1 anytime soon.

I have my DTV working fine in WMC plus I also got WMC for free(infact 3 WMC keys for free on all my Windows PCs) via the special free email offer they had, my Leadtek DTV tuner is same one I've been using since Vista,so basically works great in Vista x64,Win7 x64,Win8 Pro x64 and 8.1 Pro x64,it works great even with Windows 8.1 default drivers.

Drivers have been flawless for me .

 

[spdfreak]

I have my DTV working fine in WMC plus I also got WMC for free(infact 3 WMC keys for free on all my Windows PCs) via the special free email offer they had, my Leadtek DTV tuner is same one I've been using since Vista,so basically works great in Vista x64,Win7 x64,Win8 Pro x64 and 8.1 Pro x64,it works great even with Windows 8.1 default drivers.

Drivers have been flawless for me .

I got the free key with win8 pro upgrade... doesn't work when I upgrade to 8.1. My tuners show up fine in MC and device manager but they simply won't display any video. It's a known issue with the HDTV wonders. But the tuners work perfectly in 7. Also, there was a problem with my Epson scanner. Win 8 tells me to go to the Epson website and download the drivers but there aren't any drivers for it. So, 2 of my most important devices don't work with 8/8.1.

 

[Mem]

I got the free key with win8 pro upgrade... doesn't work when I upgrade to 8.1. My tuners show up fine in MC and device manager but they simply won't display any video. It's a known issue with the HDTV wonders. But the tuners work perfectly in 7. Also, there was a problem with my Epson scanner. Win 8 tells me to go to the Epson website and download the drivers but there aren't any drivers for it. So, 2 of my most important devices don't work with 8/8.1.

To be fair you can't blame driver issues on Windows any Windows(its down to the hardware maufacturer in question),my Canon wireless MG6250 printer/scanner worked fine on 8/8.1 and Canon even had updated Win8/8.1 drivers out fast,one reason why I like Canon since normally have great driver support.

I've read however if you don't activate your WMC key on Win8 then try and activate and use it on Win8.1 that can give you issues.

 

[bot2600]

Windows 8.1, without question.

 

[spdfreak]

To be fair you can't blame driver issues on Windows any Windows(its down to the hardware maufacturer in question),my Canon wireless MG6250 printer/scanner worked fine on 8/8.1 and Canon even had updated Win8/8.1 drivers out fast,one reason why I like Canon since normally have great driver support.

I've read however if you don't activate your WMC key on Win8 then try and activate and use it on Win8.1 that can give you issues.

Right... I'm just answering the original question- which would I buy. I would buy the one that all my stuff works on. I really wanted it to work because I have a windows phone and the integration between WP, 8.1 and Office is fantastic.
Actually, I bought both and the hard drive with 8 on it is just sitting on a shelf until I find something to put it in. I suppose 8.1 would be fine if you were sure all your stuff worked but when I ran the upgrade adviser, it said everything would work including the scanner. Oh well, it will get used eventually.

 

[Imaginer]

Even though I very much got accustomed to 8 and 8.1, if anyone is running a HTPC Windows Media Center and Windows 7 Professional setup, there are more additional costs going to 8.1. Even more so if one skipped out on the cheap $40 Windows 8 upgrade and free Windows Media Center offer.

It is the cost of the Pro version of 8/8.1, Windows Media Center add-on, and unfortunately, a Blu-Ray playback software (which Blu-Ray playback was good on Windows 7 Pro's Windows Media Center, but not there in 8; DVD playback is there with WMC though).

 

[Imaginer]

To be fair you can't blame driver issues on Windows any Windows(its down to the hardware maufacturer in question),my Canon wireless MG6250 printer/scanner worked fine on 8/8.1 and Canon even had updated Win8/8.1 drivers out fast,one reason why I like Canon since normally have great driver support.

I've read however if you don't activate your WMC key on Win8 then try and activate and use it on Win8.1 that can give you issues.

It is what caused the initial Vista hate as well, driver related issues.