Windows 8 Worth & PC Gaming

[Maximilian]

What do you guys mean by faster? As in more fluid/seamless or more efficient with resources? Or both? And if the latter by how much?

Its not faster. In general use people think its faster because of a clean install, or placebo effect. Ill bet its the same people who go from an AMD chip to an Intel and then claim it feels "smoother" when screwing about in windows explorer Windows 8 in general usage is the same as windows 7/Vista.

However it will start up faster by default because windows 8 dosent actually shut down, it uses hibernation tricks, this feature is known as "fast start up" which can thankfully be turned off if it isn't compatible with your hardware (apparently my 5850 dosent like it, causes a bunch of critial errors in event log) If it is compatible then its a nice addition.

 

[TareX]

***HELP NEEDED***

I'm a junkie for some old titles. Will Windows 8 run them?

Some genres just never got repeated, like SWAT 4 (tactical shooter).... I am faced with the choice of two M17x's, one with Windows 8, and the other with Windows 7... for the same price. While I hate W8's UI, I need to think about DirectX 11.1 support and future-proofing my pricey laptop purchase... So, will I be able to play SWAT 4 and other old titles (e.g. Commandos)?

Reason I'm concerned was this not-too-promising post:

We have tried to play some games (Demolition Company, SWAT 4 etc.) on the Window 8 yesterday, without any success. No game runs.

Source: http://www.jose.it-berater.org/smfforum/index.php?topic=4506.0

 

[Mem]

Its not faster. In general use people think its faster because of a clean install, or placebo effect. Ill bet its the same people who go from an AMD chip to an Intel and then claim it feels "smoother" when screwing about in windows explorer Windows 8 in general usage is the same as windows 7/Vista.

However it will start up faster by default because windows 8 dosent actually shut down, it uses hibernation tricks, this feature is known as "fast start up" which can thankfully be turned off if it isn't compatible with your hardware (apparently my 5850 dosent like it, causes a bunch of critial errors in event log) If it is compatible then its a nice addition.

I love how some people speak for rest of the Win8 users and THEIR PCs out there,as I said mine were all upgrades not clean installs with same hardware on the three PCs ie nothing upgraded hardware wise,two have Intel CPUs and one is AMD CPU.

I notice its more snappier(things open faster etc) on all three,nobody here can speak for my PCs because they don't use them,only I do so I'm talking facts and from experience on my PCs,anyway we are getting off topic a little since its about gaming he asked about and benefits etc,bottomline no negatives in my books.

 

[BrightCandle]

Windows 8 is perceptibly smoother and I have no doubt with individual frame monitoring we would work out why.

For games there isn't a compelling reason, but that isn't a reason not too either unless you are an nvidia surround user, then there is a big reason not to.

 

[gothamhunter]

It has the built-on game store, so if that gets more fleshed out, there's plenty of reason to upgrade for gamers. I'd love to see those Xbox titles come over.

 

[TareX]

It has the built-on game store, so if that gets more fleshed out, there's plenty of reason to upgrade for gamers. I'd love to see those Xbox titles come over.

I seriously doubt Windows 7 users -all millions of them- won't have access to "Xbox titles" if they ever come out labelled as such. As a matter of fact, the use of the name "Xbox" in Windows 8 is as big a fad as it was when it was used for Windows Phone: It has very little to do with actual Xbox gaming.

PC games will be PC games, don't let an Xbox label trick you into thinking there'll be a brand new category of Windows 8 exclusive "Xbox" titles. PC game devs wouldn't take the financial hit if only Windows 8 users could play their games.

 

[darkewaffle]

There's nothing wrong with it but upgrading from 7 to 8 for the sake of upgrading probably won't get you much. They're both good operating systems; I upgraded one machine from 7 to 8 because it's windows authentication had become corrupted during a power outage and $40 seemed like a good deal to me.

 

[WelshBloke]

I love how some people speak for rest of the Win8 users and THEIR PCs out there,as I said mine were all upgrades not clean installs with same hardware on the three PCs ie nothing upgraded hardware wise,two have Intel CPUs and one is AMD CPU.

I notice its more snappier(things open faster etc) on all three,nobody here can speak for my PCs because they don't use them,only I do so I'm talking facts and from experience on my PCs,anyway we are getting off topic a little since its about gaming he asked about and benefits etc,bottomline no negatives in my books.

Yeah but if you notice its faster and other people dont then that would suggest that theres more to it than just windows 8 being snappier.

 

[Mem]

Yeah but if you notice its faster and other people dont then that would suggest that theres more to it than just windows 8 being snappier.

Point is other people have said its faster as well so not just me,we all can't be wrong,end of the day every person here can only speak about their own PCs,as to gaming the performance(FPS wise) is the same as 7 according to benchmarks etc..

I also wonder if removing Aero etc has made Win8 snappier as well,could be number of reasons why.

 

[WelshBloke]

Point is other people have said its faster as well so not just me,we all can't be wrong,end of the day every person here can only speak about their own PCs,as to gaming the performance(FPS wise) is the same as 7 according to benchmarks etc..

I also wonder if removing Aero etc has made Win8 snappier as well,could be number of reasons why.

Thing is you're saying that everyone who says its not noticeably faster is wrong, we cant all be wrong either.

 

[Mem]

Thing is you're saying that everyone who says its not noticeably faster is wrong, we cant all be wrong either.

I said snappier in general use in my experience,for gaming (FPS wise)I said its the same as Win7,my point being we can really only comment on our own PCs.....(some have said same remarks as me and some have not).


Again we are getting off topic,there are no disadvantages to gaming on Win8(Microsoft store with plenty of free games is a plus in my books over Win7),personally pricing,features,improved security etc are worth the upgrade over Win7 and if we do get Windows Blue free down the road thats icing on the cake.


I could throw in longer gaming time on portable gear that uses Win8 due to improved battery life etc..again looking good or a plus for Win8.

 

[WelshBloke]

I said snappier in general use in my experience,for gaming I said its the same as Win7,my point being we can really only comment on our own PCs.....(some have said same remarks as me and some have not).


Again we are getting off topic,there are no disadvantages to gaming on Win8(Microsoft store with plenty of free games is a plus in my books over Win7),personally pricing,features,improved security etc are worth the upgrade over Win7 and if we do get Windows Blue free down the road thats icing on the cake.


I could throw in longer gaming time on portable gear that uses Win8 due to improved battery life etc..

Guy in the OP already has windows 7 ultimate though so the upgrade is going to cost more than just running windows 7. I'd say don't bother, you aren't really going to gain any more than your going to lose.

 

[Mem]

Guy in the OP already has windows 7 ultimate though so the upgrade is going to cost more than just running windows 7. I'd say don't bother, you aren't really going to gain any more than your going to lose.

With respect that's down to him and his call....I can only speak for myself and list the advantages Win8 has over Win7.

I'll say I had Win7 x64 Ultimate on two PCs, and Win7 x64 Home Premium on my laptop,I was happy to upgrade all three to Win8 x64 Pro.

 

[Red Storm]

When you go from an established Windows 7 install to a fresh install, it will also seem faster.

All these faster boot up claims didn't hold true for me. I was booting really fast in Win 7 and it stayed just as fast with Win 8.

 

[Tom]

I love how some people speak for rest of the Win8 users and THEIR PCs out there,as I said mine were all upgrades not clean installs with same hardware on the three PCs ie nothing upgraded hardware wise,two have Intel CPUs and one is AMD CPU.

I notice its more snappier(things open faster etc) on all three,nobody here can speak for my PCs because they don't use them,only I do so I'm talking facts and from experience on my PCs,anyway we are getting off topic a little since its about gaming he asked about and benefits etc,bottomline no negatives in my books.

Its fine your machines are faster for you. That isn't the point.

Read this thread. Its full of posts about W8 "feeling" faster, "smoother", etc. etc.

Not about their machines, but about W8.

And for skeptics that's the kind of hoo-haa people hype when there's nothing real to talk about.

If a computer is fast with W7 or whatever OS it has, what difference does it make if a new OS if marginally faster ? Its not going to matter.

 

[Mem]

Its fine your machines are faster for you. That isn't the point.

Read this thread. Its full of posts about W8 "feeling" faster, "smoother", etc. etc.

Not about their machines, but about W8.

And for skeptics that's the kind of hoo-haa people hype when there's nothing real to talk about.

If a computer is fast with W7 or whatever OS it has, what difference does it make if a new OS if marginally faster ? Its not going to matter.

How many times have I said "we are getting off topic"..well done have a cookie for derailing the thread yet again.


Win8 basically has improved battery life so longer gaming time on portable gear,Microsoft store with free games so a plus in my books,Win8 has no disadvantage in gaming(benchmarks are equal in general),is it worth the upgrade?.... thats down to him and his call especially if he thinks the other features Win8 has over 7 are worth it.

 

[biostud]

For a gaming machine there's no reason to spend lots of $$$ to upgrade from w7 to w8. Personally I think the w8 upgrade offer was what the upgrade is worth. For laptops you also get some extra battery time.

 

[Mem]

For a gaming machine there's no reason to spend lots of $$$ to upgrade from w7 to w8. Personally I think the w8 upgrade offer was what the upgrade is worth. For laptops you also get some extra battery time.

His other option is wait until Windows Blue arrives in Summer and see what that brings new for gaming.

 

[Red Storm]

His other option is wait until Windows Blue arrives in Summer and see what that brings new for gaming.

Windows Blue is going to be more of what Windows 8 is. That's not really good news for traditional PC gaming.

 

[Tom]

How many times have I said "we are getting off topic"..well done have a cookie for derailing the thread yet again.


Win8 basically has improved battery life so longer gaming time on portable gear,Microsoft store with free games so a plus in my books,Win8 has no disadvantage in gaming(benchmarks are equal in general),is it worth the upgrade?.... thats down to him and his call especially if he thinks the other features Win8 has over 7 are worth it.

So how is a post about your computers on topic ? When you make an off topic post people can respond to it and you're out of line for trying to make posts that no one is supposed to respond too.

 

[zerogear]

Windows Blue is going to be more of what Windows 8 is. That's not really good news for traditional PC gaming.

When has Microsoft ever backtracked because of public opinion? You're fooling yourself if you thought they were going to non-touch/metro UI in the next version. It's always been like this for Microsoft

New UI Introduced/People Bitch and say it's a bad version -> New version with same UI elements/people get used to it and say it's good.

Rinse and repeat and you get the idiotic chart that people have been posting about how every other version of Windows is bad.