Jonny Wright Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 So I am upgrading my desktop at the moment and an OS install is on the cards. I currently run Win 7 and am more than happy with it. I avoided Win 8 when it was first released due to the lack of Start menu etc (also I had no need to upgrade), however with the release of 8.1 I am informed most of the bugs etc have been ironed out. So my question is, as I am going to do an OS install regardless, should I make the jump to 8.1, even though I am happy with 7? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LimeMaster Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 I'd say wait for Windows 10 unless you already have a key for Windows 8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fusi0n Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 I hated WIndows 8, feel free to do a search on this forum for three reviews I did of it, trying to give a chance.. I started using Windows 10, loved it.. Some of the updates started breaking things, so I thought I would give Windows 8.1 another try.. Now, I love Windows 8.1.. I couldn't go back to Windows 7.. So much faster.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrobwx71 Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 I paid $39.99 for the win7 Pro 64bit to Win 8 Pro 64 bit upgrade when it first arrived. I upgraded to Win 8.1 and love it. It's fast, it works. All my games run great. etc,etc,etc...... DConnell 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazama Levi Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 I would strongly recommend to avoid Windows 8 like the plague, because that's what it is. While it's true that 8.1 has some of the nastiest bugs fixed, it's still not very usable. Unless your employer is sadistic and forcing you to use some form of Windows 8 (in which case 8.1 would be the lesser evil, compared with 8.0), stay with Windows 7, it has much better usability. If you don't mind using pre-release software, you can also try out the Windows 10 tech preview (on a separate partition, of course!). Already this preview is a huge improvement over Windows 8/8.1. Stay with Windows 7 until Windows 10 is out (scheduled for late summer/early fall). Order_66 and bigmehdi 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Fahim S. MVC Posted December 17, 2014 MVC Share Posted December 17, 2014 I hadn't realised that any release of Windows 8 had any major bugs. It has always been rock solid for me, better than Windows 7 even in that respect. I am firmly in the 'Windows 8 has a bad rep but it's actually very good camp'. I find Windows 7 a little clunky in some areas and actually ugly with the transparency and gradients. xrobwx71, Forjo and DConnell 3 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazama Levi Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 I hadn't realised that any release of Windows 8 had any major bugs. It has always been rock solid for me, better than Windows 7 even in that respect. I am firmly in the 'Windows 8 has a bad rep but it's actually very good camp'. I find Windows 7 a little clunky in some areas and actually ugly with the transparency and gradients. There were also people for which Vista had been running fine right from Day 1. (No, I'm definitely not talking about myself there. Vista was as much of a disaster as Windows 8.) As the saying goes: "The exception proves the rule." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LightEco Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Kazama Levi, on 17 Dec 2014 - 16:48, said: There were also people for which Vista had been running fine right from Day 1. We're not talking about the changes between Vista and 7 here, where some computers could physically not run the OS and 7 trimmed down the bloat. 8 has been proven to be a rock solid OS with better performance in the OS and even in gaming. The complaint most people have is the UI changes that 8 brought. 8.1 made it a ton better and if you already have the key, there's really no reason not to upgrade at this point, provided you don't fall into some special case where your computer wouldn't support it. DConnell and Forjo 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forjo Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Windows 8 is better than Windows 7 IN EVERY MEASURABLE WAY. Don't fall for the anti-hype. There simply is no reason not to upgrade except for mindless hate and closed-minded criticism. There is only one problem with Windows 8 as far as I am concerned -- Microsoft's very poor handling of educating users about the changes. They didn't provide any kind of tutorial like they did when they made the massive changes from Windows 3.1 to 95 and originally introduced the Start Menu. Had they done the same this time, I think the transition would have been much better received. Nevertheless, the Start Screen is a faster way to get to your content, HANDS DOWN, once you pin the things that matter to you. Do yourself a favor, LEARN IT. I say again, if you take the time to learn how to use the Start Screen, Windows 8 will streamline your workflow in ways that Windows 7 simply can't. But see for yourself. Before you upgrade, review the following site: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/enterprise/resources-and-tools/default.aspx Watch ALL the videos and look at the PDFs. Print them out if you wish. Allow yourself to see the advantages of what has changed - and to see how little has actually changed (contrary to what the haters will tell you). Another piece of advice: pick up a solid state drive and clone your Windows 7 installation before you upgrade. If you really need to go back, this will make it very easy to do so. Besides, Windows 8 on an SSD is extremely fast (faster than 7). -Forjo xrobwx71 and DConnell 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim K Global Moderator Posted December 18, 2014 Global Moderator Share Posted December 18, 2014 Windows 8 is better than Windows 7 IN EVERY MEASURABLE WAY. Don't fall for the anti-hype. There simply is no reason not to upgrade except for mindless hate and closed-minded criticism. There is only one problem with Windows 8 as far as I am concerned -- Microsoft's very poor handling of educating users about the changes. They didn't provide any kind of tutorial like they did when they made the massive changes from Windows 3.1 to 95 and originally introduced the Start Menu. Had they done the same this time, I think the transition would have been much better received. Nevertheless, the Start Screen is a faster way to get to your content, HANDS DOWN, once you pin the things that matter to you. Do yourself a favor, LEARN IT. I say again, if you take the time to learn how to use the Start Screen, Windows 8 will streamline your workflow in ways that Windows 7 simply can't. But see for yourself. Before you upgrade, review the following site: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/enterprise/resources-and-tools/default.aspx Watch ALL the videos and look at the PDFs. Print them out if you wish. Allow yourself to see the advantages of what has changed - and to see how little has actually changed (contrary to what the haters will tell you). Another piece of advice: pick up a solid state drive and clone your Windows 7 installation before you upgrade. If you really need to go back, this will make it very easy to do so. Besides, Windows 8 on an SSD is extremely fast (faster than 7). -Forjo Wow, this isn't rocket science or preparing for some major test. :woot: If you have a Windows 8.1 key...sure upgrade...if you do not...maybe wait until Windows 10. If you decide to upgrade, you have 3rd party start menu options if you find the start screen annoying and counterproductive as I have. Most certainly install 8.1 instead of 8.0. DConnell 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcfan Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 you'd be a fool not to upgrade to 8.1 DConnell 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Fahim S. MVC Posted December 18, 2014 MVC Share Posted December 18, 2014 There were also people for which Vista had been running fine right from Day 1. (No, I'm definitely not talking about myself there. Vista was as much of a disaster as Windows 8.) As the saying goes: "The exception proves the rule." There was at least 1 well documented bug for Vista (which I also ran from day 1). What bugs are there in 8? Honest question... DConnell 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forjo Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 There was at least 1 well documented bug for Vista (which I also ran from day 1). What bugs are there in 8? Honest question... The only one I can remember was a framerate issue affecting a few games. It was never severe enough to make major headlines, and I think it was fixed pretty early on. **Edit** I found it, and it's not actually fixed. The problem happens with some specific older games that use older versions of DirectX. There is uservoice post about it here: https://windows.uservoice.com/forums/265757-windows-feature-suggestions/suggestions/6608422-fix-the-frame-rate-issue-that-has-been-in-since-wi And this seems to be a good workaround that also allows these games to play in a window: http://www.play-old-pc-games.com/compatibility-tools/using-dxwnd/ -Forjo xrobwx71 and DConnell 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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