Is Windows 8 worth it?

WeHaveToGoBack

I've been thinking of upgrading Windows 8 on my laptop for a while now.

I'm happy enough with 7 but 8 just looks really good. I dont have a touch screen so that makes me think I shouldn't, but then I've seen people say that its fine with a regular laptop.

So what is everyone elses opinions on Windows 8?

Also, am I right in thinking I can "Backup" my PC now, on Windows 7 and then reinstall 7 later if I want?

beauf

Theres nothing in Windows 8, that makes it worth installing over Windows 7.

Overheal

beauf wrote: »

Theres nothing in Windows 8, that makes it worth installing over Windows 7.

Empirically false, but the two are similar enough for traditional use that its a challenge to justify the upgrade cost.

Yes you can use your system's factory image to put 7 back on.

Some new items over Windows 7 include the apps of course, but also deeper SkyDrive integration and it performs better on a broad range of tasks, including startup, shutdown, sleep and wake

http://www.techspot.com/review/561-windows8-vs-windows7/

Gaming performance in general improves, but negligibly.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/windows-8-gaming-performance,3331.html

Bearing in mind thats a year old article, and if you're a gamer you're capped within certain builds of windows to certain builds of DirectX:

Windows XP - DX 9.0c
Windows Vista - DX 10.1
Windows 7 - DX 11.0
Windows 8, 8 RT - DX 11.1
Windows 8.1, 8.1 RT - DX 11.2

Earth shattering? Hell no. Just thought I'd point it out.

It's always advisable to stay current but you'd want to weigh whether its worth it to put 8 on your current laptop or simply ride it out until your next replacement unit. If you already own a Windows tablet or phone (or frankly, frequently use more than one computer) than it's a little more compelling, since 8 and SkyDrive make the seams between multiple devices less noticeable.

yoyo

Moved from Comp & Tech.

beauf

it was worth it when it was 19 euro not now though. Not from 7. Vista yes.

200motels

beauf wrote: »

Theres nothing in Windows 8, that makes it worth installing over Windows 7.

Don't go near it, 7 is way better.

beauf

Its a better W7 underneath. You just have to turn off Metro. Then you can use just the same as W7.

But for most people it bring so little new that its not worth upgrading from W7.

Overheal

my favorite bit is the new task manager:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H1sKq8Tvyg

Though the nerd in that article fails to mention you can also press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to launch the Task Manager. N00b.

Doing multiple file transfers? It now amalgamates into one window, not 50 billion (and gives you better information about your transfer speeds)



Again though this is not the RUNOUTANDBUYTHIS that Windows 7 was to Windows Vista. The changes are good but you'd want a couple things pushing you toward the upgrade, like I was saying earlier. I own 2 windows tablets and a windows 8 touch laptop hybrid so upgrading the Desktop from 7 to 8 was a no brainer, now they all talk together better than furbies.

beauf

I do like the copying interface and task manger.

Overall I know its only a little bit faster, but I think it feels a lot faster than W7 on an older dual core / core 2 machines. I think the OS is better optimised for multiple threads. On a slow machine you notice it more maybe. With the odd exception it has more drivers so slicker install than W7.

I think the metro interface is verging on pointless on the desktop though. Its slower to do things. Its just a means to push their app store on the desktop. Maybe when we see more apps using it better I'l change my mind. For now I just turn it off. Classic Shell etc.

Main issue is that its gone too pricey to justify to any normal users though.

Overheal

beauf wrote: »

Theres nothing in Windows 8, that makes it worth installing over Windows 7.

beauf wrote: »

I do like the copying interface and task manger.

Overall I know its only a little bit faster, but I think it feels a lot faster than W7 on an older dual core / core 2 machines. I think the OS is better optimised for multiple threads. On a slow machine you notice it more maybe. With the odd exception it has more drivers so slicker install than W7.

Woke up on the fresher side of the bed this morning? :pac:

I think the metro interface is verging on pointless on the desktop though. Its slower to do things. Its just a means to push their app store on the desktop. Maybe when we see more apps using it better I'l change my mind. For now I just turn it off. Classic Shell etc.

Main issue is that its gone too pricey to justify to any normal users though.

Too pricey to go from 7 to 8 I would say. But if you're in a situation where you need to, its safe to go for 8. Like people who don't make recovery discs and have to wipe down their machines after a major system crash.

The benefit of the app store is everything on there, aside from being vetted for viruses and things, is that Apps are self-contrained modules. For instance playing Netflix on your desktop normally involves having to go and install the Silverlight plugin for your choice of web browser, or install and keep a current version of Flash but the Netflix App contains everything it needs to play video without additional plugins. This is a minor thing now, but I'm curious to see when they get bigger programs running within the scope of Apps like AutoCAD and such; things that normally rely on you installing a dozen different versions of .net framework.

beauf

Fresher? No, I still think its all minor stuff. No need to have features at all, for the vast majority of people.

We'll soon need a server farm in the shed just to run the browser.

WeHaveToGoBack

Thanks for the info guys.

I'm getting it from someone else so it'll basically be free. I was just wondering if there were any limitations, and if it would work okay on a laptop (not touch). Tried it for a few minutes on a laptop in a shop today and it seemed okay.

beauf

Kinda changes the discussion entirely if its free.

TheIrishGrover

God I think it's a heap of rubbish. I think it suits a touch screen fine but for traditional mouse/keyboard interface it stinks. I would recommend VISTA over win 8!!!!!!

_Kaiser_

I use it daily on one of my laptops but there's no real benefit to it over 7 IMO

- If you use your machine for more than Facebook updates and email, you'll be on the Desktop anyway which is hobbled under 8/8.1 unless you resort to 3rd party solutions like Start8 (as I did)

- Multiple file copying in one interface? Meh.. Teracopy FTW

- Appstore? Meh.. I prefer the Desktop versions of most "apps" myself

- Faster? Sure it boots to the login screen faster (actually a cheat as it doesn't shut down in the same way as 7) but once there it's no different than 7. Install an SSD on your 7 machine and get the same effect without the limitations

Now, ALL THAT SAID, 8/8.1 DOES make sense on a tablet or touch-screen machine and there not-Metro works pretty well but on a traditional laptop you're better off with 7 IMO

(Oh and there's a really annoying bug in 8/8.1 where disk usage may spike at 100% rendering the machine unusable.. had it happen several times and it's all over the Internet too)

beauf

I think you are seeing metro as windows 8. But its just a shell over the top. You can turn it off. Underneath windows 8 is the same as Windows 7.

_Kaiser_

beauf wrote: »

I think you are seeing metro as windows 8. But its just a shell over the top. You can turn it off. Underneath windows 8 is the same as Windows 7.

In which case you may as well stick with 7 as I said.

beauf

Which is why I made that point in the 2nd post on the thread. But some here don't seem to know you can turn metro off. The its like a sightly better W7. Much better than Vista. Then again Xp was better than Vista.

_Kaiser_

beauf wrote: »

Which is why I made that point in the 2nd post on the thread. But some here don't seem to know you can turn metro off. The its like a sightly better W7. Much better than Vista. Then again Xp was better than Vista.

Ah to be fair Vista wasn't too bad after SP2 but yes, like it 8 is probably best avoided (unless you have a tablet/touch device)

beauf

With respect that makes no sense. You can use W8 just like W7. So its as suitable as W7 is. Especially for people with XP or Vista. It just not value for money for someone coming from W7. Saying its only for touch devices, implies it can't be used without metro. Which is simply untrue.

Overheal

Upgrading from Vista or XP, Windows 8 is a pretty straightforward choice. 7 is still relevant though, and if you have it there aren't too many reasons the make the switch now vs. later unless as I said you have touch, or other devices running 8 so they will freely sync. But even at that you can download the SkyDrive desktop program for 7 and get most of the benefits.

TheIrishGrover wrote: »

God I think it's a heap of rubbish. I think it suits a touch screen fine but for traditional mouse/keyboard interface it stinks. I would recommend VISTA over win 8!!!!!!

Actually I work much faster on a keyboard with Windows 8 than I do with anything else, owing to keyboard shortcuts. The start menu in 7 is good, but once you've got enough things on there trying to access "uninstall" pulls up 5 or six other program-specific uninstall exe's before you find the control panel interface you were after.

Lady7Luck

I am generally allergic to technology so looking for some information please.....I bought a netbook which has Windows starter installed. I love it but it is very slow. By upgrading to Windows 8 will this speed up basic functions such as opening programmes; microsoft office ect. and internet? Also have visited their website but cannot seem to find the cost of downloads....so does anyone know the approximate cost of windows 7 and/ or windows 8?

beauf

If the machine is slow, windows 7 or windows 8 isn't going to fix that. I think windows starter is windows 7 starter and is as fast as anything else, it designed for slow machines. With a netbook you're probably best to max out the ram then install a SSD.

Whats the model number. Maybe its a slow cpu.

Lady7Luck

Thanks for your reply! Yep you are right it is windows 7 starter. The model is a packard bell ZE7. What do you mean by max out the RAM? Also when I say slow I mean it could take over two minutes to open microsoft office 2013....is this normal

beauf

Its a netbook its going to be slow. And office is quick a big and complex application. Do you really need to use office or can you use something light even something online like google docs?

I can't find any info on that model. I think it can take up to 3GB of ram but comes with 1GB. It also has a hard drive with you could switch to a SSD which would speed it up. It would be similar to this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5U6fuiqKKY

If you ran something like the free version of Speecy (Priform) it would give you a detailed spec of the machine.