[c627627]

No sir. This may not make much sense for someone who already has Windows 7 installed with everything set up just like they want it to be.


This is about IF you have an equal choice between Win7 & Win8 from the start. Which one should you get? The point being, why select Win7 when Win8 can be turned into Win7 with extras.

[Culbrelai]

why select Win7 when Win8 can be turned into Win7 with extras.

What exactly are the good features of Windows 8?

[briansun1]

the task maneger

[c627627]

As said earlier, you don't want to be abandoning what works for you and investing into Windows 8 but if you have an equal choice then once again, I will copy-paste it for you instead of just saying how this thread is going in circles:

Originally Posted by Bobnova

What are the benefits?

For most people there is no reason to ditch 7 and go 8, but given an equal choice where you can choose one or the other and it doesn't matter to you which one over the other, then the question to me becomes why not. Besides "little things" you may or may not notice after a bit of use, you do have an option to hook up a touch screen device, they may go on sale, you may get one and then you will have the option (just an option) to make full use if it.

Depending on how you set things up, it has been said that if you install everything identical on Windows 7 vs Windows 8, that Windows 8 will boot faster. People say no it doesn't but 99% do not have an identical dual boot to prove it. I have a quadruple boot and Windows 8 is faster to boot.

MS claims better multi monitor support, better support for connecting your HD TV in addition to your PC monitor. They also claim better security. But Comodo Firewall Freeware / Avira Antivirus Freeware and disabling Windows Firewall etc. is what I do. But still, that is a bonus.

Metro apps... you may never use. But hey, you have the option of installing a Metro App. SHIFT+CLICK on your start menu and there's your Metro. We are all in agreement that Metro by default needs to be killed for business machines, but I like the idea of being able to have an option to use it, maybe one day MS Store will have a Metro App worth trying? Right now only in their dreams but hey maybe one day and then we get to use it on Windows 8 because we have that option.


There's this whole SkyDrive storage thing I will never use but hey, I have the option. They claim some RAM and CPU usage advantages, I haven't tested any of that, but again, if it's true then I have that as a bonus. Plus remember, we get to use our Windows 7 / Windows XP interface because of http://sourceforge.net/projects/classicshell/files/ so there is no GUI downside.


I've also heard of several other things like Hyper-V and Windows-To-Go. I heard of NFC, something about digital financial transactions.



etc. etc. But really here's the deal:


"Everyone" was always hating on Windows 8 because of Metro. From the moment I first heard of the Metro concept, there was no doubt in my mind that we would find a way to destroy that thing the moment we install Windows 8 Final and have a Windows 7-looking Desktop while keeping all the advantages of Windows 8, regardless of what they are or whether we really need them. I disabled Metro manually, without using Classic Shell at first just to see if it could be done and it worked. But Classic Shell is easier.


So I always asked people from the get-go, why are you even talking about Metro? You know by the time Windows 8 Final comes out, there will be a way to get rid of it? What are other reasons for not using 8?

Some of them claimed certain things work under Windows 7 whereas they do not under Windows 8. I have not had anything not work under Windows 8 (that worked on 7). Besides, it is always a good idea to install Windows XP 32-Bit on a separate partition and simply reboot into it to have the option of using ALL older software/hardware should you ever need to. But if something you use does not work under Windows 8, but it does work under Windows 7- I see that as the only legitimate reason that I know of for not going with 8 (given an equal choice).

[Culbrelai]

Err, you can get Skydrive on Windows 7...

Of course I personally find the whole idea of the "Cloud" to be a massive security hazard.

As for the booting, do you use SSDs for OS drives on your test machines or platters?

Personally I would like to see platter W7 vs platter W8 boot time.
There are hardware limits that must be obeyed so I find it a little difficult to believe =P

there was no doubt in my mind that we would find a way to destroy that thing the moment we install Windows 8 Final

XD

[c627627]

Let me start by saying that I share you opinion about the Cloud so much so that I didn't even know about Skydrive on Windows 7.

The other point is - YES, you can make an argument after argument how these extras are not really "necessary" which is why you should not abandon your perfectly fine OS for 8. But given an equal choice then why not go with Windows 8? These are extras that you have as an *option* to use or not. Why not have them when you can remove the dreaded Metro and make your 8 look like 7 functionally?


Regarding your boot question, Win8 is faster.
I have Win 7 on one SSD partition, WinXP on another partition of same SSD, Win8 on its own partition, on the same SSD. I have the same programs installed on all three. I have Vista on a mechanical hard drive. Windows 8 is faster to boot but we are talking minimal differences for me, maybe a few seconds, it was irrelevant enough for me not to remember.

So Windows 8 is faster but not by any amount that makes a big difference, so don't look for reasons to abandon your OS, you should always install Windows 8 as an extra OS, dual boot to it. Then use it or go back to your old OS in case of problems.

[Tokae]

Originally Posted by c627627

No sir. This may not make much sense for someone who already has Windows 7 installed with everything set up just like they want it to be.


This is about IF you have an equal choice between Win7 & Win8 from the start. Which one should you get? The point being, why select Win7 when Win8 can be turned into Win7 with extras.

Noted!

[nd4spdbh2]

Given equal choice... ie i went to say best buy, pointed out an asus laptop and they said, do you want it with windows 8 or windows 7?

I would say windows 7 please.

Reasons, i should NOT have to install extra software to make the os behave as it should.

[c627627]

You are absolutely correct that you should not have to.

The extras are not a big deal but a 30 second freeware installation gives you the option to have them, so why miss out? The only way Microsoft is affected is if you chose a non-MS OS, but let's not get into that in this thread... If Microsoft doesn't get affected, then I don't see the point of going with 7, unless it's for someone computer illiterate or if you are 100% certain that an app you will use will not work on 8. But whenever people post something doesn't work on 8, I do a search and see that it does work for someone else out there so don't know if user error of something else is to blame.

[Culbrelai]

I agree with your point though ^ guy above me whose name I am too lazy to type

If you've got a choice between 7 and 8, you're new build, done today, then go with 8.

If you're already on 7, stick with 7 untill DirectX12? comes out and there are improved games.

Although, DirectX12 would require new GFX cards wouldn't it?

Not sure if it'll ever (within the forseeable future) be worth upgrading from 7 to 8.

[c627627]

If that is a question - then my answer is never, it is never OK to abandon a working OS.

It is much better to install any OS on a relatively small partition (install personal files and large programs elsewhere) and then you keep the drive image of that small partition "forever." You install the next OS on another small partition and you dual boot then triple boot then quadruple boot and so on.


If anything goes wrong, you simply reboot into another OS. You can reimage one OS *from another* OS quicker than it takes to go on a short bathroom break. It is quicker for me to nuke my WinXP or Vista or Win7 or Win8 and reimage them then it is to deal with any problems on them. I keep a list of things to adjust then perfect the master images once a month when I install monthly updates.


This is also an excellent way to see if any problem is OS-related or hardware related.

[Culbrelai]

They got rid of desktop gadgets too which really pisses me off I like my little instrument panel monitoring all of my cores and CPU clock... The only useful thing I've seen so far, comparing XP and 7.

[briansun1]

that is why you use 8Gadget Pack

[Omsion]

Originally Posted by Culbrelai

...
Personally I would like to see platter W7 vs platter W8 boot time.
There are hardware limits that must be obeyed so I find it a little difficult to believe =P

XD

25s faster on a platter HD (37s post-POST to 12s post-POST). 5s better on an SSD.

[c627627]

Yeah, my Win7 and my Win 8 are on the same SSD and I believe I measured just about that much of an advantage in favor of Windows 8. I believe on my system Win 8 was faster by maybe 3 or 4 seconds.


But there is nothing better than to install your Win 8 alongside Win 7 and see how it feels on your system doing the same things on Win8 as you do on Win7.

_____________________
Intel i7 950 [206] BCLK x 20 = 4.12 GHz @ [1.4000] CPU Voltage & [1.35000] QPI/DRAM Uncore Voltage, Batch 3029A40
2 x 4GB Kingston HyperX T1 DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) [DDR3-1651MHz] 9-9-9-27 @ 1.66 DRAM Bus Voltage
ASUS P6T Deluxe v.1 [LGA 1366 Intel X58] BIOS 2209
Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme 1366 RT with 120mm Scythe S-Flex F fan
ATi Radeon HD 7870 XFX Black 2GB HDMI 2XDVI GDDR5 1050MHz Core Clock
OCZ Agility 3 180GB SSD
Asus Xonar DX sound card
Antec nine hundred case, two front 120mm fans, one back 120mm Fan, one top 200mm fan
Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750W

[Culbrelai]

I do kinda wanna try it on my machine, how hard is it to dual boot for a while?

[c627627]

Don't mess with it if you don't have to but this is how I do it:

[Freeware for personal use - Scroll Down and use any Name & Email to Download]
http://neosmart.net/Download/Register/1

[Culbrelai]

Bios settings apply across OS's I assume right? (Overclocks)

[c627627]

Yeah.

[SteveLord]

Originally Posted by c627627

Yeah, my Win7 and my Win 8 are on the same SSD and I believe I measured just about that much of an advantage in favor of Windows 8. I believe on my system Win 8 was faster by maybe 3 or 4 seconds.


But there is nothing better than to install your Win 8 alongside Win 7 and see how it feels on your system doing the same things on Win8 as you do on Win7.

Was this with fresh installs of both and no modifications? Or with both installed and fully updated?