Windows 7 or Windows 8?

I currently have Win 7 but have to chance to upgrade to Win 8. Is it worth it?

I have an i5 board with 8gb DDR3 so I am sure it can run it but should I stick with 7?

Cheers
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Comments

  • call100call100 Posts: 7,264
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    It's down to personal taste.....Pointless me saying which as the whole thread will just be one big disagreement........You would be better off looking through the other W8 threads to avoid the same old arguments .....;)
    As far as your PC is concerned, it will run W8.1 just fine...
  • zx50zx50 Posts: 91,227
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    I don't dislike either of them, but I prefer Windows 7 because I like the previous version of Task Manager. Not too keen on the one in Windows 8. It's also a bit of an inconvenience having to go to a different screen just to find the program that you're after that's not on the desktop. I'm getting Windows 7 when I build my system next year.
  • oilmanoilman Posts: 4,529
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    It really is a matter of choice. Your PC is almost certainly ok as an i5 with 8MB.

    Personally I use Windows 8.1 but have configured it with Start8 menu so most of the time it looks like Windows 7. I now find that occasionaly I flip to Windows 8.1 Metro (or Modern!) mode as somethings are actually easier to do (less menus). To me Windows 8.1 is the system that will be properly supported for a while to come.

    No matter what anybody says, Windows 7 will be at some time not be supported other than basic security type issues.

    Also, W8 is a 64 bit only system, whereas W7 could do 32 bit and 64 bit. What this means is 32 bit systems are really finished now and will soon no longer be available. I doubt the support for W7 drivers will be actively pursued by vendors in the future.

    To me, you get best of both worlds going to W8.1 (you may have to upgrade to 8 first, and then 8.1 upgrade is free), but you set it up to be very W7 alike.

    The only minor downside I see of going to 8.1 is that there are still some sofware vendors playing catchup to 8.1 e.g. Symantec SSR Destop 2013 (replacement for Norton Ghost 15) worked on W8, but fails on 8.1, and an update is being awaited.

    If you have an critical applications that must work under W8.1, check with software vendor first.

    Of course, you could maka a full backup of Windows 7 (using Macrium Reflect is my advice as it works with 8.1). Then if you upgrade but have issues or unhappy, you can revert back to W7.

    By the way, I really don't like the W8.1 Metro UI as I consider it the designed for computer numpties and rarely use it but the point is I can when I need to, and I know my OS is properly supported and will be until a major new version comes out.


    sorry - I got distracted and noticed replies since. As you will see, some will say don't, and some will say do. In the end,
    " pays yer money and takes yer chioce"
  • zx50zx50 Posts: 91,227
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    oilman wrote: »
    It really is a matter of choice. Your PC is almost certainly ok as an i5 with 8MB.

    Personally I use Windows 8.1 but have configured it with Start8 menu so most of the time it looks like Windows 7. I now find that occasionaly I flip to Windows 8.1 Metro (or Modern!) mode as somethings are actually easier to do (less menus). To me Windows 8.1 is the system that will be properly supported for a while to come.

    No matter what anybody says, Windows 7 will be at some time not be supported other than basic security type issues.

    Also, W8 is a 64 bit only system, whereas W7 could do 32 bit and 64 bit. What this means is 32 bit systems are really finished now and will soon no longer be available. I doubt the support for W7 drivers will be actively pursued by vendors in the future.

    To me, you get best of both worlds going to W8.1 (you may have to upgrade to 8 first, and then 8.1 upgrade is free), but you set it up to be very W7 alike.

    The only minor downside I see of going to 8.1 is that there are still some sofware vendors playing catchup to 8.1 e.g. Symantec SSR Destop 2013 (replacement for Norton Ghost 15) worked on W8, but fails on 8.1, and an update is being awaited.

    If you have an critical applications that must work under W8.1, check with software vendor first.

    Of course, you could maka a full backup of Windows 7 (using Macrium Reflect is my advice as it works with 8.1). Then if you upgrade but have issues or unhappy, you can revert back to W7.

    By the way, I really don't like the W8.1 Metro UI as I consider it the designed for computer numpties and rarely use it but the point is I can when I need to, and I know my OS is properly supported and will be until a major new version comes out.


    sorry - I got distracted and noticed replies since. As you will see, some will say don't, and some will say do. In the end,
    " pays yer money and takes yer chioce"

    I suppose I could always create shortcuts on my desktop of all the programs that I use. This would save me having to go to another screen to find them.
  • John259John259 Posts: 28,325
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    If you're going to only use the desktop interface and disable and ignore Metro as much as is possible then there's no point in moving to W8.

    If you're not familiar with Metro and want to see what's it's like before making any decision, Microsoft have a free downloadable tutorial (which for some strange reason they call an "End User Training Brochure"). AFAIK it's for W8.0 rather than W8.1 so I guess some details might differ but the fundamental principles will be the same.
    http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=39055
  • StigStig Posts: 12,446
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    oilman wrote: »
    Also, W8 is a 64 bit only system, whereas W7 could do 32 bit and 64 bit. What this means is 32 bit systems are really finished now and will soon no longer be available. I doubt the support for W7 drivers will be actively pursued by vendors in the future.

    What? Of course you can still have Windows 8 32-bit!

    The misinformation posted here sometimes is mind boggling.
  • cnbcwatchercnbcwatcher Posts: 56,681
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    Stick to Windows 7. Windows 8 is a steaming pile of dung. If Windows 7 does what you want it to do, why upgrade?
  • alan1302alan1302 Posts: 6,336
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    Stick to Windows 7. Windows 8 is a steaming pile of dung. If Windows 7 does what you want it to do, why upgrade?

    Only took till post 8 for you to arrive.

    The person that was thinking about getting Windows 8 for their Mac.

    To the op - I'd upgrade if you can and if you like the new way of working keep with what you have. If not install Classic Shell and then enjoy working the old way but with a quicker/better OS underneath.
  • fmradiotuner1fmradiotuner1 Posts: 20,476
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    Might be if you have a touch device or new laptop however if not I would just stick to win 7.
  • cnbcwatchercnbcwatcher Posts: 56,681
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    alan1302 wrote: »
    Only took till post 8 for you to arrive.

    The person that was thinking about getting Windows 8 for their Mac.

    I couldn't resist :p I wasn't going to install W8 as my main OS on my Macbook Air, I was gonna install it in Parallels or maybe VMWare Fusion. I still haven't bought a copy yet. Anyway if I was to use Parallels I red the latest version of it has a 'Windows 7 mode' for W8 which means it has a Start menu and whatever and I wouldn't have to see the Duplo tiles.
  • Zack06Zack06 Posts: 28,304
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    Definitely Windows 8.1. There are various improvements and it may marginally improve the performance of your PC over Windows 7.
  • tealadytealady Posts: 26,262
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    It's worth it if all your applications work under w8.
  • jonner101jonner101 Posts: 3,410
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    Windows 8.1 is frankly a mess and unusable on any non touch screen laptop or PC without installing lots of third party tweaks.

    Even on touch screen UI is just about the least intuitive system I've ever seen.

    Stick with windows 7, it's stable, usable and will be supported for many years to come.
  • PsychoTherapistPsychoTherapist Posts: 2,687
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    Windows 8.1 isn't bad, once you add back the Start Menu. Plus, there are some slight performance improvements over Windows 7.

    The Metro UI is a useless pile of crap though, but easily avoided. For a new system, I can't see any reason to stick with 7, but for an older system there is no point in upgrading to 8.
  • LostFoolLostFool Posts: 90,623
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    jonner101 wrote: »
    Windows 8.1 is frankly a mess and unusable on any non touch screen laptop or PC without installing lots of third party tweaks..

    The only tweak you need is to install Classic Shell (http://www.classicshell.net/) and you'll never see the Metro/Modern UI ever again.

    As above, if your Windows 7 machine is stable then I wouldn't bother upgrading it but if you get 8/8.1 on a new non-touch machine then I'd stick with it and just install Classic Shell.
  • Peter VenkmanPeter Venkman Posts: 1,769
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    Windows 7.

    I made the mistake of upgrading to Windows 8 from 7 and deeply regret it. It is a frustrating piece of crap.
  • 2000motels2000motels Posts: 313
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    Stig wrote: »
    What? Of course you can still have Windows 8 32-bit!

    The misinformation posted here sometimes is mind boggling.
    Sometimes it's hard to believe.
  • jonner101jonner101 Posts: 3,410
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    LostFool wrote: »
    The only tweak you need is to install Classic Shell (http://www.classicshell.net/) and you'll never see the Metro/Modern UI ever again.

    As above, if your Windows 7 machine is stable then I wouldn't bother upgrading it but if you get 8/8.1 on a new non-touch machine then I'd stick with it and just install Classic Shell.

    I'm sure this works well, but who supports it and what if some windows update unexpectedly breaks it. PITA.

    I know it's not an option for consumers on new PC's but if you have the choice go for windows 7.

    It will be supported for a long time and I think Microsoft will come to their senses now that idiot Ballmer is leaving and give users the option of a sensible desktop user interface.
  • IvanIVIvanIV Posts: 30,301
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    There are improvements in W8 over W7. There are UI changes in W8 that one either accepts or there are programmes that will adjust the experience the way one is used to. Don't listen to various watchers, they have a mac and nobody talks that much about that here.
  • Big PoyBig Poy Posts: 7,420
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    Dual boot and try both. You can download windows 8 enterprise on a free trial for 90 days I believe.
  • oilmanoilman Posts: 4,529
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    Stig wrote: »
    What? Of course you can still have Windows 8 32-bit!

    The misinformation posted here sometimes is mind boggling.

    Ok I was wrong - I did not consider retails versions of W8 can be in 32 or 64 bit. I guess OEM version could be as well, but I have only seen 64 bit version myself.

    I checked this out further. It is a point worth noting that according to Microsoft website, you can only upgrade using same as you original i.e. if you have 32 bit, upgrade will be 32 bit (same for 64 bit). There may be workaround for this.

    So if you have Windows 7 32 bit, you might like to install the 64 bit version first (my W7 upgrade disks provided both).

    By the way STIG - please learn to respond in a grownup way. By all means tell me I am wrong in a nice way - I am man enough to accept error.
  • StigStig Posts: 12,446
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    oilman wrote: »
    Ok I was wrong - I did not consider retails versions of W8 can be in 32 or 64 bit. I guess OEM version could be as well, but I have only seen 64 bit version myself.

    I checked this out further. It is a point worth noting that according to Microsoft website, you can only upgrade using same as you original i.e. if you have 32 bit, upgrade will be 32 bit (same for 64 bit). There may be workaround for this.

    So if you have Windows 7 32 bit, you might like to install the 64 bit version first (my W7 upgrade disks provided both).

    By the way STIG - please learn to respond in a grownup way. By all means tell me I am wrong in a nice way - I am man enough to accept error.
    There are OEM installs of Windows 8 32-bit. I have a Dell tablet running it.

    The situation regarding upgrades has been the same with all versions of Windows; you cannot upgrade from a 32-bit to 64-bit. A clean install is required. Any workaround is messy, and not worth it.

    If I appear tetchy, I apologise. There is so much crap written about Windows 8 on this forum. Personally, I don't like it much either, but statements like "It's unusable without a touchscreen" are wildly inaccurate.
  • IvanIVIvanIV Posts: 30,301
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    Yes, tablets with Atom processor need 32 bit Windows.
  • pburke90pburke90 Posts: 14,754
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    jonner101 wrote: »
    Windows 8.1 is frankly a mess and unusable on any non touch screen laptop or PC without installing lots of third party tweaks.
    I'm sorry, but what an absolute load of horseshit. Because you don't like it or find it not to your taste you just have to bad mouth it. I'm using W8.1 on my laptop and it is running flawlessly, and it is set within the OS itself, not a third party tweak, to boot into the desktop mode. I never see the Metro interface unless I want to. It's fast, responsive, feature packed and runs smoothly and comfortably for me. A definite improvement over W7 and W8.0.

    The amount of people coming on here and posting crap for the sake of starting an argument is astounding.
  • alan1302alan1302 Posts: 6,336
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    jonner101 wrote: »
    It will be supported for a long time and I think Microsoft will come to their senses now that idiot Ballmer is leaving and give users the option of a sensible desktop user interface.

    You do realise the 'idiot' Steve Ballmer was also in charge when Windows 7 was launched?
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