# Windows 8 worth it?



## runevirage (Jun 2, 2012)

I haven't really followed its development, so I was hoping I could consult this tech savvy crowd - is the new windows edition worthwhile to get if I already own Windows 7? Thanks.


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## m&m's (Jun 2, 2012)

If you already own Windows 7, no.


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## BumbleBee (Jun 2, 2012)

it's a tablet os. what do you think?


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## LAN_deRf_HA (Jun 2, 2012)

There's rumblings that it will offer a notable gaming performance boost as well as all around improved resource usage. The dilemma most will face is if they can adapt enough to take advantage of some of the productivity improvements or if the change will be too much to adjust to.


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## runevirage (Jun 2, 2012)

LAN_deRf_HA said:


> There's rumblings that it will offer a notable gaming performance boost.



Could you elaborate on how it will do this, and the size of the boost? Thanks.


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## BumbleBee (Jun 2, 2012)

ARM support, touch screen support, Metro, no Start button, even IE has been redesigned to support tablets. all Microsoft cares about is selling it to business partners. Windows 8 will get the same resistance Vista got.


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## phanbuey (Jun 2, 2012)

If it meant a few more FPS, I don't care if I have to launch my games from a command prompt.

less resource usage ftw.

Also, if I can hack my webcam to follow my eyeballs instead of using the mouse, all the better.


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## Deleted member 67555 (Jun 2, 2012)

I'm with Bumblebee and Ive tried it out...
nothing about it feels right for a desktop....nothing.
However it would be my OS choice for anything touchscreen...


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## Mussels (Jun 2, 2012)

guys: remember how much everyone hated vista. then people got mostly used to it, and 7 came out very similar, and everyone hated it.

then suddenly they loved it, over time.


Win 8 doesnt work well with our current idea of an OS, and current hardware. give it a few years and we'll start seeing the advantages. (ex: DX11 support in win 7, meant nothing at the time - now its a big deal)


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## BumbleBee (Jun 2, 2012)

no one loved Vista that's why XP is the most used of all time.


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## phanbuey (Jun 2, 2012)

yeah but vista and win 7 didnt change that much on the front end...  yeah they had aero and whatnot, but you could skin XP to look like vista no prob.  It was the same arroz con pollo as before.

Everyone liked 7 because it was faster, cleaner, and less buggy than vista.  Which were really the only reasons everyone hated vista in the first place, that and the UAF, which was annoying as all $(*@&.

point is windows 8 may be a step in the right direction, time to try something new...  it is microsoft though, so 'new' usually = full dose of epic fail.  Give it to version 8.2 , then everyone will love it.


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## lilhasselhoffer (Jun 2, 2012)

My bet is that this is Microsoft's next blunder.

There's no reason to call this 8.  It's an incremental improvement of 7, with a tablet focused UI.  If people were screaming for this on a desktop I'm just hearing about it.

Windows 8 has some improvements, more baked in DRM, and will still cost an arm and a leg.  I'm going to do the same thing I did before, skip what is going to be a turd and wait for 9.  Knowing MS, by then, it'll likely finally be useable.


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## Drone (Jun 2, 2012)

Personally I think I'm gonna skip this one for sure. Three reasons:

a) windows 7 is fine
b) it won't take too long when they release W9
c) maybe I'll ditch windows anyway


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## remixedcat (Jun 2, 2012)

Windows 8's metro UI is not as intuitive as android or ios. even for a touchscreen tablet device it's still bad... it's a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none thing....


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## LAN_deRf_HA (Jun 2, 2012)

runevirage said:


> Could you elaborate on how it will do this, and the size of the boost? Thanks.



No. I didn't elaborate for a reason. The results are out there they're just not done by major sites or on this latest release. I wish someone would get on that.


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## puma99dk| (Jun 2, 2012)

well when u disable their "Metro UI" or what u will call it, it looks the same as Windows 7.

but some of the first screens i saw of Windows 8 before the "Metro UI" was where the taskbar was split into like 3 and i was like cool if Windows 8 would look like that i will buy it for sure but that changed fast so basic windows 7 and i was like oki a updated Windows 7 only how much new will that bring? maybe more stability for explorer and memory tweaking and so on would be nice but i kinda doubt bcs it's ms.


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## RejZoR (Jun 2, 2012)

Anyone managed to get this damn thing (Win8 64bit) working in VMWare Player? Whatever i do, i can't make it work. It just spits out some unexepcted error and that's it. Sucks.


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## Crap Daddy (Jun 2, 2012)

Simple answer. No.


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## Frick (Jun 2, 2012)

phanbuey said:


> yeah but vista and win 7 didnt change that much on the front end...  yeah they had aero and whatnot, but you could skin XP to look like vista no prob.  It was the same arroz con pollo as before.
> 
> Everyone liked 7 because it was faster, cleaner, and less buggy than vista.  Which were really the only reasons everyone hated vista in the first place, that and the UAF, which was annoying as all $(*@&.



At first Vista had some problems (most of which were related to drivers iirc which shouldn't be MS concern anyway) but it didn't take too long for it to be good. A lot A LOT of people just hated it by default, often without ever trying it. Is Win7 better? Totally yes. But Vista's main problem was people.

But it's difficult to just recommend Win8 like that, you really should try it before purchase. On the other hand it might be the future so we might as well get used to it.

If I can get a good deal on it when preordering I'll get it. I got Win7 Home Premium (full retail) for about €80 from Amazon.


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## RejZoR (Jun 2, 2012)

Crap Daddy said:


> Simple answer. No.



And a complex answer? Why? I don't get it why should VMWare give a damn what i'm trying to install into it...


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## Aquinus (Jun 2, 2012)

RejZoR said:


> And a complex answer? Why? I don't get it why should VMWare give a damn what i'm trying to install into it...



Try VirtualBox? I don't know about VMWare Player but VMWare Workstation 8 worked fine.


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## pantherx12 (Jun 2, 2012)

They need to streamline it, metro is so damn clunky it makes me wonder if anyone at Microsoft actually tried it.


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## Aquinus (Jun 2, 2012)

pantherx12 said:


> They need to streamline it, metro is so damn clunky it makes me wonder if anyone at Microsoft actually tried it.



It looks pretty, but that is about it. The usability on a desktop is abysmal. I feel like M$ is trying to dumb down Windows. There is something to be said for simplifying a problem, but I think M$ is over-simplifying Windows at this point. It's too large a step away from what the Desktop and Laptop OS has been. If you look at Apple, they gradually have been adding features to their Desktop/Laptop OS (OS X) that mimic iOS, but you don't see Apple putting iOS on their Desktop or Laptop lineup. It's absurd and it doesn't belong there.


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## LifeOnMars (Jun 2, 2012)

I finally found a use for my old 1024x768 monitor.....Metro UI  Added that to the side of my standard 1080p and I have been loving windows 8 release preview. Smooth and fast with my setup. Only 1 issue so far with games and that's Back to the future not launching but I'm sure I can sort it.


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## pantherx12 (Jun 2, 2012)

Aquinus said:


> It looks pretty, but that is about it. The usability on a desktop is abysmal. I feel like M$ is trying to dumb down Windows. There is something to be said for simplifying a problem, but I think M$ is over-simplifying Windows at this point. It's too large a step away from what the Desktop and Laptop OS has been. If you look at Apple, they gradually have been adding features to their Desktop/Laptop OS (OS X) that mimic iOS, but you don't see Apple putting iOS on their Desktop or Laptop lineup. It's absurd and it doesn't belong there.



The thing is, this would be clunky on a touch screen as well.

Compared to IOS and Android even windows phone 8 this is awful.


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## Sh00t1st (Jun 2, 2012)

One question, why is microsoft trying to kill its own baby ?
It's as if they see apples encroaching market share as a sign to jump ship from a mouse and keyboard centered model to touchscreen, it doth baffles mee !! 
And yeah i know the desktop is still there and i imagine you could easily turn off the tiles feature but when most people who aren't tech literate cant even find the run command when you tell them where it is or how to search for it using the windows search feature, it really puts doubt into my mind as to the effectiveness of 8. 
I personally might upgrade to it if i ever find a powerful tablet, but otherwise no.


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## LifeOnMars (Jun 2, 2012)

LifeOnMars said:


> I finally found a use for my old 1024x768 monitor.....Metro UI  Added that to the side of my standard 1080p and I have been loving windows 8 release preview. Smooth and fast with my setup. Only 1 issue so far with games and that's Back to the future not launching but I'm sure I can sort it.



Edit - Company Of Heroes never played smoothly on Windows 7 for me on various installs? I'm now playing it fully maxed DX10 with full AA and smooth as a peach. I'm really enjoying this OS so far


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## Goodman (Jun 2, 2012)

i always wait about 6-9 months before switching to a new OS it give time to get some bug & security fix or a SP1 

But not sure ill switch for Windows 8 that quick this time i may wait a full year or wait for the next windows after that , idk ill have to wait & see how it goes (win8) over time


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## Red_Machine (Jun 2, 2012)

LifeOnMars said:


> I finally found a use for my old 1024x768 monitor.....Metro UI



Minimum res for 8 is 1366x768.


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## phanbuey (Jun 2, 2012)

Red_Machine said:


> Minimum res for 8 is 1366x768.



minimum rez is 1024x768

"Microsoft is planning for tablets that use both the 1024x768 and 1366x768 resolutions common in earlier and lower-end tablets as well as the high-DPI screens that are being (and will be) ushered in by the new iPad"

1366x768 is only if you want the snap thingy, thats what ive read so take with a truck of salt.


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## Mussels (Jun 2, 2012)

LifeOnMars said:


> Edit - Company Of Heroes never played smoothly on Windows 7 for me on various installs? I'm now playing it fully maxed DX10 with full AA and smooth as a peach. I'm really enjoying this OS so far



DX10 always ran like ass for me in that game, so i always maxed DX9 instead.


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## LifeOnMars (Jun 3, 2012)

Red_Machine said:


> Minimum res for 8 is 1366x768.



Really? How come it's working then? 

EDIT - Just seen phanbuey's post


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## remixedcat (Jun 3, 2012)

RejZoR said:


> Anyone managed to get this damn thing (Win8 64bit) working in VMWare Player? Whatever i do, i can't make it work. It just spits out some unexepcted error and that's it. Sucks.



what version of vmware player do you have?


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## Yo_Wattup (Jun 3, 2012)

RejZoR said:


> Anyone managed to get this damn thing (Win8 64bit) working in VMWare Player? Whatever i do, i can't make it work. It just spits out some unexepcted error and that's it. Sucks.



Why would you use VMWare player? Why not just make a partition on a drive and install it properly? Its not like mac or something where theres a lot of complications.... unless you have a specific reason


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## Wile E (Jun 3, 2012)

puma99dk| said:


> well when u disable their "Metro UI" or what u will call it, it looks the same as Windows 7.
> 
> but some of the first screens i saw of Windows 8 before the "Metro UI" was where the taskbar was split into like 3 and i was like cool if Windows 8 would look like that i will buy it for sure but that changed fast so basic windows 7 and i was like oki a updated Windows 7 only how much new will that bring? maybe more stability for explorer and memory tweaking and so on would be nice but i kinda doubt bcs it's ms.



You can't disable Metro and bring back the start menu starting with the Consumer Preview and newer.

The start screen is a productivity nightmare. Even shutting down is a PITA. I'm all for Metro being the default option, but power users need to be able to disable it entirely. 

So far, we can't. We are forced to use at least the new Start screen.


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## Protagonist (Jun 3, 2012)

Personally wont change for quite sometime maybe 1 year or so, the thing that might make me move to Windows 8 is games.
If Microsoft could just listen to people rumbling about wanting to disable the Metro UI, and go ahead and give an option that comes with classic start button it would be nice, even tho the desktop on Windows 8 does not look as good as Windows 7/Vista, but with an option for classic start button on it would make very many people to consider moving to it despite it falling shot on looks.

Microsoft should make the setup detect the peripherals attached to the machine/device detect and determine whether the machine/device is a tablet or Laptop/Desktop so it can recommend the type of interface, eg Options are

When installing

I would like this option 1

1: When the Windows 8 installation is at the final stage of installation right before setting up a computer name and user name, there should be one menu before that asking a Laptop/Desktop user a question like this:

Q: Which type of user interface would you prefer?
    A: Metro UI Without Start Button
    B: Classic Style Windows With Start Button but Without Metro UI
After installation there is still an option in the control panel for the user to switch to whichever interface any time they'd want to change.

2: When the Windows 8 is installed it determines the type of machine/device/hardware and chooses the interface appropriately without asking,
    A: If tablet, automatically it chooses Metro UI
    B: If desktop/laptop automatically it chooses Classic Style Windows With Start Button but Without Metro UI
After installation there is still an option in the control panel for the user to switch to whichever interface any time they'd want to change.

Just my thoughts, too bad Microsoft doesn't listen to free advice they have to pay you to listen to you, so i guess this will never happen


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## remixedcat (Jun 3, 2012)

st.bone said:


> Personally wont change for quite sometime maybe 1 year or so, the thing that might make me move to Windows 8 is games.
> If Microsoft could just listen to people rumbling about wanting to disable the Metro UI, and go ahead and give an option that comes with classic start button it would be nice, even tho the desktop on Windows 8 does not look as good as Windows 7/Vista, but with an option for classic start button on it would make very many people to consider moving to it despite it falling shot on looks.
> 
> Microsoft should make the setup detect the peripherals attached to the machine/device detect and determine whether the machine/device is a tablet or Laptop/Desktop so it can recommend the type of interface, eg Options are
> ...



and so many people on other forums have issues with having options like that.... I think your solution is excellent.


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## remixedcat (Jun 3, 2012)

Yo_Wattup said:


> Why would you use VMWare player? Why not just make a partition on a drive and install it properly? Its not like mac or something where theres a lot of complications.... unless you have a specific reason



VM is easier to trash if you're tired of it and you don't have a small partition just hangin there that you can barely use. Also you run into other boot issues as well... it's more of a PITA....

get sick of 8, trash the vm and not worry about boot options/recovery (if something fucks up) and you can port it to another machine.... can't do it with a regular partition....


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## Aquinus (Jun 3, 2012)

If VMWare isn't working right (VMWare Workstation 8 worked fine for Win8,) I would give VirtualBox a try.


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