Win 7 or Win 8

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steakman1971

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I will be receiving a system with no OS soon. (Bought it off one of the forum members today!)
I need to order a copy of either Win 7 or Win 8. I want the 64 bit Pro version of whichever one I go with. From Microcenter, the Win 7 is $129 and Win 8 is $99 (both are OEM).
I have a few other systems in my house - they are all running Win 7 Pro. I'm happy with it and really can't say I have any complaints. Part of me thinks Win 7 Pro is the way to go.
However, Win 8 is cheaper and should work well (from what I have read).

Opinions? The money is not really the deal breaker.
 
You can install and evaluate Windows 8 without committing to any purchase in the form of the Enterprise Evaluation. Note that you won't be able to 'downgrade' to a consumer-level version and will have to reinstall Windows 8 if you decide to go that route.

Windows 8 is worth looking at if you're thinking about getting a Windows tablet at some point and want to be able to keep multiple machines in sync with each other in some respects. Otherwise, there's no feature in it I would consider to be a big win.
 
Are you sure that price you got for Windows 8 is for the Pro version? If so, that's a heck of a deal as Amazon and NewEgg are asking ~ $135 - $140 for Windows 8 Pro.

One consideration is that the licensing between Windows 7 OEM and Windows 8 OEM versions is different. The Windows 7 version is only licensed for the first machine you install it on while the Windows 8 version may be moved to a new machine so long as you uninstall it from the first.

How important is the Start Menu in your life? If you live and die by it don't kid yourself, Windows 8 will likely be a poor fit. On the other hand, Windows 8 works and works well. It does pretty much everything Windows 7 does and gives you access to Metro apps as well. Admittedly this "feature" is not particularly compelling just yet, given the present sparse availability of apps in the Windows Store, but that can only improve in the future and when it does Windows 7 will still not have access to it.
 
If the Windows 8 is the Pro version, you can buy Start8 for $5, spend less money overall, and get all of the under the hood improvements of Windows 8. If you need Windows Media Center, it's an additional $10, but still less than 7 overall. If it's not the Pro version, I would probably go with Windows 7.
 
Windows 7 for better stability and compatibility with programs and hardware.

Windows 8 if you are using a tablet and like bland flat ugliness. It doesn't add anything worthwhile over 7, just a load of junk you can get from freeware and the ability to pay for phone applications which do the same as free webpages.
 
Unlike some folks around these parts, I believe that if you can get 8 Pro for that price, go for it. Heck, even if you can get 8 Pro for the same price as 7 Pro, I would still say go for 8.

That said, I believe you would be content either way you go. Stability in Windows 8 is fantastic and compatibility is been top notch so far. However, if you want 7 instead, you clearly already know what to expect there and would not be disappointed either. :D

The cool thing is no matter what you use, the computer will do what you need it to do without a problem. Oh, and Win8.1 upgrade over Win 8 will be free and come with many enhancements and fixes.

Once again, whatever you do decide upon, enjoy. :)
 
I'm trying to decide this as well, how is windows 8 on overclocking? I'm currently on windows 7 ultimate.
 
Windows 8 overclocking is for the most part the exact same thing as 7.
 
Windows 8 is a completely different experience. Even though it comes with "Desktop", the way it is used is different and can be jarring to you.

Since you know you like 7, I would go with that. If you have a backup system or can install a virtual machine, you can try Windows 8 to see if you like it.

Now, if you had older hardware, I would say to definitely consider going with Windows 8 because 8 does scale down and run exceptionally well on slow hardware, like 7 ran better than Vista on slow hardware. Anything built within the past 3-5 years likely will not see a boost to performance of 8 over 7, though.
 
Windows 7 - mostly because my work computer uses 7 and I'd rather just use 1 OS on the 3 windows machines that I use (home desk, work desk, lap).

I'm familiar with it and it works. I also tend to do work with products that have spotty driver support (microcontrollers) so I'd rather not mess with 8 right now. I tried it for a few weeks, but didn't see a compelling reason to switch.
 
I have windows 7, 8 and debian installed on my computer. I prefer windows 7 over windows 8 and have classic shell which is free to make it more like windows 7. I mainly use windows just to play games and use debian for everything else. Windows 7 if you just want one os my opinion
 
I liked Windows 7 a lot but I forced myself to switch because I need to know how to use Windows 8 very well for my job so I just installed windows 8 when it came out. I find myself in the desktop view mostly for what I use it for and the other interface is ok and I really don't miss anything from Windows 7 at this point.

My system is very stable and I don't have any compatibility issues or any other issues with Windows 8 and it runs well and really the lack of start menu isn't an problem. If you use dozens upon dozens of programs on a regular basis, then the start menu may help but otherwise shortcuts on the start screen or taskbar work just as well...plus you can add third party start buttons if you honestly think you need it.

Anyways if you have any interest in possibly getting a windows 8 tablet or want your various accounts (such as social media, email, etc) synced up better inside windows then I say go with windows 8. If you hate change (because it is extremely different at first) or just like windows 7 so much then stick with it but it's not really that different once you get over the change.
 
I say Windows 8. Personally I like the new features and it's obviously going to be the better supported OS going into the future.
 
Are you bleeding edge, or just need something that works with no extra fuss? Windows 8 if you're the former and Windows 7 if you're the latter. Both will do you fine, but you can't get rid of metro if you find you don't like it. You can only mask it.


Windows 7 will be around for another 7 years just like how Windows XP has lasted over 10. It's that kind of OS. Nobody today who has Windows 8 will say with a straight face that it will be the next XP as far as longevity goes.
 
I ended up going with Win 7 Pro. My wife is not a very technical person - switching to Windows 8 would be confusing to her. It would also be painful to me as I would get phone calls on how to do tasks she knows how to do with Win 7.
 
steakman1971 said:
I will be receiving a system with no OS soon. (Bought it off one of the forum members today!)
I need to order a copy of either Win 7 or Win 8. I want the 64 bit Pro version of whichever one I go with. From Microcenter, the Win 7 is $129 and Win 8 is $99 (both are OEM).
I have a few other systems in my house - they are all running Win 7 Pro. I'm happy with it and really can't say I have any complaints. Part of me thinks Win 7 Pro is the way to go.
However, Win 8 is cheaper and should work well (from what I have read).

Opinions? The money is not really the deal breaker.
Click to expand...

home grown or prebuilt ?


for example if it is a Dell you can call them up and have them send you the OS install disk
 
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