Rebuilding system, chooseing win 7 or win 8.1?

[Xellos2099]

ok so I decide to slightly update my system with ssd and more ram. I am deabting should i stick with window 7 or start using 8.1. Any suggestion? I only use the system for gaming and light office work.

 

[Berryracer]

I have tried Windows 8.1 over 30 times.......each time I just format and go back to 7.....

Why I didn't like it....


1) My internet connection became much slower (not downloading files, that was fine, it was browsing and webpage loading with the exact same browser / extensions / setup)


2) Check this issue......everytime I restart, Windows 8.1 wants to reinstall my Realtek Card Reader driver......doesn't happen with Windows 7 ....... http://forums.mydigitallife.info/threads/57904-My-SD-Card-being-installed-every-reboot


3) Every single performance benchmark I ran, Windows 7 scores higher, 3DMark, AS SSD, CrystalDiskMark, Passmark, which is very weird since 8.1 is supposed to have better support for newer hardware, but it's not


4) The OS itself, after booted, Windows 7 is much snappier


5) Hate the fact that half the settings I want are in the Control Panel and the other half is in Metro PC Settings


6) Not much control over WLAN/LAN network profiles as there is in Windows 7, in Windows 7, you can define every aspect of settings for Public/Private Networks, in Windows 8.1 they are sort of combined with no segregation of the settings. Example, I want to have 56 bit encryption for file sharing for home networks, but 128bit for public networks, in Windows 8.1, it only allows you to choose one setting for both and not separately


7) In 8.1, I keep getting an error in Event Log Viewer that my CPU X (where X stands for the number of logical processor) has some decreased speed or throttling even though I am on the high performance plan, in Windows 7 I don't get this nonsense


8) I hate the fact that every time I open a file with some new extension, I get an annoying popup saying that I have other files that can handle this extension, annoying as heck! I know it appears once for every extension but it's way too annoying and useless


Sorry, 8.1 is not for me, I am not here to start an 8.1 vs 7 point, just stating my 2 cents worth


on the positive side, Windows 8.1 DPI scaling is night and day better than 7, if I set 125% scaling in Windows 7, things look either too big or just weird, in Windows 8.1, it feels like this is the native resolution and things look much crisper in color and edges. Wish I could have a Windows 7 with the 8 kernel (no I don't mean Classic Shell or any other start menu alternative I don't care about the start menu, I mean the quirks I mentioned above)

 

[Skaendo]

I personally would stick with 7 and wait till 10 comes out.
Learning 8.1 when 10 is going to be coming out soon seems like a waste of time & money to me.

 

[Charlie98]

I personally would stick with 7 and wait till 10 comes out.
Learning 8.1 when 10 is going to be coming out soon seems like a waste of time & money to me.

That. I put W8.1 on the backup computer upstairs and started using it with an open mind... and I still prefer W7, even with Classic Shell installed on W8.1.

W8.1 seems like a faster OS... it sure starts quickly and seems to navigate a little faster (and this is even with a 2-core Pentium vs my i5 with W7.)

W7 is going to be around a while (2020, I think...) so I wouldn't worry about support for it.

 

[escrow4]

MS doesn't care about 7 anymore. In Jaunary 2015 its extended support only. If you want DX 11.2 and 12 and onwards you want 8.1 and 10. Plus 7 is old and tired compared to 8.1 on the same hardware, nevermind 10.

 

[Xellos2099]

Well, the only reason i am deabting is i have window 8 key and the rumor say window 8 user got free upgrade to window 10.. w/e that mean

 

[Skaendo]

No such thing as free. The rumor was Win 9 upgrade would be free to Win 8 users but that never materialized.

 

[TheRyuu]

I would just install 8.1 (in your case 8 with an upgrade to 8.1, the 8.1 installer doesn't work with a Windows 8 key AFAIK). I really don't see a reason not too if you already have the key.

It's going to be faster and more secure the latter of which alone is enough to justify using it.

Now for some comments:

1) My internet connection became much slower (not downloading files, that was fine, it was browsing and webpage loading with the exact same browser / extensions / setup)

That's kind of weird because Windows 8/8.1 should actually use better defaults than 7 for TCP connections (CTCP, etc).

3) Every single performance benchmark I ran, Windows 7 scores higher, 3DMark, AS SSD, CrystalDiskMark, Passmark, which is very weird since 8.1 is supposed to have better support for newer hardware, but it's not

Are you measuring vanilla installs (w/updates) against each other? Windows 8.1 should be faster for a number of reasons. I'm not so concerned with the SSD/HDD benchmarks though, you're unlikely to be able to tell the difference in real world usage.

4) The OS itself, after booted, Windows 7 is much snappier

I disagree.

5) Hate the fact that half the settings I want are in the Control Panel and the other half is in Metro PC Settings

How many times do you have to go into the Metro PC settings though? I think I've been there once after I installed 8.1 and haven't touched it since. Sure everybody's needs are different but what's in there that needs to be changed on a daily basis to annoy you?

6) Not much control over WLAN/LAN network profiles as there is in Windows 7, in Windows 7, you can define every aspect of settings for Public/Private Networks, in Windows 8.1 they are sort of combined with no segregation of the settings. Example, I want to have 56 bit encryption for file sharing for home networks, but 128bit for public networks, in Windows 8.1, it only allows you to choose one setting for both and not separately

So just use 128bit for everything, I really don't see how that matters. I seriously doubt using 128bit encryption (for which you likely have hardware AES extensions for) is going to be a bottleneck. I'd also look to set PFS if available as well.

7) In 8.1, I keep getting an error in Event Log Viewer that my CPU X (where X stands for the number of logical processor) has some decreased speed or throttling even though I am on the high performance plan, in Windows 7 I don't get this nonsense

Although (sort of) unrelated to your point I don't see any reason to NOT be using the balanced profile.

8) I hate the fact that every time I open a file with some new extension, I get an annoying popup saying that I have other files that can handle this extension, annoying as heck! I know it appears once for every extension but it's way too annoying and useless

Once again it seems like something which happens once in a blue moon really annoys you for no apparent reason.

I'm curious if any of these issues you sited are caused by overzealous tinkering/tweaking/configuration and/or bloatware. The most legitimate issue you cite is probably the driver being reinstalled every reboot. I don't really see the others being real concerns from my experience with a pretty vanilla 8.1 install.

 

[Skaendo]

If you already have a 8 key, go ahead and install it. I believe that once you do and you see how it is and see commonplace hardware fails with Win8 you'll revert back to 7. IMO.

 

[TheRyuu]

If you already have a 8 key, go ahead and install it. I believe that once you do and you see how it is and see commonplace hardware fails with Win8 you'll revert back to 7. IMO.

ftfy

If it works on 7 chances are it will work fine on 8. There's also the chance it works better thanks to newer drivers that ship with the newer operating system.

 

[Skaendo]

f it works on 7 chances are it will work fine on 8.

Negative. Had multiple issues on multiple laptops with Win8/8.1.
2 cases:
HP DV7 had fan issues and HP support told me directly that they in no way supported 8/8.1 (about a year ago now).
*Maybe longer. Could be a year and a half.
Dell Inspiron 1520 had fan issues with fully updated 8.1. Fan would run at near 100%, then not at all. Almost fried laptop.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

I would just install 8.1 (in your case 8 with an upgrade to 8.1, the 8.1 installer doesn't work with a Windows 8 key AFAIK). I really don't see a reason not too if you already have the key.

Just install 8.1 directly with a generic key. Then activate with the 8 key. Works fine. You just have to be 100% sure which version of 8 the key is for.

 

[bbhaag]

Well, the only reason i am deabting is i have window 8 key and the rumor say window 8 user got free upgrade to window 10.. w/e that mean

Do you have a Win7 key too or were you just planning on cloning your current drive, re-aligning the partition, and then move it over to your new SSD? I wouldn't count on a free upgrade to 10 either. It's just rumor at this point.
I could see MS giving early Win10 adopters a discount though like did with Win8 but I don't really have any proof to back that up though.

If you already have a Win8 key you might as well go ahead and move to it. If you don't care for the new layout of Win8 there are several programs that can make it look like Win7. I think Classic Shell is one that members here like to use but there are many to choose from.

 

[ArisVer]

Since you already have a Win8 key why do you even ask? Install it, try it for a while, and if you don't like it go for the 7. I recommend ClassicShell if you prefer the desktop.

 

[Mem]

No brainer 8.1 for sure,improved security,more features, longer life span,even Win7 mainstream support ends Jan 2015 and EOL 2020.


Win8.1 is faster in general in my experience then Win7 and also had no issues in gaming,I say this as an ex-Win7 user going to Win8/8.1.
Btw for the most part you can get Win8.1 to look and behave like Win7 with Classic Shell or Start8 so UI is not really an issue.


I've been quite impressed with 8.1 and even Win10 Preview which follows with improvements over Win7/8.1,you always get some people holding on to the past and trying to justify a dying OS,Win7 is on its way out so get over it,just like XP and also Win8.1 at some point down the road,move forward and don't look back.

 

[Mem]

Well, the only reason i am deabting is i have window 8 key and the rumor say window 8 user got free upgrade to window 10.. w/e that mean

There are rumours and strong indications that you may get Win10 for free but we have yet to have this officially confirmed,regardless you have a Win8 key so I would grab a Win8.1 ISO or one with Win8.1 ISO with Update 1,then grab a placebo 8.1 install key which allows you to install Win8.1 but not activate it(easy to find on the net via google) after install just activate 8.1 with your Win8 key.


I've actually have done this with a Win8.1 with Update 1 ISO awhile back with my legit Win8 key when my HD died,beats doing it the long way and clean install as well.

 

[ArisVer]

Follow this link to create an installation media for Windows 8.1 if you don't have any.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2407656

 

[Ketchup]

For me it would come down to money. As you can do from the debate, one is not unquestionably better than the other. BUT, since you already have 8, stick with it. If you want much of the functionality of 7 back, you can do so for free.

Berryracer's issues are very specific to his computer, and nothing that should make you feel leery of going to 8.

I still like 7, but if I had 8 and would have to buy 7, I would install 8 and make it look the way I want.

The good news is that Microsoft is going the right direction with 10, and I think it will be a fine OS, especially if they are still thinking about making it a free upgrade. I am posting from the preview on a VM right now, and it is going quite well.

 

[Chiefcrowe]

I'd go with 8.1 as well. Longer support, better security being key issues for me.
I agree that Berryracer's issues seem to do with his machine/setup.

For me 8.1 is much faster, esp. after setting it up on UEFI boot w/ SSD. Now it takes less than 10s to get to the desktop and start programs after pushing the power button, and resuming from sleep also seems faster. The internet connection speed is fine, and same as before; I've run the speed test many times during various times of the day.

 

[RampantAndroid]

No such thing as free. The rumor was Win 9 upgrade would be free to Win 8 users but that never materialized.

It never materialized because Windows 10 hasn't released yet...look, it's a rumor. It hasn't been dis-proven, and arguing the cost of Windows is a silly point given you have no solid ground to stand on.

 

[OlyAR15]

I also recommend 8.1 with a 3rd party start menu. Also look at ModernMix to allow using ModernUI programs in a window.

So far I've found 8.1 to be just as good, if not a bit better in some areas, as 7. At this point there really is no good reason to downgrade.

 

[Mem]

It never materialized because Windows 10 hasn't released yet...look, it's a rumor. It hasn't been dis-proven, and arguing the cost of Windows is a silly point given you have no solid ground to stand on.

Only info I could find was this I posted earlier,

While Microsoft hasn’t officially announced any details about the pricing or whether it will be available for free, there has been buzz about the OS coming as a free upgrade to Windows 8 users. Unlike other OSes, Microsoft’s OS has always come with a price tag. However, looks like the company is ready for change. It did set a precedent by offering the Windows 8.1 upgrade for free, something it has never done before.
According to the Indonesian news site Detik.co, Andreas Diantoro, the president of Microsoft Indonesia had ‘confirmed’ that ‘Windows 9′ (now named Windows 10) will be a free upgrade for all Windows 8 users. So we know that Microsoft has at least considered that as an option.

http://tech.firstpost.com/news-anal...-10-as-a-free-update-to-windows-8-236371.html

 

[Xellos2099]

I have both window 7 and win 8 key available to me.

 

[RampantAndroid]

I have both window 7 and win 8 key available to me.

In my experience, I find 8.1 (which is free if you have 8) very usable...and frankly, faster. But there's a lot of preference and possibly getting used to the new start menu involved.

 

[SPBHM]

if you are going to upgrade to 10 when it's available go with your favorite, if you plan on keeping the same install for a while go with 8.1, I think things like DX12 will be supported by 8.1 but not 7.