Should I bother upgrading from Windows 7?

[shirokado]

I have Windows 7 Professional, should i bother upgrading? I have a 512GB Samsung 840 PRO SSD so i don't think speed is much a problem. But is there really any benefits? Or should I wait until Blue or some other version comes out.

[YoYo155]

I personally wouldn't for the main reasons that it has a bunch of issues with runing certain programs and it's really optimized for a touch display.

[MG2R]

I'm running 8 and I'm happy with it... Other than fraps, I haven't come across a program I can't run. I wouldn't upgrade at today's price, though. I upgraded when it was $30, which I think is a nice price.

[Blade of Grass]

I'm personally not going to be upgrading to Winodws 8, I'll probably wait till Microsoft releases Windows Blue or whatever, and even then I may not upgrade.

[RhinoMcD]

I wouldn't. I personally don't plan on it either. Unless you have specific need for it, I wouldn't do it.

[xaeleep]

Well, besides from the minor performance boost, I haven't really heard of any benefits worth mentioning. If I were you, I'd wait until I bought a new computer and then, depending on if you build it or buy it assembled, buy the OEM version for a lower price. Since if you already have an OEM version of W7, which I'd assume most people here have, and therefore including you, can't be 'upgraded', right?

[That Norwegian Guy]

As someone who did, my advice is don't. I like the performance and layout of Win 8 and probably will use it for my home server, but it's really broken in terms of drivers. Unsigned drivers won't run, just flat out won't run. You have to enable developer test mode and sign it yourself and all kinds of bullshit, and a number of my USB based peripherals that I rely on are unsigned. A dealbreaker for me.

[m0n5t3r]

From experience, I would say yes! Hands down.

Windows 8 is basically Windows 7 with a different interface.

Windows 8 Advantages

- It's fast!

- Uses less RAM

- Generally faster at opening programs, Windows start ups and shutdowns (Requires a UEFI motherboard)

- It can be customised to your liking.

Windows 8 Disadvantages

- Different layout and learning curve

- Out dated hardware might not be compatible out of the box - Might need to manually install drivers.

Windows 8 still works perfectly fine with a Keyboard and Mouse.

To be honest. I think it's the best OS since Windows XP.

Yeah Windows 7 was great and all, but the look reminded me too much of Windows Vista which to put it bluntly was a HUGE pile of dog ***t

[shirokado]

well i don't really mind the missing start button but i guess for now i will wait until Windows Blue is released.

[GoodBytes]

Windows 8 is awesome!

Some cool features that no one talks about:

-> Windows 8 (once enabled) can do hourly, (or how much time you want) backup of your stuff. In my case I have my SSD, and all my personal files are backup hourly on my 1TB HDD. This allows me to go back in time of a file or folder, or if my SSD fails, let's say, I have a backup on my HDD. You might wonder how come it doesn't fill my HDD at 100% in mather of a day... I have no idea, it's some crazy voodo magic. I beleive it only saved the modifed bits, as well as the last version of the file, as a physical copy in the case you need to record it from another computer or something.

-> Make an image of your system, and re-install Windows back to it without the disk: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/matt-harrington/archive/2012/04/01/create-a-windows-8-refresh-image-with-recimg-exe.aspx

-> Start Screen is powerful. You can pin any folder you want, and auto-exclude the crap that programs dumps on the classic Start Menu: Readme, Uninstall, visit webpage, Help, etc. You can place your stuff in groups and how you want. Here is mine (old picture): http://www.helpweaver.com/dss.png

-> Super fast disk error check.

-> Fast boot (can boot from you pressing the power button to the desktop fully loaded in 6sec (fast SSD, FULL UEFI supported BIOS, and GOP ready graphic card required)

-> New Task Manager, where it is more informative, and information is more neatly presented.

-> This one for laptops and tablets: Auto-switch from 3G/4G to wireless, and wireless to Ethernet. Basically, it picks the best and free connection, and the switch is done for you, automatically

-> Pause and Cancel and Merge transfers/copy/duplicate/etc. transfers, and more information is given

-> Greatly improved file collisions (when it asks you if you want to override or skip a file). It waits until the end, or if's a small transfer at the begging, and compares all files in one shot in 1 dialog box, where you can see the file info and compare the files.

-> Unlimited music streaming Free! Just start the Music app, and login to a Microsoft account (live, outlook, hotmail, wtv). And you

are done. Enjoy free over 30 million songs (largest music library beside iTunes).

-> Improved Multimonitor support with task bar on both screen and options on how you want things to act on it. (http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/05/21/enhancing-windows-8-for-multiple-monitors.aspx)

-> Each account can have it's own system language. Yes the entire Windows interface and everything, you can have it a different language per account.

and more!

It's incredible how people bash this fine OS, just because they can't pass that the Start Menu is now full screen. ignoring all it's advantages.

[ClutchHunter]

Regarding the backup thing, do you or anyone else know of any good software that does that on Windows 7? I'd prefer something free but if there's a really good program that's paid I'll give it a try.

[Lyons]

I personally wouldn't for the main reasons that it has a bunch of issues with runing certain programs and it's really optimized for a touch display.

How? You operate it almost entirely in the the desktop environment, plus the new start menu is functionally better. Have any of you windows 7 apologists even used windows 8? What programs don't run? Windows 8 is objectively better in every conceivable way.

[Whiskers]

It depends on what computer you have and how willing you are to adapt to the new interface. The new UI is overall faster, but not superior - it's different. Better in some ways, worse in others. It also isn't always the most intuitive with a mouse and keyboard, and there are lots of inconsistencies in how the UI functions between different programs. For example, on the start menu you can scroll by moving your mouse to the side, yet in other programs where it would be useful (such as news, application store, gallery etc) it doesn't do the same thing.

I have Windows 8 on this laptop I'm using just now, and it is... different. The previous OS I had on it was Vista, which ran like a 90-year old suffering from dementia. It crashed at least once every few days, too. (It actually gave us a BSOD more than 15 times on the first day of trying to set it up. Utterly ridiculous!) Windows 8 in comparison is significantly faster, and I've yet to encounter it crash or even freeze on me, which is pretty amazing when you consider this laptop only has a 1.86GHz single-core Intel Celeron CPU and 1GB of DDR2 RAM.

Anyway, it's not all perfect. I cannot get my drivers working properly - for example, the ATI Catalyst Control Center for my laptop's GPU simply doesn't run after installation. I also cannot get StarCraft or Theme Hospital to run properly, though in fairness I'm not sure if that's a result of the OS or the drivers I have.

I'd say if you can get adequate driver support for your hardware, absolutely go for it. :) Windows 8 is faster, cleaner and basically better in every way. But again, for me personally older games like StarCraft and Theme Hospital don't function properly so that could be an issue if it isn't just my hardware or drivers causing the issue.

[MTROB]

It depends on what computer you have and how willing you are to adapt to the new interface. The new UI is overall faster, but not superior - it's different. Better in some ways, worse in others. It also isn't always the most intuitive with a mouse and keyboard, and there are lots of inconsistencies in how the UI functions between different programs. For example, on the start menu you can scroll by moving your mouse to the side, yet in other programs where it would be useful (such as news, application store, gallery etc) it doesn't do the same thing.

I have Windows 8 on this laptop I'm using just now, and it is... different. The previous OS I had on it was Vista, which ran like a 90-year old suffering from dementia. It crashed at least once every few days, too. (It actually gave us a BSOD more than 15 times on the first day of trying to set it up. Utterly ridiculous!) Windows 8 in comparison is significantly faster, and I've yet to encounter it crash or even freeze on me, which is pretty amazing when you consider this laptop only has a 1.86GHz single-core Intel Celeron CPU and 1GB of DDR2 RAM.

Anyway, it's not all perfect. I cannot get my drivers working properly - for example, the ATI Catalyst Control Center for my laptop's GPU simply doesn't run after installation. I also cannot get StarCraft or Theme Hospital to run properly, though in fairness I'm not sure if that's a result of the OS or the drivers I have.

I'd say if you can get adequate driver support for your hardware, absolutely go for it. :) Windows 8 is faster, cleaner and basically better in every way. But again, for me personally older games like StarCraft and Theme Hospital don't function properly so that could be an issue if it isn't just my hardware or drivers causing the issue.

One of the best descriptions I have read of Windows 8.

[GoodBytes]

Your laptop is REALLY not Vista ready.

Vista requires:

-> 2GB of RAM for 32-bit, or 3GB or more for 64-bit

-> Dual Core CPU at 2.0GHz or more

As for drivers... well your computer is not even Vista ready. Win7 and 8 are both based Vista core. If your system is truelly Vista ready, then you should have at least Win7 drivers, which works under Windows 8.

[Whiskers]

Your laptop is REALLY not Vista ready.

Vista requires:

-> 2GB of RAM for 32-bit, or 3GB or more for 64-bit

-> Dual Core CPU at 2.0GHz or more

As for drivers... well your computer is not even Vista ready. Win7 and 8 are both based Vista core. If your system is truelly Vista ready, then you should have at least Win7 drivers, which works under Windows 8.

Oh, I agree. :) This laptop is ridiculous. I've despised it from the beginning for being overpriced, underpowered, underequipped, unreliable, badly designed and badly built. It's one of the worst laptops I've had the displeasure of encountering, let alone owning. (I didn't buy it, but its previous owner found that under Vista it was becoming unusable for even the simplest of tasks. So they gave it to me.) But it was advertised and sold as being 'Vista Ready', having a version of the OS preinstalled and brandishing a 'Vista Ready' badge on it. The lack of driver support isn't the fault of Windows 8, it's the fault of the hardware manufacturers for dropping support after Vista.

But the point is, it works with Windows 8. I am browsing this site without any lag, and can type as fast as I desire without the laptop struggling to keep up. I can do basic multitasking and the entirety of the Windows 8 desktop and modern UI runs without a hint of slowdown. What better testament is there to the improvements of Windows 8 than the fact that even without adequate driver support it remains functionally superior to Vista with proper driver support?

I'm not condemning the OS. Just sharing my experience. :)

[Whiskers]

One of the best descriptions I have read of Windows 8.

Thanks, MTROB. :)

[That Norwegian Guy]

Windows 8 is awesome! Some cool features that no one talks about: -> Windows 8 (once enabled) can do hourly' date=' (or how much time you want) backup of your stuff. In my case I have my SSD, and all my personal files are backup hourly on my 1TB HDD. This allows me to go back in time of a file or folder, or if my SSD fails, let's say, I have a backup on my HDD. You might wonder how come it doesn't fill my HDD at 100% in mather of a day... I have no idea, it's some crazy voodo magic[/quote']

It's funny how one of the features you highlight about Windows 8 was a functionality that existed in Mac OS since 6 years ago :P

[snes]

Rumor has it that they will bring back the start button with Windows 8.1 and it looks as if it will also let you boot right into the classic desktop. I think i could live with that.

Source:

www.engadget.com/2013/04/16/microsoft-may-bring-back-start-button-and-desktop

I could get Windows 8 for free through MSDN AA, but I too am not sure wherther or not i should upgrade, right now.

[tacticalpanic]

no , upgrading from windows 7 to windows 8 isint worth it at full price , i only bought windows 8 because I build a new computer around the time it came out. Windows 7 is a robust stable platform that has more driver and software support than windows 8 does currently.

alot of companys have moved to windows 7 so it will be heavly supported for years to come i wouldn't worry about it unless there was a feature you required.

[GoodBytes]

No. This is miss information!

The story started with someone that found a new API code to start Windows directly to desktop (this is probably added for Kiosk computers, where you have Windows machine where when started, starts automatically on a program). Probably Microsoft is preparing the Embedded and Point-Of-Sale version of Windows 8. And he said that probably the Start Button can come back. Since then it went like wild fire that Microsoft will add it back.

Windows 8 start button is awful. It was there during the public beta of Windows 8. But it was terrible, everyone complained. The reason for this is that it created many issues:

1- If you start a Metro app... you don't have the Start Button anymore. What do you do then? You were stuck. Sure you can say, that you can have the hot corner.. but hot corner working on some places and not on others?

2- If you put a a metro app 30% on the left and the rest desktop... getting the Start Button is not easy and fast. You have to point carefully with the mouse. So on such setup, you can't open the Start Screen fast. And if you are on a standard laptop, they have shitty touch pads, making it difficult to use the OS. If you have the the reverse, where the desktop is only 30% and the rest is a metro app, on either left or right, then the desktop doesn't show the Start Button, only opened windows/programs. So what do you do now?

3- Seeing the Start Button, you expect the Start Menu to pop-up... you saw the Start Screen instead. As we are mentally trained to see a menu and not a screen,. it makes us believe that we clicked on the wrong thing, and we have a surprise moment. The hot corner, shows you what you'll get when you bring your mouse, so you expect it.

The Start Button was highly criticized during the beta version, hence why Microsoft removed it. And since, people were happy... until it got released, and now you have the computer enthusiasts, or so as they claim, because by definition, it's someone who love technology inherently... in others words: Newer = Better = we love it, and not instrumentally (value based on what it can give us), freak out of disbelieve, without any attempt to try it, or even try to to understand. Making the average consumer, who, love technology inherently (which is not suppose to be the case, but is), but take advice from these computer enthusiasts who complain and moan all day because the background has changed.

It's like a kid that doesn't want to eat a broccoli. He never tried it, but already doesn't like it.

[GoodBytes]

Windows 8 is awesome! Some cool features that no one talks about: -> Windows 8 (once enabled) can do hourly' date=' (or how much time you want) backup of your stuff. In my case I have my SSD, and all my personal files are backup hourly on my 1TB HDD. This allows me to go back in time of a file or folder, or if my SSD fails, let's say, I have a backup on my HDD. You might wonder how come it doesn't fill my HDD at 100% in mather of a day... I have no idea, it's some crazy voodo magic[/quote'] It's funny how one of the features you highlight about Windows 8 was a functionality that existed in Mac OS since 6 years ago :P

Actually, this feature was in Vista, and was talked about since Longhorn back in 2003.

It was just not as advance as the one in Windows 8.

[hrajbharat]

A FIRM NO!!

[GoodBytes]

I just LOVE people that say no on Windows 8. Yet NEVER give any valid.. or even a reason of any kind onto why.

Yet, people that say yes, always gives a nice list of things.

I just love people that just look at screen shots, or read some idiot comment or article, and think that this is the "law", and that is how it is, unable to make their own opinion on things, and just spread the word everywhere.

The funny thing, is that this is EXACTLY the same story as with Windows 7, Vista, XP, all the way back to 95... heck even Windows 1. Because command line, non-multitasking environment was far superior it was said.

And then, when people try, and discover that they actually like after passing the learning curve, it becomes "BEST Windows EVAR!", and completely forget the fiasco, and rinse and repeat on the next version of Windows. I just love "computer enthusiasts" or as they claim to be.

[Emorphasis]

I personally will not upgrade as 8 doesnt give me anything more that i have now apart from some maybe hassle from incompatibility, some money out of my pocket and the fact i can say i have the newest operating system seems like a good idea to stay on old windows 7