I want a new OS

[jgoonatilaka]

What OS should I use for my school laptop, Its is a 8 core AMD CPU of which I do not know the model of, 6GB of RAM. I need a good OS. I have an idea of what OS I am going to go with but I wanted a outside opinion. 

[c_marriott]

What will you be using the laptop for specifically?

I'm going to start off by saying Windows 7/8 as I don't see you needing to use Linux for school

[TheKDub]

1. What OS does it have now?

2. What brand and model is the laptop?

[Arty]

Windows 10? Or linux mint.

[Lolucoca]

8 core inside a Laptop? Well... Just buy the cheapest one out of Win7, Win8 and Win8.1... you'll get Windows 10 for free on 29/06/2015

[jgoonatilaka]

8 core inside a Laptop? Well... Just buy the cheapest one out of Win7, Win8 and Win8.1... you'll get Windows 10 for free on 29/06/2015

Its got 4 cores and 4 Low power cores

[jgoonatilaka]

What will you be using the laptop for specifically?

I'm going to start off by saying Windows 7/8 as I don't see you needing to use Linux for school

School stuff, light gaming and general photo editing.

[c_marriott]

School stuff, light gaming and general photo editing.

 

Definitely Windows then, as the guy said above, get the cheapest and upgrade to windows 10 when you can

[Akolyte]

I just use Linux on my school laptop, it did come with Windows but I prefer Linux for when I don't need any Windows features or abilities.  And besides, its much more secure so when I'm on the school's wireless network its harder for me to get hacked into, and while you could argue things such as metasploit framework isn't blacklisted on Linux it can't run or even be installed remotely on my pc without me:

1. connecting to a host (already provided with the fact I'm on a network with other PCs)

2. running some application or alert as root (probably not happening)

3. turning off my firewalls (I always keep them on, on public networks)

 

While Windows isn't an insecure operating system its definitely not highly secure.  UAC can be bypassed with a powershell script, (saying that, you would need to allow scripts to even be run on power-shell before hand), Flaws in the operating system does allow for people to get passed the default security on Windows (provided you have no antivirus, and no.  Windows defender doesn't count). 

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With this in mind, it might be worth using Linux however also keep in mind compatibility and functionality as top priorities.  But remember the security risks involved when you connect your own device to a network filled with possibly risky or infected clients.