Simple Question: Windows 7 Pro or Windows 8.1?

Comments

S35 wrote on 2/19/2014, 6:40 PM
Yes, thanks for the link!
Chienworks wrote on 2/19/2014, 9:11 PM
Still don't really buy it. True, i don't have Win8, but assuming i had followed the trend and upgraded, why should i, an advanced power user, have to be bothered with the casual interface every single time i start up every one of my computers? Sure, i can agree with having it appear the first time. After that, power users should have been able to change to the regular desktop permanently from launch day. The effort involved on Microsoft's part would have been infinitesimal. The gain in productivity and goodwill from the user base would have been enormous.

Some of the articles i read indicated that Microsoft was intending to not include the preference in version 8.1 either, but was railroaded into it by all the negative feedback and caved. Yeah, there is something to be said for "seeing the light of the future" and pushing it on your users unwanted when you know it's in their best interests. On the other hand, when the change is so drastic and a lot of the world not only shows you they hate it, but it's of no benefit to them nor ever will be, you ought to listen to that too.
xberk wrote on 2/19/2014, 9:39 PM
>>power users should have been able to change to the regular desktop permanently from launch day.

I believe you can with Windows 8.1

Configuring Windows 8.1 to boot to the desktop should take less than a minute.

Paul B .. PCI Express Video Card: EVGA VCX 10G-P5-3885-KL GeForce RTX 3080 XC3 ULTRA ,,  Intel Core i9-11900K Desktop Processor ,,  MSI Z590-A PRO Desktop Motherboard LGA-1200 ,, 64GB (2X32GB) XPG GAMMIX D45 DDR4 3200MHz 288-Pin SDRAM PC4-25600 Memory .. Seasonic Power Supply SSR-1000FX Focus Plus 1000W ,, Arctic Liquid Freezer II – 360MM .. Fractal Design case ,, Samsung Solid State Drive MZ-V8P1T0B/AM 980 PRO 1TB PCI Express 4 NVMe M.2 ,, Wundiws 10 .. Vegas Pro 19 Edit

wwjd wrote on 2/19/2014, 9:43 PM
just use iobit.com's start menu on 8 and everything is NORMAL again.
JohnW1234 wrote on 2/19/2014, 9:44 PM
Actually I use Classic Shell and this provided in Windows 8 the ability to go directly to the desktop. With Windows 8.1 MS allowed us to do this. I still use Classic Shell because I like the menu system is also offers. Its free and a brilliant solution. Consequently I never see the MI unless I want to. This also offers the power user a lot of options. None of which are available to Windows 7 user. What I mean by this is they can't run apps where a Windows 8 user can.

Oh, and if you think it adds CPU overhead or slows down the system it doesn't because it is well written.

Power users have traditionally added utility programs to their Windows installation and this is one of the very best.
Chienworks wrote on 2/19/2014, 10:00 PM
"Configuring Windows 8.1 to boot to the desktop should take less than a minute."

My point was that this should have been possible in the original Win8 from the day it was available for download.
John_Cline wrote on 2/19/2014, 10:14 PM
First of all, in the original release of Windows 8, you could get to the desktop with ONE mouse click, is that REALLY so difficult?

Secondly, in Windows 8.1, you could easily set it up to go straight to the desktop.

Lastly, in an update scheduled to be released as early as next month, the desktop mode will automatically be the default for those on non-touch devices.
wwjd wrote on 2/19/2014, 11:25 PM
yes. their new idea of the desktop was way less useful than the older start menu. I understand people that can use metro would not need the tools we need to fly around windows (like Classic Shell or Iobit) but for us, it opens up way more stuff faster than metro or the Metro's "Desktop" that is only a click away.
Jedman wrote on 2/20/2014, 1:52 AM
wow. Much debate.
On my editing box I run 3 system drives-
Win 7 64
Win 8.1 64
and OS X Mountain Lion.
They all have their strengths.... and a few weaknesses.
Bottom line though, is that they are all very nice to use.
If you put in some time to learn the keyboard shortcuts, add some custom context menus, and however else you want to customise the GUI, you can edit and work very well on any of them.
Side note- Preview performance in Vegas is still faster in Win 7 than Win 8 with same hardware.
OldSmoke wrote on 2/20/2014, 7:36 AM
Jedman

Have a look a this thread as It may help you with your Win8 preview performance. http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?MessageID=885247&Replies=27

Proud owner of Sony Vegas Pro 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 & 13 and now Magix VP15&16.

System Spec.:
Motherboard: ASUS X299 Prime-A

Ram: G.Skill 4x8GB DDR4 2666 XMP

CPU: i7-9800x @ 4.6GHz (custom water cooling system)
GPU: 1x AMD Vega Pro Frontier Edition (water cooled)
Hard drives: System Samsung 970Pro NVME, AV-Projects 1TB (4x Intel P7600 512GB VROC), 4x 2.5" Hotswap bays, 1x 3.5" Hotswap Bay, 1x LG BluRay Burner

PSU: Corsair 1200W
Monitor: 2x Dell Ultrasharp U2713HM (2560x1440)

Jedman wrote on 2/21/2014, 5:03 AM
Thanks. Will try it out.
Cheers
Terje wrote on 2/21/2014, 4:17 PM
>> I can find absolutely nothing whatsoever -- nothing -- that I like better
>> about Windows 7 compared to XP

I have 8G of memory, I have 4G of reasons to prefer Win7/8/8.1 over XP. XP is like DOS. Dead.
Terje wrote on 2/21/2014, 4:21 PM
>> If you do switch it off it doesn't load any quicker

This is not in accordance with reality.
Terje wrote on 2/21/2014, 4:22 PM
>> has a negative impact on productivity (at least it does on mine).

Install Start8 or one of the other alternatives. There is no UI difference between Windows8 in desktop mode and Windows 7, but Win8 is somewhat more performant.
OldSmoke wrote on 2/21/2014, 4:36 PM
The Desktop UI inWin8 is actually what you get when you switch Aero Off in Windows 7 and set it for Performance; that will give you the some performance in Win7 as Win8 and the same "flat" Win2k look.
So again.. we are buying a new OS and tweak it to make it look like the old one? I hate the Metro Apps, the only operate in full screen, what nonsense is that. So why would I change? From XP to Win7 that is a leap forward but 7 to 8 is almost going backwards.

Proud owner of Sony Vegas Pro 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 & 13 and now Magix VP15&16.

System Spec.:
Motherboard: ASUS X299 Prime-A

Ram: G.Skill 4x8GB DDR4 2666 XMP

CPU: i7-9800x @ 4.6GHz (custom water cooling system)
GPU: 1x AMD Vega Pro Frontier Edition (water cooled)
Hard drives: System Samsung 970Pro NVME, AV-Projects 1TB (4x Intel P7600 512GB VROC), 4x 2.5" Hotswap bays, 1x 3.5" Hotswap Bay, 1x LG BluRay Burner

PSU: Corsair 1200W
Monitor: 2x Dell Ultrasharp U2713HM (2560x1440)

Chienworks wrote on 2/21/2014, 5:00 PM
Well now, there's an interesting thought! Microsoft should examine the Linux model, where the OS and the GUI/shell are separate entities, and can be mixed and matched at will. Might be nice to have the Win8 OS, with the XP or 7 GUI natively running on top of it. This would also let people launch alternative GUIs or even have them running in different screens at the same time.

Have to agree with OldSmoke about Aero. It was an ugly waste of time and resources.
mdindestin wrote on 2/22/2014, 9:55 AM
Went from 7 to 8 and then 8.1 and hated it. Despite MS's app that stated everything was compatible with my system, it was not. For instance, here's how I was burned. My chipset drivers were OK with 8, but not compatible when I upgraded to 8.1 and the system eventually crashed. Also, Cineform would not work correctly with Canon MOV files with no fix to be created.

It's taking me for what seems like forever to reformat the hard drive and return to 7.

I'll never go back to 8.X on this system.
JohnW1234 wrote on 2/22/2014, 9:57 AM
Windows 8 has desktop graphics acceleration. http://www.extremetech.com/computing/133318-windows-8-graphics-microsoft-has-hardware-accelerated-all-the-things

The link above will set the record straight Aero was meant to take the redrawing of the desktop off the CPU and have the GPU handle it directly.
Chienworks wrote on 2/22/2014, 10:30 AM
AH-ha! That could 'splain it. I'm not sure i've ever had a video card with a GPU in any of my desktops. The transparency effects always slow everything to a crawl, in addition to being ugly and distracting.
JohnW1234 wrote on 2/22/2014, 11:36 AM
Thats interesting. If you have a graphic card you have a GPU. Even if you have built in graphics you still have a GPU. It is the way most computers work.
Chienworks wrote on 2/22/2014, 12:50 PM
Well, ok, true, every singe graphics card ever produced has a GPU, of some primitive sort, that handles internal computations necessary to drive the display.

What i don't have is video cards with an externally accessible general purpose GPU that can be used by software running on the computer. Never saw the need for one. Keep in mind that i tend to pay $15 or less for my video cards.
JetS165101 wrote on 2/25/2014, 10:54 AM
I bought a new Vaio E Series laptop with Win 8 installed last April. I upgraded to 8.1 in November. Since then I've had repeated stability problems. (Had one right out of the box with 8.0, but no repeated instances. Contracted ransom virus while current Norton was in place, but reinstalled without incident.) Seems to be a memory thing. Maybe RAM/cram. I'm not running any exotic software. I don't use the Creative series much. External monitor, mouse, & keyboard sometimes. But the crashes happen whether ext. peripherals are connected or not. I just need to have a # of windows open and apps, again, nothing exotic, Word, Excel, browser (thought it might be IE, but it happens with FFox & Chrome also), and freeze, then crash. Had to reload OS twice, though more often I just have to do a master reset and start everything back up. Seems I can count on this at least every couple of weeks, or so.
frederick-wise wrote on 2/25/2014, 11:58 AM
WIndows 8.1 has been solid for me with Vegas 11. Built a new computer last summer and finally decided to get modern with 8 (now 8.1). Boots very fast with an SSD HD and runs very smooth and fast. I also use the Classic Shell which makes it look just like 7. Don't be afraid and get stuck with a semi-obsolete operating system. 8.1 is already gettin old....FYI I use mostly Canon .mov files with no problems.
Kit wrote on 2/25/2014, 6:02 PM
Our solo Windows 8 machine is staying that way - no plans to go to 8.1. I don't like the further integration with Microsoft and their cloud, Having to change settings to stop Microsoft sucking up information on the hard drive etc.

I think Windows 7 64 bit will run for a while, I wouldn't call it semi-obsolete yet - that title goes to XP. There really isn't anything on Windows 8 that I've found to compel me to upgrade my main machine even though we have a couple of Windows 8 licences.