windows 7 vs 8.1 for gaming

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Cathal14

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Oct 7, 2013
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Hi everyone i currently have windows 7 ultimate and was on to microsoft and since i only bought it 2 months ago and they saod they'll give me free upgrade
Firstly which is better for gaming not just new ones like skyrim and all if anyone knows thanks in advance
 
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WoodenSaucer

Exactly. I would suggest anyone go with Win8.1 for Direct X 11.2 support, and install Classic Shell for the familiar Desktop and Start Menu. When you install Classic Shell, you get the best of both worlds. You get the nice UI of Win7, plus the better stability, smoother operation, and added desktop features of Win8.1. In my opinion, there's no question. That's the way to go.

I don't think it's worth it to pay the money to upgrade from Win7 to Win8.1. But if you're starting from scratch or can get a...
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mauller07

mauller07

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Mar 28, 2010
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no major difference but the odd small thing favouring windows 8.1, i would get 8.1 home x64 if your not bothered about metro as it can use more ram than windows 7 home premium x64 without needing the pro version so ends up being cheaper.
 
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chrisso

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Nov 17, 2013
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Desktop gaming development is now practically stalled, with consoles pegged at 2/3rds the power of a games rig, and desktop sales in decline in favour of tablets, etc. I would go with whatever windows you prefer, but bear in mind you can only transfer retail 7 to next pc.
 
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davemaster84

davemaster84

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Jun 15, 2011
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Well in my experience some games do take advantage of win 8.1 , one good example is Bf4, the difference is around 20% compared to windows 7, also win 8.1 feels way more up to date nad it's more customizable, the only flaws I could think about is compatibility and stability, I get more event errors from win 8.1
 
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Guy Parris

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Mar 27, 2013
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windows 8.1 sucks I just went back to windows 7. The windows 8.1 apps maked my gpu run at 45c when there open! I uninstalled most of them and when you open them up you have to close them through the task manager as well. Games feels stuttery, the mouse felt choppy in games, got fps spikes. The only thing I can say is good about windows 8.1 is that my cpu temps dropped by about 3c and it feels snappier than windows 7. It's not worth the upgrade, windows 7 for me runs better in games it feels smoother and all this bf4 being better in win 8 is bullocks it really is!. The gpu runs better in windows 7. I feel windows 7 is just more optimized than windows 8.1, windows 8.1 is still pretty much in a beta stage. Before anyone even mentions that I should get a better pc for windows 8.1 I have a 4670k, 4gb 770, 8gb ram, ssd and hdd so it's nothing to do with my system it's the shitty os! windows 9 better be good!
 
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Beefgamerm

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Mar 4, 2014
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Windows 8.1 sucks i know, bf4 and games dosent run well on that shitty os. but windows 8 is actually awesome i just hoped they could remove the stupid metro start menu. I RECOMMEND WINDOWS 7!
 
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Guy Parris

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Mar 27, 2013
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Gaming just didn't feel as smooth in windows 8 do you agree? I like how everything is just there and you can choose what you want in your start menu so your just one click away. It does feel more snappy and has better cpu temps but if your gaming it's a big no no. There was a forum on windows 8 vs windows 7 and the frame pacing between them and windows 7 came out on top, windows 8 has worse spikes.
 
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Liquid Wolf

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Mar 4, 2014
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My system has been more stable and run games much better after moving to Windows 8.1 from Windows 7.

My machine really only needs to get rebooted once a month for updates, and whenever any game or hardware does actually crash, the system recovers and carries on like nothing ever happened.

The only bad thing about Windows 8.1 appears to be the interface, but if you are used to using the keyboard to access programs then nothing has really changed from windows 7. Windows Key -> type name of application.

The back end of Windows 8.1 is fantastic... runs really well.

The front-end... not so enjoyable. But easy to ignore and work around.
 
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l337n00bh4x0r

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Feb 5, 2014
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I moved to Windows 8 / upgraded it to 8.1 to learn it, as I need to support it. I'd say it took me about a week to really nail everything down in it, but it seriously isn't bad. I now like it, alot, and all my games run fine or better than they did before. The ONLY reason to NOT go to windows 8 IMO is if you're not tech-savvy enough to learn a few (simple) OS shortcuts. There's no reason to use Apps at all, you can have it boot straight to your desktop, and the settings menus take about 15 minutes to learn. Windows 8.1 is a great improvement, and I was shocked at how easy it was to learn. I feel like there a lot of babies online who hate it for no good reason. If I can teach a 70 year old to get around in it, you can figure it out. :)
 
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Ligas

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Apr 28, 2014
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Well.. it dos'nt "remove the stupid metro start menu", but its quite close though... try install Classic Shell . Now you have your old menu back AND still the metro menu... but you have to press a "short cut" to go to metro...
 
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darkcoder

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Jan 15, 2010
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In terms of performance there is not much difference. Windows 8.1 is supposed to be lighter in resources, but some benchmarks shows it slower than Windows 7 in 3D games.

But the real problem for gamers is how Win 8+ manages those unsigned beta drivers that are released very commonly by AMD and Nvidia that provides features or fixes sometimes 2 month in advance of those drivers becoming WHQL verified.

The short example:
Win Vista/7 -> Click on the botton that said that you're sure to install a non certified driver, and that's it.
Win 8/8.1 -> A Pain in the a$$ process described here: http://revryl.com/2013/08/06/install-unsigned-drivers/
 
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BuzzKenway

BuzzKenway

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Apr 16, 2013
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to be real .
Window 7 : If you just love normal desktop and no fancy stuff go with it
Window 8.1 : Its faster for me , looks cool and fluid , good for multi-window . cool apps , fancy ,Fast boot

Window 8 is bad

If you want ,go with window 8.1

I am totally happy with it . No difference for gaming far me .
Window 8.1 good !

Window 8.1 is same window 7 just some fancy stuff
 
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Presanth Michael

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May 23, 2014
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Something must be wrong with your rig. I've just installed windows 8.1 and I find the performance to be about the same as windows 7. Btw I run on an Intel i5 2400 and an ATI HD 7870 with 8gb ram.
 
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WoodenSaucer

WoodenSaucer

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Apr 2, 2014
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Exactly. I would suggest anyone go with Win8.1 for Direct X 11.2 support, and install Classic Shell for the familiar Desktop and Start Menu. When you install Classic Shell, you get the best of both worlds. You get the nice UI of Win7, plus the better stability, smoother operation, and added desktop features of Win8.1. In my opinion, there's no question. That's the way to go.

I don't think it's worth it to pay the money to upgrade from Win7 to Win8.1. But if you're starting from scratch or can get a free upgrade, anyone should definitely go with Win8.1.
 
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yomi86

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Jun 9, 2014
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I have win8 for a year n half now n never had problems with it... i7, 32gb ram, gt670.... win8 is in average 15-25% better in every segments... so, u really n firstly need to learn how to use windows before dude... never had lags, slowdowns of any kind... or u just need a better pc :D



 
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ern88

ern88

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Jun 8, 2009
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Well, I was one of those "Windows 8 sucks blah, blah, blah" But when you sit down and give it a chance. It isn't that bad at all. It starts quick. It is stable. I truely like it. Well, 8.1. not 8!!!!
 
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A4R0N123

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Jun 15, 2013
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When I had windows 8 on my laptop it was working fine, I preferred Windows 7 but that had more to do with the interfaces etc. But after about three months it crashed and it crashed badly, corrupting my hard drive etc. I ended up getting Windows 7 installed on it. Games wise I seen very little difference in performance but then again I didn't really get a chance to really thoroughly test it out.
 
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