Is Windows 7 or 8 better for a high end gaming PC?

Well, I went the windows 8 route. I'm pretty sure Tom's did an article comparing windows 7 vs windows 8 for gaming, and windows 8 is slightly faster but so slight it's hardly worth talking about. Windows 8 at first had some compatibility issues with certain games and hardware (just like everyone other OS release), but it's been out long enough where everything works pretty good now.

I have played dozens of games in Windows 8, the only issue I have had is League of Legends crashes before loading screen. This usually happens after a patch. It also only seems to happen with Windows 8.1, not Windows 8. I ran it in Windows 7 compatibility mode and that seems to have fixxed my issue (for now).

My rig:
Gigabyte Z77x D3H
3570K @4.3ghz
16GB Corsair DDR 3 1600mhz
GTX 770

Games I have run without any issues :
Batman origins
Assassins creed black flag
splinter cell blacklist
Counter strike : GO
Sleeping dogs (his res package)
Battlefield 3
Titanfall
Elder scrolls online (beta only)

And there are literally at least another dozen random steam games I have played without any problems.

I went Windows 8 because I typically put new software on a new machine, not to mention I upgraded from Vista (my old build) to Win 8 Pro for only 40$.

There have been a few moments where I was annoyed with the interface and wanted to buy windows 7, but with Windows 8.1 update 1 it's a bit more desktop friendly.

Example : Windows 8 came with a skype "app" built in. If you use the "app", it would force you to stay full screen or it would shut down. I like to use skype when gaming sometimes, and obviously have to minimize it when playing a game. Pretty annoying. Work around : download "skype for desktop" for windows 8, problem solved.

Now with the return of the start button, and ability to pin usefull tools to the task bar, Windows 8 is more manageable for me. So yea windows 7 is more like the windows you are used to - but windows 8 is slightly faster and becoming more and more keyboard and mouse friendly... So at least Microsoft is getting over their "I wish I was more like Apple" complex, and slowly heading back towards what they are good at - letting windows be windows and not a Mac wannabe.