How to make my PC a touch screen for Windows 8?

[orestesdd]

Recently, I built a new PC. I wonder what do I need to do to make it a touch screen Windows 8 PC. Will buying a touch screen video be enough? Or do I have to buy a specific video card? I am hoping that it will be just a new video display with touch-screen capabilities. Let me know if you need more info about my hardware. Thanks.

 

[nukemaster]

The touch screen feature requires either a screen or a plate(digitizer) you put in front of the screen. Then the touch inputs can be received by the computer via USB(Serial in the old days).

The video card has nothing to do with it.

Some of the systems can use a camera or IR led's(early HP touch smart PCs) to see your finger location as well.

Something like this, No reason for this link other then Google finding it for me

http://www.mkprosopsis.com/Hardware/AddonTouchScreenKit.htm

Funny thing is I remember having touch screen CRT's(15 inch) back in school. So its not as new as people thing.

With Win8 out, I am sure you will see all kinds of touch screens come out

 

[orestesdd]

The touch screen feature requires either a screen or a plate(digitizer) you put in front of the screen. Then the touch inputs can be received by the computer via USB(Serial in the old days).

The video card has nothing to do with it.

Some of the systems can use a camera or IR led's(early HP touch smart PCs) to see your finger location as well.

Something like this, No reason for this link other then Google finding it for me

http://www.mkprosopsis.com/Hardware/AddonTouchScreenKit.htm

Funny thing is I remember having touch screen CRT's(15 inch) back in school. So its not as new as people thing.

With Win8 out, I am sure you will see all kinds of touch screens come out

So do I only need a true touch-screen display to use Windows 8? Is there any display at least 21" touch-screen to use in my new system with Windows 8? By the way, does anyone know if I can upgrade to Windows 8 from Windows 7 Pro 64-bit OEM for PC builder? Anyhow, thanks for your comments.

 

[nukemaster]

Windows 8 works fine with a mouse and keyboard. Touch is something they have added. It will be used on all the Win8 and WinRT tablets for sure, but is not 100% required to use Win8

For the upgrade, check here. If you had Win7(new system) in June or after.
http://www.windowsupgradeoffer.com/

Please see here for info about keeping files and programs.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-CA/windows/buy?ocid=GA8_O_WOL_DIS_ShopHP_FPP_Light

 

[COLGeek]

You are looking for something like this monitor:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824016156

Newegg has several touchscreen monitors.

 

[orestesdd]

I just ran Windows 8 Upgrade Assistance on my Toshiba laptop, and soon I will do the same in PC build. I found out these things in the first screen of the assistance telling me the following:

64 of my apps and devices are compatible
11 items for you to review (wtf is this?)

Then, I get this list of problems:

01-Internet TV for Windows Media Center (not compatible! wtf?)
02-TOSHIBA Wireless LAN Indicator (go to the app website fro help! wtf?)
03-TOSHIBA Disc Creator (reinstall it in Windows 8. wtf?)
04-TOSHIBA Frace Recognition (reinstall it in Windows 8. wtf?)
05-TOSHIBA Hardware Setup (reinstall it in Windows 8. wtf?)
06-TOSHIBA PC Health Monitor ((reinstall it in Windows 8. wtf?)
07-Fraps (remove) - Paid update available. wtf?
08-iTunes (remove authorized PCs. wtf?) Would I lose my iTune Lib found in an external drive?
09-TVersity (paid update available)

On top of all these problem, I get the following from MS:

Why aren’t all my apps or devices listed?

If some of your apps or devices aren't listed, it might be because we haven't received or determined compatibility info for that app or device yet. If devices are missing, try connecting your devices to your PC, and then restarting Windows setup to check for them again. If your devices still don't appear, check the Windows 8 Compatibility Center for info., or contact the app or device manufacturer.

In fact I may have more problems than the upgrade assistance seems to indicate. I don't think it is worth to upgrade. What do you all think? I will post the results from my PC build as soon as possible. I am afraid not to find drivers for the hardware in my build. Thanks.

BUILD:
CPU: --------------- Intel Core i5-2500K
HEAT-SINK: ------ Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus
MOBO: ------------ GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 LGA 1155
RAM: -------------- Corsair 16 GB Vengeance Blue
--------------------- Low Profile 1600mhz PC3-12800 240-pin
DVD Burner: ---- Sony Optiarc 24X DVD Burner
GPU: ------------- XFX Double D HD-687A-ZDFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
CASE: ----------- Corsair Obsidian 650D
HDD: ------------ Seagate Barracuda 7200 1 TB 7200RPM SATA 6 Gb/s (Model ST1000DM003)
SSD: ------------ Crucial 128 GB m4 2.5-Inch SSD SATA 6Gb/s CT128M4SSD2
MONITOR: ----- ViewSonic VX2250WM-LED 22-Inch
OS: ------------- Windows 7 Professional 64-bit OEM [system build]

 

[nukemaster]

01-Internet TV for Windows Media Center (not compatible! wtf?)
Media Center has been removed from Windows(it is now a purchase program). If you do not use it, this has no effect on you. If you are getting Win8 Pro, go here to get a FREE media center upgrade
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/feature-packs
02-TOSHIBA Wireless LAN Indicator (go to the app website fro help! wtf?)
MS does not write drivers, so its good to make sure you can get drivers before an upgrade
03-TOSHIBA Disc Creator (reinstall it in Windows 8. wtf?)
The program may not function right unless reinstalled. This happens when switching operating systems
04-TOSHIBA Frace Recognition (reinstall it in Windows 8. wtf?)
Same
05-TOSHIBA Hardware Setup (reinstall it in Windows 8. wtf?)
Same
06-TOSHIBA PC Health Monitor ((reinstall it in Windows 8. wtf?)
Same
07-Fraps (remove) - Paid update available. wtf?
You should be able to login to your fraps account(Members Area) to get an update when it is available
08-iTunes (remove authorized PCs. wtf?) Would I lose my iTune Lib found in an external drive?
Your Itunes account can be authorized on so many systems. De-authorizing that system frees up 1 more system because it will be a "New" computer with Win8. You can then authorize the "New" windows 8 system)
If in doubt about this one, Contact Apple support because I do not use iTunes at this time.
https://www.apple.com/support/itunes/
This seems the same as games with limited installs. So you De-authorize a game before reinstalling or installing a new OS.
09-TVersity (paid update available)
This happens more then you would guess. Nero from XP did NOT work on Vista/7 and required a payed update as well.

I personally keep a system built with one OS that way for its life and only get new OSs when I build new systems.

Because of this, I have systems with all kinds of OS's installed. They all work just fine and all that good stuff.

 

[k1114]

What are you going to use the touchscreen for and why are you upgrading? My friend got a touchscreen aio back when vista came out, regretted spending so much on a feature he doesn't ever use. Even w7 has gesture controls and touchscreens still work perfectly fine with older os's. They did not add touch in w8, as you said, touch has been around even back in the crt days. In fact a lot of the stuff is easier with a mouse. The only thing it can't do is rotate, but when is that ever used. The metro ui is just easier to click when using touch, but a waste of space when using a mouse.

 

[orestesdd]

What are you going to use the touchscreen for and why are you upgrading? My friend got a touchscreen aio back when vista came out, regretted spending so much on a feature he doesn't ever use. Even w7 has gesture controls and touchscreens still work perfectly fine with older os's. They did not add touch in w8, as you said, touch has been around even back in the crt days. In fact a lot of the stuff is easier with a mouse. The only thing it can't do is rotate, but when is that ever used. The metro ui is just easier to click when using touch, but a waste of space when using a mouse.

I will not upgrade right now, but I think if I do, I will not use a touch screen. However, I need to learn how to use W8Pro 64-bit with my mouse/keyboard. I think that the touch screen part of W8 is only good for tablets. Thanks for your comments.

 

[nukemaster]

I will not upgrade right now, but I think if I do, I will not use a touch screen. However, I need to learn how to use W8Pro 64-bit with my mouse/keyboard. I think that the touch screen part of W8 is only good for tablets. Thanks for your comments.

You use it just like any other version of Windows.

Click what you want and hold the mouse in the lower/upper left corner to get the "Charms" menu. You hold lower left for Home(Start) and upper left for "Metro" task switching.

Once you hit a desktop app, its all the same as 7 but without the start menu, the taskbar is still just like it was. All searching and program launching is done in the full screen metro home/start screen now(despite its full screen nature, it is very fast and smooth).

It takes a bit of getting used to, but still does everything else fairly well.

 

[dingo07]

I suggest ELO as the only company to use if you want a serious, no hassle touchscreen - they are the best
http://www.elotouch.com/Products/LCDs/default.asp

 

[k1114]

Just hover your mouse in any corner. Bottom left is start, top left is switcher, charms is any right corner. You can also use the windows key to open the the start menu. The start menu is just different graphically, still the same functionality plus more. You will probably still be in desktop for most of the time.

 

[orestesdd]

You use it just like any other version of Windows.

Click what you want and hold the mouse in the lower/upper left corner to get the "Charms" menu. You hold lower left for Home(Start) and upper left for "Metro" task switching.

Once you hit a desktop app, its all the same as 7 but without the start menu, the taskbar is still just like it was. All searching and program launching is done in the full screen metro home/start screen now(despite its full screen nature, it is very fast and smooth).

It takes a bit of getting used to, but still does everything else fairly well.

Do you have any pictures to illustrate where things are located on Windows 8? Thanks for your comments.

 

[nukemaster]

First you have placing the mouse in the bottom right or top right of the screen then when you see the icons move the mouse towards them. On a tablet or touch screen you just swipe a finger from that side.


Next you have the bottom Left corner of the screen.
This is used to swap from Desktop to metro(I doubt you will use it much)


The left top lets you swap metro apps only if you keep clicking it, you will jump from app to app. If you have NO metro apps running, this corner does nothing.


Now on the left side, if you move up from the bottom or down from the top, you will get a set of open metro apps so you can select on without swapping in order.


Last off if you Right click the bottom left corner you will get a menu of common tasks. This is quite a nice add-on

You can also use keyboard shortcuts for most of these tricks(Start + C gives you charms without having to go over with the mouse. Gives a nice big clock ).

Click for larger images. I did not bother at full resolution because of wasted space(went as low as i could while still letting Metro apps work).

All images Uploaded with ImageShack.us

You should also check out this for more info on Win8

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/windows-8-review,3334.html

 

[orestesdd]

Best answer selected by orestesdd.

 

[Kshatriya Pawan Singh]

Recently, I built a new PC. I wonder what do I need to do to make it a touch screen Windows 8 PC. Will buying a touch screen video be enough? Or do I have to buy a specific video card? I am hoping that it will be just a new video display with touch-screen capabilities. Let me know if you need more info about my hardware. Thanks.

I also wanted to convert my non touch screen laptop into a touch screen lappy,Then I found an interesting article regarding Handmate pen. http://techwikasta.com/2013/04/how-to-convert-your-non-touch-laptop-into-touchscreen-laptop/ Handmate pen is a revolutionary device in the industry which will create your normal non-touch windows 8 laptop into a touchscreen laptop and you get it at fraction of the cost. It seems so useful, doesn’t it so for more detail follow that link.

 

[porwal]

Recently, I built a new PC. I wonder what do I need to do to make it a touch screen Windows 8 PC. Will buying a touch screen video be enough? Or do I have to buy a specific video card? I am hoping that it will be just a new video display with touch-screen capabilities. Let me know if you need more info about my hardware. Thanks.

As i read a lot on this topic from many websites but still i would like to recommend you this page http://techwikasta.com/2013/04/how-to-convert-your-non-touch-laptop-into-touchscreen-laptop/ to visit once. There are many hard wares used for this purpose. Know about the complete process by having a look at the page.

 

[dainairia]

Recently, I built a new PC. I wonder what do I need to do to make it a touch screen Windows 8 PC. Will buying a touch screen video be enough? Or do I have to buy a specific video card? I am hoping that it will be just a new video display with touch-screen capabilities. Let me know if you need more info about my hardware. Thanks.

Sure, Windows 8 - Microsoft's new touchscreen operating system - will run just fine on PCs designed for Windows 7. But you won't be able to take advantage of the new touch capabilities the OS enables unless you scrap your existing PC and upgrade to a new computer.

Or maybe not.

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, a company out of China demonstrated a peripheral that combines a stylus and either a USB or wireless receiver to touch-enable a non-touchscreen LCD monitor or laptop screen.

The technology has made its way to the United States via Shenzhen Yifang Digital Technology Co. Ltd., mercifully shortened to Yifang Digital, whose E Fun brand markets the APEN Touch8 system.
Here is a link; http://readwrite.com/2013/01/11/how-to-turn-your-boring-old-laptop-into-a-cool-touch-screen-machine
It is a alternative to having to dish out money for a new monitor.
Hope it is of use to you.