I wasn't aware that the OP had asked about Software. Any relevant advice given to him is in danger of being lost in a sea of yet more regurgitated but still boring spats about 7/8.

Indeed.

In reply to a post by Ancient_Mariner:

was considering either WinXP (SP3) or Win7.

In reply to a post by Pipexer:

Go for Windows 8

I believe you are wrong. Something has to keep those memory cells refreshed. Sleep mode on my laptop will run the battery down quite quickly.

I agree with you there. That's why I like 8. My laptop was almost unusable with Vista (apart from the slow boot times) but flies under 8.

The OP did mention which OS he was thinking of running, so I think it fair for a poster to point out that - in his opinion - it is not the best choice. Whether that warrants the boring spat or not is another matter. Perhaps a simple post from each person about which OS they would use is sufficient.

It does seem to be very difficult to mention Windows 8 without arousing a host of replies that do not always seem to be based on real-life experience.

Just to add a couple of things.
Asrock boards are really good, great value for money from their bottom of the range to their top of the range and cheaper than the big names.

I got a 970 Extreme 3, at the time is was above middle of the range and i am really pleased with it, I have also built budget machines for other people using Asrock boards. all still working after 4 years or more.

Case wise, I suggest to go for something that will last, I kept buying cheap case, about around the £20 mark, but every time i updated the machine I had to get a new case as the old one was falling apart and warped. So I went for a coolermaster Haf,. A mate of mine got the big version, I did not want anything that big, but i wanted a sturdy case, which is why i went for the one I linked too.

Of cause it depends on what size you want the case.

OS wise, nothing wrong with windows 7, well there probably is, but It works fine, it got a few more years of life and compatibility wise it is fine.

Windows 8 is also ok, it boots up fast, even on a restart, it is pretty fast, software seems to run a bit smoother, bulky software like Photoshop and Vegas seems to load in quicker, it is better at managing memory. Compatibility wise, there are a few problems, but I got most sorted now, I still have the odd problem with my wi-fi mind you.

The metro UI, you either love it or hate it, I myself don't use it and got a start menu added.

In reply to a post by AEP:

...... It does seem to be very difficult to mention Windows 8 without arousing a host of replies that do not always seem to be based on real-life experience.

Perhaps that's because there is no stock "real life experience". What works for one person in one situation may not work for a different person or the same person in a different situation..... Everything is subjective.

Not aimed at anyone in particular but could we please kep this on topic and wait for when and if the OP posts in the appropriate forum for views regarding an OS.

I've used a fair few Asrock boards in the past and never had a problem. They are one of the world's biggest suppliers.

In reply to a post by Pipexer:

Of course it is relevant, it is part and parcel of computing. The operating system is a key player in the ecosystem, and we don't live in a world where the operating system never needs to be updated and all we need to worry about is applications. If this wasn't important, then there wouldn't be a massive scramble going on by many of enterprises right now to get their systems off XP and move them to Windows 7 and 8.

Since we are on about real world can you give me a real world example of a line of business application that works fine on Windows 7 not working on Windows 8... at the moment this seems to just be a hypothetical application... There is not going to be many out there.

I have 2 "business" applications that I use that do not work.

Pinncle studio 12 certified on vista did not work on 7 had to buy version 14
Pinncle studio 14 strangely enough works on 7 but not win 8 have to buy version 16
This is from Avid who's top end software does exactly the same thing.

Also my wife has a computer controlled embroidery sewing machine it cost £3000 new.

Software from XP to vista needed to pay £100 to go to Vista in updates.

Vista update worked well on 7.

Been told by manufacturer that win 8 WILL need new software and security key to work cost £1000!!!

I brought my parents win 8 laptop round to try and sure enough I can't get the software to work and I refuse to pay over £1000 just to get it to run on a new OS when 7 is an excellent OS in the first place.

So no matter what you say the arcitecture may be based on each other BUT there is still enough differences between Vista/7/8 for software to actually not run and work.

Also even if I did pay over £1000 to move to 8 now that MS want to do yearly updates there is no guarentee that this wouldn't happen again and I would be in exactly the same hole in a short while later.

So while you may want to rant and moan and call me names it is my computer and I want to use it in a certain way and I am using win 7 to run modern hardware as there is nothing wrong with doing so.

Edited by deleted (Fri 03-May-13 09:18:59)

For business there is another potential issue with W8. That is the inclusion of IE10. We have core line of business apps that still only support IE8 (or even IE7) so going to IE10 is a complete no-no. Yes, we are pressuring to get these apps updated but there is only so fast these companies make changes that have no direct impact on their bottom line profit.

And moving to a different app would cost very high 6 figure (or even 7 figure) sums.

Edited by ian72 (Fri 03-May-13 09:26:05)