Win7 or Win8

I am about to order a new laptop - I already know which one. The question is:

Shall I order it with Win7 or Win8 ? Has anyone downloaded the Beta versions of Win8 and actually tried it out?

I've tried Win8 and IMO, as it stands, it's the new ME or Vista. In other words, if you want newer than 7, wait until 9 is released.
But, why not Win7 with a free upgrade path to Win8?

Out of interest, which lappie have you plumped for and why?

Edited by Deadbeat (Mon 22-Oct-12 11:07:16)

I'm just waiting for the full release on Friday to roll it out. It's the future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlZgcAacIxU

Edited by BatBoy (Mon 22-Oct-12 11:16:17)

Dell Latitude 6430 - well 98% certain. Tech support is normally good and available worldwide with next business day on site and for 3 to 5 years available. Machines are normally well built and reliable, I have Dell PSUs in several locations so no need to carry one and they work on existing and new machines.

Why not give it a go yourself beforehand. Download VMWare Player, then on Microsoft.com > Downloads > products > all windows, there is a link there to try Windows 8 preview, the 64 bit is a 3.3 Gb iso, 32 bit is 2.2 Gb, also take a note of the license number on the screen. Create a Virtual Machine from the ISO.
That way you can decide if its for you.

I wouldn't judge too much from a VM. In my experience Windows 8 runs far better on an entry-level laptop than it does in a VM on my much more powerful desktop. For some reason the pre-release versions) seem to struggle on a VM.

Personally, I would go for 8.

Been running it since Release preview (now on RTM). Go for it, Microsoft isn't going to back down, infact its changing its release cycle so windows 8 will be updated on a 6 ish monthly basis.
No point running an old OS when there is a new one available. For the record it runs faster than 7.

In reply to a post by MHC:

I am about to order a new laptop - I already know which one. The question is:

Shall I order it with Win7 or Win8 ? Has anyone downloaded the Beta versions of Win8 and actually tried it out?

No, don't get windows 8 it is rubbish

You have really asked a difficult question. Once you get past the the Metro or Modern UI and get to the desktop then it is not too bad, but it is not straight forward to get to settings or other bits of the OS.

if you stay on the desktop and have all your software icons either on the taskbar or desktop then it is ok.

The metro UI is to be honest awful and the single screen apps are no better, but it depends if you really want to work on a single screen.

I tried out windows 8 for a while and after a week i tried some software to put the start menu back and disable metro, made it a much better Os then.


Best thing as been said is to try the RC version in VM.

Dell? There have got to be better machines.

If you buy a laptop Win7 you should get Win8 for a modest fee (less than £20) and you could dual boot it perhaps.

I didn't like Win8 either, seemed for designed for a touchsreen.

I would stick with Win7, still another 7 1/2 years of updates, so no worries there.