Should My Dad and Sister Get Windows 8?

Both my Dad and sister have laptops with Windows Vista, . Should they take advantage of the $40 upgrade to Windows 8? Would their laptops run faster? One is a Sony the other is a Dell, both 5 years old or so.

 

best thing would be for you to install it on your machine then have them try it.

you'll have the answer then.

of course you'll probably want to either run this in a VM or have an image you can go back to after you're finished.

Windows 8 is slightly faster than Windows 7, but not by much.
less than 5% i would say.

 

They use Vista though, so would the speed increase be more noticeable? And also just the quality over Vista, as far as stability, bugs, etc.

 

why not get windows 7? its far more stable than 8 or vista. otherwise I would just wait until SP1 shows up for Windows 8.

personally, Im staying with 7 until 9 comes out with a start menu, otherwise I will stay with 7 until support runs out lol

 

The price is much more than getting Windows 8.

 

Brandonn2010,

5 years old is probably OK but I have a somewhat older computer that won't run Win8 due to an incompatible processor.

 

I would go for it.

 

Perhaps this: https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=328528 thread might help.

 

First you would need to confirm that "8" will run on those computers ie that there are drivers to support the hardware. Then show your Dad and sister the Windows 8 UI and see if they can deal with the learning curve. There's some work going from Vista to "7", but going from Vista to "8" could be quite a struggle. As to performance there might be an improvement, but I wouldn't expect it to be dramatic. If you're mainly trying to improve performance perhaps you could upgrade the hardware instead? Do the systems have enough RAM to run optimally?

 

If there use to windows vista, I would say go with windows 7 if they want to upgrade as they will feel right at home with a great OS and with No learning curve as it would be in windows 8.IMO I would wait to see how 8 plays out after its been released.

 

Download the preview and install it.
If they're not really geeky persons such as Wilders members here then i think they might like it since it's all flashy.

 

Well I don't think Windows 7 would happen, as it's at least $200 for OEM copies, and money is kind of tight right now.

As far as the interface and such, I would need to talk to him about that.

 

Windows 8 has a vastly different control scheme than Windows 7 or Vista. It is really more geared towards tablets (Thus the larger buttons and lack of Aero theme) and may be harder to use for those on a PC.

If you're really interested in it you should grab the preview offline (If you have a fast enough PC you can run it in Virtual Box or an equivalent piece of software.) but keep in mind a virtual OS is going to be slower.

If you're asking for one individuals opinion, I found that Microsoft's new "innovation" in the PC world could very well be a silver bullet to the hopes of it's consumers and is mostly being formed out of fear of the growing tablet and phone market.

 

Ouch, It wouldn't happen for me either if my systems didn't come with 7.I would never pay that for any OS not even If i had a money tree.

 

Try BEFORE you Buy...

 

If they'll be able to use the license on a new PC, if those will die, I would say yes, if not, no. Waste of money to put W8 on a 5 years old PC which could die anytime soon.

 

I used to run Vista on my 6 year old PC and I find Windows 8 much more responsive. I have run the CP, RP and now the RTM and although I haven't run any specific tests I am sure it boots and shuts down much faster as well as being snappier when opening windows, folders and browsers.

However it might be different on older laptops, drivers might not work etc. Why don't you download the RTM and try dual booting it on their laptops? Its the only way to be sure and this way they can test the new interface to see if it works for them.

Personally I will buy the upgrade for my PC as long as it is only £40 here in the UK.

 

I've been running Windows 8 since they released the RTM about a month ago and I am spending my weekend going back to Windows 7. I definitely recommend trying it before making a commitment to it. I wanted to like it but I feel that it needs some more updates before it is ready to go.

 

i have tried Win 8 a few times.

i finally decided i'm gonna stick with Windows 7.

the best thing for anyone who is not sure is to try it for themselves first instead of just relying on others people opinions.

 

I get you, I do not really like 8, I actually hate the metro, but I am going to buy it as soon as it is available, because of the price.
8 is not that bad, I use it for a year, it is fast and reliable, but it introduces new problems, well "problems", it is more bothersome.
I would not worry about metro too much, you can use Skip Metro Suite or just press Enter and you can add Start button as well.
You will also need to create shortcuts for Turn Off/Restart/Sleep, but other than that, it is good old Windows 7 for half a price.

This is, what you get, when you login, after you remove all the nonsense: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/600/23564739.jpg
This is the desktop, nothing unfamiliar as you can see, even without start: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/253/41280216.jpg/

 

Still, start button is something that I use everyday to get to my apps. I keep my desktop clean and only Opera icon on my taskbar. Ask your parents how often they use start button. If that''s something they rarely use then I would by all means introduce them into Windows 8. You will have to deal with some stability issues until SP1 comes out.

 

So how can they try Win 8? I thought it has to be installed. They are not computer saavy, and they live 45 minutes from me. I don't want their laptops to be borked just from trying to see if Windows 8 will work.

 

You could try out Win8 in your laptop and take it to them. Let them handle it and then remove Win8.

 

I don't have a laptop, only a 40+ pound desktop

If you mean my Mom's laptop, maybe.

 

Try it in a VM Brandon? See if it's right for you!