Upgrade to Windows 8 yes or no ? Any offers ?

Februarycat

I like Windows 8 now, took a bit of getting use to, after having XP on my last laptop, but would recommend it now.

Jivesinger

womble12345 wrote: »

I was on XP and took up the £25 upgrade offer to Win8, I am glad I did it. If I had Win7 already I wouldnt make the switch, particularly now the £25 offer is over.
I like Win8 but doubt it offers much over Win7, it does offer lots over XP though.

Yep I did the same - for £25 to move from XP, it was a bargain.

wkdboi wrote: »

I would stick with 7, 8 has to many issues and lots of people hate it, It deffinately won't be business ready for sometime

I think it's OK for business use with current software in desktop mode. The "Metro" interface is hopeless for doing actual work (for me at least), mainly because it insists on being full-screen. However you don't need to use it, unless some developer brings out a "must-have" application which only runs in Metro mode.

richardvc wrote: »

I currently run a cracking Acer Revo nettop pc (bought after advice on here) with Windows 7 but after seeing my brother's Win 8 last night just fell in love with it !

I do not have a touchscreen pc but having run 'upgrade assistant' it says my pc is fine to use it.

I have three questions I guess :

1. Is it any good and what are the upsides / downsides

Upsides - some tweaks behind the scenes which make it better than Windows 7. I like the changes to Task Manager and File Explorer too.

If you go for the Windows Pro upgrade then you also get "Bitlocker" encryption which is a good feature if you want to protect against having your laptop stolen and people accessing your files.

Another one is that by buying an upgrade you can do a "clean install" which means you get rid of any pre-installed "bloatware" which came with the PC, most of which you can almost certainly live without (and it makes the PC faster). This is well worth having, although occasionally it may mean you lose something you wanted - eg. drivers to make certain laptop Fn-key combinations work. Worth a look on the Manufacturer's website to see if they have driver updates, and also check if you need a BIOS update.

Downsides - you'll need to get used to the interface, but it really isn't that bad once you know your way around. Expect to Google for answers to some "how do I...?" questions because the online help is virtually non-existent for the new interface.

Also, some bits of Windows 7 didn't make it into Windows 8. I think there's a DVD Maker in Windows 7 which is gone in 8 for instance, and although Media Centre is available for Windows 8, you have to pay extra.

richardvc wrote: »

2. If I decide to go ahead - are there any offers about ? Win 8 is £100 on the MSoft website and if I remember correctly Pro is 190 or 200.

As above you can get the better Pro version for £50. Bizarrely the non-Pro upgrade version seems to be £100 most places I've looked, and everywhere except Microsoft the Pro version is cheaper, despite being better. So go for the Pro upgrade.

richardvc wrote: »

3. Should I wait a year or two when I upgrade my pc and get it automatically then ! Chances are I would buy a touchscreen.

Up to you really. None of the advantages over Windows 7 are "must haves" , and Windows 7 has a good few years life in it yet.

Oh and if you do upgrade, do a full system-image-style backup before you start, so that if it does go wrong, you at least have a way back to Windows 7. If your laptop has a manufacturer's feature to allow you to make a recovery image (usually this will get you back to when it was new) on a DVD or USB, then do this now. It's well worth having in case things don't work out.

You would have Microsoft support for a little while after you upgraded though and I did find them surprisingly helpful to make my upgrade work on an elderly laptop.

richardvc

Well I have read all your points of view with interest and I think the best advice is to wait and get 8.1 when I upgrade my pc !

I really do like Win 8 and the style really suits how I use a pc. My main uses are fairly lightweight, ie internet, music, photos etc etc and not for business use or any heavy programming.

I still haven't totally made my mind up and may still let heart rule head but without all your input I wouldn't know you can get it cheaper on Amazon, how / what I should back up on my pc and to consider other programmes that I use need to be compatible ie Microsoft Money

Thanks you all for your input, it really is much appreciated.

Blackjack2013

thanks earthstorm, good to see that some of the battlers are liking the new OS i suppose.

Yes aero has gone but all the switching between app screen and the rest causes problems on lower spec machines