Running the insider preview on my laptop and desktop. It's similar enough to Win 7 that you won't be totally lost. I've not done enough hard core gaming to give an opinion on it, but from what I've done so far, no issues at all.
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I'm planning on doing the upgrade for my 8.1 laptop to see how it is...since I'm not a huge fan of 8.1 anyway. Holding off on my 7 rig until I hear from hardcore gamers.
Mark Twain: I am quite sure now that often, very often, in matters concerning religion and politics a man's reasoning powers are not above the monkey's.
I am now of an age at which I no longer need to suffer fools gladly
One thing I want to know is how 'clean' an install the Win 10 upgrade will be.I would rather start from scratch with a fresh installation.Maybe I'll try the upgrade and install from an ISO at a later date once I'm comfortable with 10.
Joined: Apr 2001 Posts: 121,468PanzerMeyer
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PanzerMeyer
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I'll install Win 10 when there are PC games out there that I want to play which require DX 12 or will get a big performance boost by using DX 12.
95% of my time on my home desktop is gaming so that drives my OS upgrade plan.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
Joined: Apr 2004 Posts: 4,465Bib4Tuna
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I was forced to upgrade my computer due to the old one dying on me, so, even though I have a Win7 Pro license, I downloaded the Microsoft insider ISO for Win10 Pro to check it out.
I find myself not hating it...too much.
Having to sign in with an insider (Microsoft) account to Windows allows them to have access to your browsing and actions to "improve" the experience. Fortunately, selecting a custom install lets you disable a lot of that. You can always sign in as a local only user, but you then cannot get the updated OS builds. I hope that changes for the final build, but given the fact they are giving it away for free, I doubt it.
It has its quirks, like forcing me to have an extra wide start menu, due to the "live tiles" that refuse to go away and constantly trying to connect me to "entertainment and news" on the search box and in "Edge" (the new browser). All this can be configured, but it is on by default, which is annoying.
Compatibility wise, it did mostly OK. There are already workarounds online for some issues, but in general, compared to the Win7 software for the same hardware, Win10 seems to have less features. Like the Realtek control panel, there is no effects and equalizer tab in the Win10 version.
Many manufacturers are waiting on the final build to offer full win 10 drivers. Even for my new mobo, they had basically Win 8.1 drivers that are compatible, but not full Win10 drivers.
I also found out that the only version of Office that is compatible with Win10 is Office 360. I have a license for Office 2010, and it did not accept the installation. I had to install Open Office to get a productivity suite in.
I am in no rush to install games yet. I will wait for the final build before I start doing that. I might change my mind and go back to Win7, and the less I install, the better for now.
Still, with all the minor issues, I feel it is a good improvement over Windows 8.
I'll install Win 10 when there are PC games out there that I want to play which require DX 12 or will get a big performance boost by using DX 12.
95% of my time on my home desktop is gaming so that drives my OS upgrade plan.
Guess you'll have to pay for Windows 10, then, because that won't happen in the first year when it's free, just like no Windows 10 games came out in Vista's first year that made it worthwhile.
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One thing I want to know is how 'clean' an install the Win 10 upgrade will be.I would rather start from scratch with a fresh installation.Maybe I'll try the upgrade and install from an ISO at a later date once I'm comfortable with 10.
As with every OS upgrade it's always wise to do a clean installation. Upgrading is really just there for the old fart convenience.
Scully: Victim died of multiple stab wounds. Mulder: *throws her a file* Ever heard of the knife alien?
IIRC, there was overwhelming positive reviews on the Windows 7 Release Candidate, so much so that a lot of gamers installed it straight away. I myself went from WinXP to Win7. Just wondering if Windows 10 is the next step that I'll be taking, or I'll be skipping. My gaming PC is on Win7 Home but the other PC and the three laptops are all on Win8.1.
Been using it for months now, it's a fantastic OS. Very fast, I love the new default start menu over that 8 / 8.1 junk and some of my games feel even smoother, especially the Men of War games finally stopped stuttering like crazy. Probably comes down to the much improved resource management. Games also alt + tab a lot faster now.
Luckily Microsoft, despite going back on previous statement, have given all insiders the OS for free.
Now I just can't wait to see what DirectX 12 brings in terms of CPU threading improvements in DX12 games.
Joined: Apr 2001 Posts: 121,468PanzerMeyer
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PanzerMeyer
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Thanks for that info Sethos. That may just convince me to upgrade sooner.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
I do not have BoB2 but I do have IL2 Aces expansion pach and Pacific battles running. Also CFS3 and the Thirdwire sims SFGold + WW2 planes, WoV, and First Eagles.
Mark Twain: I am quite sure now that often, very often, in matters concerning religion and politics a man's reasoning powers are not above the monkey's.
I am now of an age at which I no longer need to suffer fools gladly
I can't remember where I read it but you might be able to do a fresh install after you do the upgrade (relevant if you're getting the free upgrade from Win7/8).
I can't remember where I read it but you might be able to do a fresh install after you do the upgrade (relevant if you're getting the free upgrade from Win7/8).
Yeah, once you've done the upgrade, your key used to upgrade should be flagged as a Windows 10 key.
Then you should be able to do a clean install with it.
I do put emphasis on should. Microsoft are all over the place with their statements.
So wait, only if I install Windows 10 now it's free? I kind of (not really following) understood it was going to be free forever as long as you have an original WIn 7 license...
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So wait, only if I install Windows 10 now it's free? I kind of (not really following) understood it was going to be free forever as long as you have an original WIn 7 license...
I thought the free offer was good for 1 year after release, but I'm not certain.
Anyway I'm pretty busy enjoying some stuff I'm playing and don't feel like doing a format/reinstall now. So I'll wait if I can.
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