I have Win8 and how do I feel about it? It's crap. It's bull#@$% !!

Me personally, I prefer Win XP. Win 7 is alright I guess.

Win XP has a simple interface and I've never had a problem with it, everything supports it, etc...

Other OS's make life more complicated than it needs to be...

/end rant

I use Windows 8 Pro as of a week ago, I was testing it before release and really didn't like it --- but after giving it a second chance, I can't lie but I'm really digging how fluid it feels compared to Win7, it's very responsive. (Installed it on my new computer after having some issues with Win7 driver/startup lag).

I also recommend getting the newer model CPU/motherboards, the LGA 1155. The ivy bridge motherboards are newer and about the same price (have less problems too imo), my girlfriend got the i7-3820 but the motherboard has been nothing but hell and replacing it is extremely costly compared to the LGA1155 socket motherboards.

Edit:

What games are you passing up by switching operating systems? I haven't had any problems with Win7 or Win8 but my main source of gaming at the moment is League of Legends  I guess if you opt for the older OS, you may not get DX11 but meh. lol I'd recommend at least 7 if 8 is out of the question.

After all the bad things I read about Win 8 I still decided to take the plunge and bought it while it was still cheap! Best decision I've made in a while.

And I didn't even install a 3rd party program to deal with the metro interface. It's just there. I have a couple of programs I use from to time, for quick launch but I hardly see the metro side of things. Only when I need to look for a program. For which I use my Windows keyboard button, type in what I need and open it (sound familiar?).

I'm expecting Win 8 SP1 to address any issues people may have with the UI.

W8 is great if you have a touch screen... If not then W7 is the best choice.

XP you could possible install as a second OS but 32 bits just aint good enough (and the direct X support doesnt help either). You actually need XP to run some old games well, emulators and the built in XP mode aint always good enough.

Windows 7 is in my opinion the best windows version since Windows 2000, it is very stable, easy to use and not that hard to optimize.

Windows 8 do have great functions for pads and laptops with touchscreens but since most PCs dont have touchscreen most of us cant use the good functions and 7 is better for the rest.

Originally posted by monochrome19

I have Win8 and how do I feel about it? It's crap. It's bull#@$% !!

Me personally, I prefer Win XP. Win 7 is alright I guess.

Win XP has a simple interface and I've never had a problem with it, everything supports it, etc...

Other OS's make life more complicated than it needs to be...

/end rant

Just for you.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbEK0jD6GlE

Like others have stated if you already have a license for Win 7 Pro laying around use that. Win 8 is OK but also as others have said it may be wise to wait for the first service pack to release later this year before making it your OS. With Microsoft OS's it's usually after the first service pack that most of the bugs from launch get ironed out and the platform gets a whole lot more stable. You really can't go wrong with Win 7 Pro on a gaming PC at this point in time. Upgrading to Win 8 after the first service pack releases would be reletively painless as well as you won't even need to lose your files during the upgrade.

Bren

Originally posted by Brenelael

Like others have stated if you already have a license for Win 7 Pro laying around use that. Win 8 is OK but also as others have said it may be wise to wait for the first service pack to release later this year before making it your OS. With Microsoft OS's it's usually after the first service pack that most of the bugs from launch get ironed out and the platform gets a whole lot more stable. You really can't go wrong with Win 7 Pro on a gaming PC at this point in time. Upgrading to Win 8 after the first service pack releases would be reletively painless as well as you won't even need to lose your files during the upgrade.

 

Bren

Utter bollocks on Service Pack stuff, Win7 was fine in RTM and so is Win8. Get Win8 Pro, you get Hyper-V to run virtual machines for older games. If you play games mostly you spend all time in desktop tile so it's not any different than Windows 7.

Windows 8 is simply amazing.  I was holding off buying it due to the hatred it got by some of my friends, but I have to say it's incredibly more efficient than Windows 7 was in almost every category.  The first week I absolutely hated it, as everything seemed like it was brand new and I even had to look up tutorials on how to access things such as the "search computer" menu and even how to turn the darn computer off!   But in the end, after about a month in, it's even easier to do all this stuff than it was on Windows 7.

Not to mention that on games such as Guild Wars 2 I'm getting zero stuttering with the same system (Lion's Arch would stutter at certain areas, even with a clean install of windows 7), and there is absolutely no dipping since I've installed windows 8 on this beast.  Performance wise it's the best option for gaming, but in terms of actual FPS gains, there will probably almost none if not just a couple here and there with only specific titles (there are also some older games that might not be compatible, but I haven't run into any personally).

My specs have been the same for both operating systems:

I7 3930k

32GB 1833 DDR3 Ram

Two 670 EVGA FTW in crossfire (x16, x16, x8 Mobo)

2 TB HDD slaves with a 250GB SSD Master

Sabretooth TUF Series x79 Mobo

The only problem I have had with it is the inability to access the windows 8 store.  I'm thinking that I need to completely reinstall the operating system to access it.

Originally posted by Quizzical

Originally posted by BitterClinger

Ok, I have changed my shopping cart based on Quizzical's hardware recommendations. Here is the new BOM:

• ASUS P8Z77-V LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX
• Intel Core i7-3770 Quad-Core Processor 3.4 GHz 4 Core LGA 1155
• Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan
• Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
• Crucial m4 256GB 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SATA 6Gb/s

Thanks for all the suggestions so far.  Posting here has already paid off quite a bit.

You should be aware that a Core i7-3770 basically can't be overclocked.  If you're fine with that, then go ahead, but to overclock, you'll need a 3770K.

Or a Core i5-3570K, for that matter.  Basically the difference between the two processors is that the Core i7 has hyperthreading.  Windows won't use hyperthreading in programs that don't scale to more than four cores (as it's only possible effects would be bad), but Intel says it can improve performance by up to 30% in programs that scale flawlessly to eight cores.

Thanks for the heads up.  I got my first AMD 386-40 Mhz CPU on an ASUS motherboard and fell in love with over-clocking. A few years later I fell out of love with overclocking, and AMD, and ATI. Of course, there was not much support for overclocking in those days, but I haven't overclocked anything in 15 years; and I don't intend to start now.

The hardware on that list should be arriving Thursday.

If you already own a Windows 7 x64 license, use that.

If your buying new, I would recommend getting Win8 just because it will be supported for a few more years, but can't argue against the case for getting Win7 either.

If you boot to desktop and ignore all the Metro crap, Win8 is essentially the same as Win7 with just a few minor tweaks under the hood.

Originally posted by Ridelynn

If you boot to desktop and ignore all the Metro crap, Win8 is essentially the same as Win7 with just a few minor tweaks under the hood.

^ This ^

You can even install a WIn7 start menu to make it feel the same.  I hate the WIn8 start menu and I feel it decreases organization.  I may as well have all my icons on the desktop.

Although I would use Windows 8 at this point, Windows 8 is more a fresh start so some things are not tweaked quite right yet and probably won't be until Windows 9.  What Windows 8 does is make going from your phone, to your TV, to your tablet, and to your computer a seamless process that would otherwise take a bit of time and 3rd party applications to setup.  However, this integration is lost in a few places with the 3 different and incompatible OSes; and the UI on the desktop.

Considering you decided to skip Windows Vista with your last build, jumping onto something new like Windows 8 probably would not be a good idea.  Especially if you do not own other products that use a Microsoft OS, like Windows Phone or an XBox360.

Originally posted by Sasami

Originally posted by Brenelael

Like others have stated if you already have a license for Win 7 Pro laying around use that. Win 8 is OK but also as others have said it may be wise to wait for the first service pack to release later this year before making it your OS. With Microsoft OS's it's usually after the first service pack that most of the bugs from launch get ironed out and the platform gets a whole lot more stable. You really can't go wrong with Win 7 Pro on a gaming PC at this point in time. Upgrading to Win 8 after the first service pack releases would be reletively painless as well as you won't even need to lose your files during the upgrade.

 

Bren

Utter bollocks on Service Pack stuff, Win7 was fine in RTM and so is Win8. Get Win8 Pro, you get Hyper-V to run virtual machines for older games. If you play games mostly you spend all time in desktop tile so it's not any different than Windows 7.

It's bollocks to tell someone to use something they already have that will perform just as well instead of buying something else because it's "New and Shiney"? Win 7 Pro will also run the virtual XP machine as well you know. I didn't say there was anything wrong with Windows 8 just that the first service pack will work out a lot of the issues some people are having with it just like service pack 1 did for Windows 7. Yes, there were a lot of driver compatability issues when Windows 7 realeased just like those people are experiencing now with Windows 8. The first service pack generally sorts these out.

Bren

Much, much better!

I've finished upgrading my hardware.  Everything is working perfectly (so far).  Even though Windows 7 won the poll by a 2-to-1 margin, I went ahead and installed Windows 8 Professional.

Here are a few key points:

• 60 FPS in Black Citadel; 120 FPS  in Plains of Ashford (no sluggishness or stuttering whatsoever in Black Citadel).
• Windows 8 will take some adjustment on my part; already reached frustration level a few times
• Highly recommend the Microsoft Sidewinder Keyboard; great key action and very comfortable
• Still trying to adjust to the Naga mouse; it's too small... still trying to give it a chance
• SSD - it was so small, I had no way to mount it in the case; I just connected power and SATA cable and tossed it in loose
• CPU runs very cool; fan triggers low-speed alert on motherboard (I adjusted the threshold)

UPDATE: Samson Go Mic - No drivers for Windows 8

Still need to try Path of Exile and Neverwinter.

Originally posted by monochrome19

I have Win8 and how do I feel about it? It's crap. It's bull#@$% !!

Me personally, I prefer Win XP. Win 7 is alright I guess.

Win XP has a simple interface and I've never had a problem with it, everything supports it, etc...

Other OS's make life more complicated than it needs to be...

/end rant

Hey now, there is some benefit to Windows 8. 

http://reviews.cnet.com/lcd-monitors/lenovo-thinkvision-lt1423p/4505-3174_7-35567049.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9_EaC7mLOw

If you plan on getting a Lenovo ThinkVision LT1423p Mobile Monitor then Win 8 is a no brainer. Beyond that though, no it really doesn't have a great deal of purpose yet.