Encryption options for win8.1 core

[chown]

hi guys,

So I have a desktop and laptop running win8.1 core.

I would like some kind of disk protection especially for the laptop.

Having formerly used truecrypt for a long time i have no experience of alternatives.

It seems diskcryptor is the most likely alternative? any experiences?

I wouldn't mind just going with bitlocker (!) but the pro license updates for both machines are looking very expensive..

thanks