Windows 7 or 8

nheather · 16 May 2015 at 11:13

Building an 'under the telly' gaming PC.

Will be used just for gaming and surfing the web.

Would it be best to install Windows 8 or Windows 7.

I thought I had a Windows 7 licence spare to use but it is for an old Dell Laptop so it may not install with the media I have - maybe tied to Dell.

So as backup I started looking on eBay and there are plenty of cheap Windows 7 licences to be had, but then I spotted that there were Windows 8 licences around for not much more.

I'm not a big metro fan but there are plenty of third party apps to change the UI into something I more comfortable with. Just that I'd heard that if you can get past the metro nastiness, Windows 8 is actually a good OS. Have I heard correctly.

Cheers,

Nigel

KIA · 16 May 2015 at 12:01

Windows 10?

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/preview-iso

You'll receive a free upgrade to the final version upon release.

It seems silly to spend money on an older version of Windows so close to the release of the next version.

nheather · 16 May 2015 at 12:47

Hmmm! Was leaning towards Windows 8 but I'm getting the impression that the ones I'm seeing on ebay are most likely fake.

So I will probably try my Windows 7 from my old Dell Laptop.

Cheers,

Nigel

Skeeter · 16 May 2015 at 17:55

KIA said:
Windows 10?

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/preview-iso

You'll receive a free upgrade to the final version upon release.

It seems silly to spend money on an older version of Windows so close to the release of the next version.

Windows 10 preview will not be upgraded to the full version for free upon release. Only Windows 7 or 8 installs can be upgraded for free.

OP, that Dell Windows 7 license will only work on that Dell laptop, not anything else.

nheather · 16 May 2015 at 18:01

So if I buy a Windows 7 licence which can be had reasonably cheaply now then later in the year I will be able to upgrade it to Windows 10 for free.

What happened to windows 9?

And odd that they are making Windows 10 free. Do you think it will go the way of Office 365 - you have to pay each year for the subscription.

Cheers,

Nigel

Skeeter · 16 May 2015 at 19:48

Microsoft spun a load of press about wanting to detach Windows 10 from its past which is why they skipped 9. But the common opinion is that they did it because lots of legacy software identified Windows 95 and 98 by looking for "Windows 9*” as the name, which would have caused all sorts of havoc

.

But anyway, Windows 10 isn't free. When its released it will be available retail just like all other previous versions. No idea on price yet but its probably going to be similar to 7 and 8. However as an incentive to encourage people to upgrade Microsoft are offering the upgrade to Windows 7 and 8 users for free for the first 12 months after release.

If your not too concerned about a few possible driver issues then peehaps install the Windows 10 preview on your new machine for the time being. Its pretty stable so should be fine. Then when the pricing of W10 comes out you can see if its cheaper to buy W10 or a 7 or 8 license and grab the free update

If its anything like W8 then there will probably be a preorder discount available for W10.

KIA · 17 May 2015 at 16:02

Skeeter said:
Windows 10 preview will not be upgraded to the full version for free upon release.

Source?

https://www.thurrott.com/windows/windows-10/3426/tip-understand-the-free-upgrade-to-windows-10

What about Windows Insiders? Microsoft has said that the people testing Windows 10 will get the final version of the product for free. But there are no details about what that means, and since most testers are using eligible products (devices running Windows 7, 8.1 or Windows Phone 8.1) to test Windows 10, obviously they are already eligible for this free offer.

EDIT:

https://twitter.com/GabeAul/status/597461788075159552

https://twitter.com/GabeAul/status/597773851150446592

:/

Skeeter · 17 May 2015 at 21:51

If you upgraded from 7 or 8 to 10 Preview then that will be eligible for a free upgrade as it's got a licensed 7 or 8 under it.

If you do a clean install of 10 Preview then it won't be eligible as it has no license under it anywhere.

In the OPs case he's building a new machine so will need to either buy a 7 or 8 and then upgrade to 10, or buy 10 when its released. He can run the 10 Preview in the mean time.