Will Win 8 cause me grief?

S

sixer2007

New member
I'm in need of a new computer.. I haven't been able to make music now for over a month because the old machine went to hell on me.

That one was Vista, and even though it's old and clunky, I know it inside and out and never had any troubles.
I know Win 7 is very similar in terms of look and feel, but gives you access to 64 bit, which I know the benefits of are huge.

Most, if not all machines now are shipped with Win 8, and I've heard that there are sometimes (but not always) hardware issues if you try to load win 7 on a machine meant for 8. You have to research the exact model, and figure it out before you buy.

Anyway, long story short, I want to go with 7 because it's comfortable, and I don't want to have a mess on my hands with 8, if my software is wacky with it.

I mostly use Harrison Mixbus, which is a 32 bit app, and also Cubase 5. Then I use free plugins almost exclusively, many that are 32 bit as well.

There is of course bridging software that gets rid of the bits problem to some extent....

Long question short, if I buy Win 8, will I regret it? What have other people found? It makes me really nervous that I'll spend weeks trying to get everything ironed out and working properly again.

Thanks for the help!
 
yes.

there is a cool WIndow 7 look you can install for free. from CNET .
It partially makes Windows 8 more old fashioned.

If you like apps and iphones and smart phones, then Windows 8 look will be fine. I feel I will be forced into it soon enough but for now Im fighting it.

I was similar to you, my old pc was crashing, the cost of upgrading was more than a off the shelf BestBuy pc that was $250 something or other...but Windows 8 was the only option.

Its been a year , I still don't like having "two" main screens but its only a couple clicks once you become used to the hidden WIndows 8 stuff on the desktop.

but for running DAWS and all that, its fine. Windows 8 is invisible when I am doing Reaper and stuff.

that's my 2 cents... you don't have much of a choice. However at work we just upgraded a system to Windows 7 for a huge amount of cash on a large server type thing, because Windows 7 will be supported for 10yrs or more.
Windows XP gets dropped April this year per Microsoft.

I put all my stuff on a USB drive and love it, for songwriter hopbbyist sound gearhead the USB Drive method allows you to swap pcs or be portable without doing anything with the tracks and Reaper.

All the same old plugs work fine with Windows 8 too...for me. I stay in 32, but theres some 64 bit stuff available.

Im low usage on this system with WIndows 8, been awhile and I don't hate WIndows 8 as much as I did. Espeically with the CNET Windows 7 gender change to 8
 
I don't know of any technical issue with using Win7 on a system that was designed for Win8 except for the touch screen. Win8 really was more of an interface change than a rewrite of the OS. So, for drivers and such, you should have little problems.

You should look at what 8.1 delivered as I understand (I have used Win8, but do not own it) that is is to be able to bring back most of Win7 look and feel. So, do a little research on 8.1 and see if that doesn't get Win8 close to 7.

One thing I think would be cool, using the touchscreen for controlling faders and such on the screen, verses a mouse. But, that could be problematic due to finger prints and such. So, maybe not so cool. But I think with 8.1, it should be close to 7.
 
Alright guys, thanks for your opinions. I guess i should get with the times and bite the bullet with 8. I'm sure i can work out the kinks.
 
EastCoaster said:
You may not find them in the average big box store, but it's not that tough to order systems that still ship with Windows 7 if you really want it.... for example HP just got some recent press for promoting some Win 7 systems.
Click to expand...


+1
 
I have no personal experience...the Windows 8 release happened on exactly the day I ordered my present DAW computer and I wasn't THAT brave...but I've heard mixed reviews on Windows 8 for audio applications. It seems to depend on your DAW and your interface hardware. Certainly there are some "funnies" in the Win8 audio implementation--possibly not an issue if you bypass everything using hardware with dedicated ASIO drivers but potentially serious if you use the built in sound card. It also seems that not all interface manufacturers have good Win8 drivers.

If it was me, I'd stick with Windows 7 and see what MS come up with next.

Cue somebody to come in and say "buy a Mac". To them I say that Mavericks 10.9.1 has known audio issues too.
 
window 7 is the fixed version of vista.
windows 8 is buggy and will be buggy for the next 5 years or so. and its already considered not usuable for DAW enviroments because of all the consumer and power saving features it has.
the computer must have a stable processor speed (running full speed, one speed only) and be able to have the most sustainable transfer rate. and not time out (put to sleep) i/o or ramp the processor speed up and down.

that is why I baught a 2006 mac for my cuebase 7. it doesn't do that above.
 
Ill sound like a conspiracy nut, but the biggest change I noticed in Windows 8 was an overwhelming amount of ads began playing on my screen and pop ups in quantitys Ive never known before...

adblock was offered and I downloaded that and it was a huge help, but Ive read it doesn't last long...so far the ads have been greatly reduced, though I do get constant reminders of things being blocked and some pages freeze up because the ads are being blocked.

I know, I know.."never use your recording pc for surfing..."
 
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