Better Overall Performance Win7x64/Win8x64 & Reliability...

Hello, I'm new at the whole Forum thing.... But here we go! I recently purchased an Asus K55A-MX1-H-Red Notebook (Previously had an X54C-MS1) I'm extremely pleased with Asus!!! Awesome machines!!! Now, here are my specs:


Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 x64
Intel Core i3-3110M @ 2.4 GHz (Dual Core)
Intel HD 4000 Graphics (3071 driver) Currently @ 512 MB
Kingston 8 GB DDR3 (Dual Channel 2x4 GB) @1600 MHz
Samsung SSD 840 Series 250 GB (2 Partitions + 24 GB OP)


My notebook originally came with a 750 GB HDD (GPT) with Windows 8 x64... After wasting about 2 days trying to clone the GPT 750 GB HDD to the 250 GB SSD I learned that it isn't possible, or at the very least very difficult to do... I wanted to conserve the OEM OS installation due to the BIOS FastBoot UEFI settings for the 750 HDD... But I eventually figured that it is better to do a FRESH install of the OS onto the SSD for performance reasons... So I opted for Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 x64... That I have been running for a while now and I'm very happy with Win7...

Mainly I use my notebook for gaming on PCSX2 emulator... But also for a little bit of Photoshop CS6 for editing home photos... Watching movies online and offline... everyday web surfing on Chrome or IE10... Some Icon editing..... and occasionally use VMware to test software.... Also transferring photos and videos from a video camera and my Nokia 710 WP... That's about it... So I would like some advise and input concerning whether I should stick with Win7 or go with 8??? Which will provide better overall performance for the above listed uses??? Which is more reliable?? Any driver issues??? I'm interested in going with 8 just to see if its all that its been cracked up to be... LOL... And if I will have better performance and reliability... I also am interested in conserving the OEM recovery partitions and software that is on the factory 750 GB HDD.... I kinda like having the bloatware even if I don't use it!!! LOL!!!

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!!!

 

Hey Sebastian! Welcome to NBR!

Windows 8 is a new platform that is less resource heavy, so it does run a bit faster than Win7. The difference is fairly negligible, however, and there are driver issues that are more prevalent in 8 than in 7 (though both are susceptible). You won't see any dramatic "gains" in your applications in 8 over 7.

So better in performance (Windows 8): Yes
More reliable: No - at least, not right now.

 

I would just stick with W7 at the moment.

Leave W8 for people who use tablets/phones.

 

Thanks for the replies! I think I will stick with 7! Just wanted to see if 8 was really worth the change... Since I have a Nokia WP, I was interested in trying 8 with the whole Metro UI... And some other advanced features that aren't available with 7... I guess since I have a SSD and 8 GB Ram in dual channel, that I have a fairly well rounded notebook. I mean its super fast in Boot/Shutdown time, Opening applications, etc... Even though I'm not running an i7, I have pretty good benchmark scores that I ran using AIDA64 and PCMark 7... As well as the WEI which is 6.5 with overall decent sub-scores.

 

Now, a little off topic... The very controversial question... Win7 pagefile??? With 8 GB Ram and My SSD has 2 Partitions, C: OS, D: DATA and 24 GB OP... I have read countless articles about this and it's not clear to me what is the best option... I currently set it to Min - 100 MB / Max - 2048 MB... What I have read ranges from having no pagefile, moving the PF to another drive or partition, to setting it equal to amount of Ram as well as the current settings that I have.... No clear information about this... LOL...
Any advice about this?? I included a screenshot of my WEI just incase...