How great is Windows 8.1 in terms of gaming or overall use?

I want to know because I like Windows 8.1 OS look.

 

Excellent for general use. Really stable and fast. The main perks are
-the extremely fast boot speed
-native USB 3.0 drivers

 

Any issues in terms of gaming like Skyrim or any high profiled games?

 

I had issues way before Windows 8.1 appeared, on regular windows 8, with older titles like Warhammer 40k and specifically Games for Windows Live games. But since that thing died, and W8.1 became available, everything has been alright so far.

 

Windows 8 was trash, 8.1 is ok.. Though I would never call it "excellent"

 

Once you tweak it a little with a third party program like:
Stardock Start8
StartIsBack
ClassicShell

you're perfectly fine.

For general use, it's the best OS I've used thus far... but I do a LOT with my PC; more than most gamers or general users on the whole. I like the improvements in program launch speed, boot times, multimonitor functionality with the taskbar across the extra screens etc, and the task manager is quite useful.

But for pure gaming, Windows 7 is better apparently. It really depends on what you want; I heard Win 8 has CPU usage issues, and I know it screws with using vsync in windowed mode or something... but I am not equipped to tell you all the bad about Win 8 and gaming.

That being said, Win 8.1 is not perfect. Nowhere near perfect. Some high level tech stuff is a pain, like using unsigned/modified drivers, or actually booting into safe mode (which needs you to do it FROM windows itself, or to have Windows be unable to boot and get the menu). But I personally, for everything I do, rather Win 8 over 7.

 

Win 8.1 works the same as Win 7 more or less with a few performance victories here and there for gaming.
(If you have 8, upgrade to 8.1 period)

Where Win 8/8.1 fails is compatibility. For the latest games that isn't going to matter much unless you like classic games.
(also don't even try to do anything Cisco or anything requiring a local database...)

Most of what ails 8.1 isn't much of a problem for the average gamer if you are ok with the new user interface.

Note that Win7 in capable hands can and does have most of the supposed improvements Win8 brought to its users.(except the Metro interface) Win8 just has them on by default.

 

Win 8.1 is objectively speaking marginally less bloated and slightly less broken compared to the other Windows releases. So yes - less unstable (I've actually had a win-boot run for more than a day without needing a reboot now). And a bit more efficient compared to win7. In that, like Kernal said, they don't run every single possible kernel component and associated service at boot, and that the install actually works out of the box. Which again is a first, frankly..

There are a few improvements elsewhere as well, though - they've split some of the services, so you don't get the usual "everything is loaded" after you're running a program, for example. That was about time, really, since this has been a serious problem since Windows 98. With things like "RPC" essentially loading every resource, even if the associated services weren't running. You know, just in case you wanted someone to hack your computer via the incredibly insecure remote desktop component. Obviously, everyone should have that in memory at runtime, just in case you wanted to launch it really quickly...

 

What classic games does not work on Win 8.1?

 

Bro, on a side note, why didn't you kick of an Attila thread already?!

 

Eh. what do you mean, good sir? :^)

Also, I need to ask. If I say I have Windows Home Premium 7 with Steam, Dolphin Emulator and the PCSX2 Emulator installed (PS2 Emu), can I use a Windows 8 pro key and install from there or should I reformat my OS then install from Windows 8?

 

I mean he is the biggest Total War nut on the forum Total War Attila has been announced like 3-4 weeks ago and he didn't create a new thread about it BTW I think there was an issue with Windows 7 not supporting DX11.1? Though I think there was a way to get around it, like a patch? Dunno

 

Not from a gaming standpoint but from genral use I had such problems learning it and getting it to do things, I dont know if there is a way to convert 8.1 into the old vista xp 7 look

 

It's actually not a huge list. Usually it's the same issues that turn up in Win7. But typically games that use direct addressing to graphics card memory, that sort of thing won't work well, or work in the same way as before. Might run into some issue then. Games that otherwise wouldn't have worked with graphics card switching (or require specific settings) sometimes is a problem. Games that use particular detection routines and won't go past the config setup. Games that have installers that require specific calls to return.. things like Grim Fandango or Discworld Noir, for example. Things that were virtually impossible to get to run straight away after Winxp.

There are some issues with direct input as well if you don't have updated drivers, or a separate device mapping suite. That's.. again arguably the same issues you would have had in Win7. The thing that turns up frequently.. or at least it turns up.. is framerate problems and input lag with v-sync when either playing games requiring direct framebuffer draws (rare). Or when you run with the dwm (the windows window manager, that takes care of the indirect rendering contexts.. that's bungled up with Aero, and so people have a tendency to think that if you disable the dwm altogether and use direct rendering, the performance will be better... the opposite is the case, since more time will be spent updating non-visible contexts.. this is probably where the "Win8 is satan" stuff comes from).

But my experience is that as long as there's a way to install older vcrun libraries, or you can use a trick or other to get around the installer specific problems, most older games run well. And they tend to run better as well, with less stability issues, thanks to the compartmentalized window manager Win8 enforces. If you turn the dwm off, though, you're running into new issues in Win8. So recommended approach is: allow limited 3d effects and run the dwm, update your drivers and windows components (that have to do with the dwm) - do that, and you should have minimal issues. ..not that the dos-version of Tie-Fighter will run (without dosbox ), and certain Windows programs won't run at all of course.

But anything based off directx works..

Sorry, rambling on again. The thing is that with the professional edition of win8, you have the same context as win7, just with less bloat. And in addition you have virtualized compatibility modes for earlier Windows versions as well.. So, you know, with less resources being wasted, with slightly fewer crazy background processes hogging processor time at utterly random moments (like happens in Win7 and earlier), Win8 is actually a very good product when it comes to gaming at least. In that it is .. less bloated and broken than the predecessor, like said. I've never seen before in windows, for example, that background processes actually stop and sleep completely when they're not used, or randomly map new memory areas with monitor access (that again screws up running programs, specially if they use direct addressing models). That might sound like basic common sense if you don't want the computer to hang randomly, but with absolute certainty over time - but it's actually new in Win8. *shrug*

 

8.1 is decent. a huge improvement over 8. as far as gaming goes it shouldn't give you any problems unless you're playing pretty old games, and even then i'm sure there are workarounds.

 

8.1 is definetly been better then 7 for me.. My 7 install was becoming horribly unstable and crashing every day at least once when I played games.. That was after installing it 5 months before.. don't know what broke it but 8.1 has been a charm.. It does crash when the CPU OC becomes a bit too high for its liking..

 

8 and 8.1 are technically superior to 7 under the hood. Now that they have made it easy to be in desktop mode all the time (with 8 it was a one-key affair every boot).

There's really no reason to stick with 7.

 

If you want to upgrade from Windows 7 and want to keep all of your applications and documents, upgrade to 8.0 and then to 8.1. If you upgrade from Windows 7 to 8.1, you cannot keep any of your applications and will need to reinstall them. That's a stupid waste of time.

 

If you upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 8.0, whether you go to 8.1 or not, your speed and overall PC usage will be much slower than with a fresh install of Windows 8. I do not know why; possibly legacy code leftover from the upgrade, but this is what it's like. Especially if you're on a SSD. Maybe if you're on a mechanical drive it's not much of a problem. But DEFINITELY if you're on a SSD and want to benefit from all of Windows 8/8.1's speed, you want to fresh-install.

Also, Stardock Start 8 can remove most of the windows 8/8.1 features you may dislike, such as:
adding (fully customizable) start menu
removing sticky mouse when moving from one screen to the other
boot to desktop on Win 8
removal of corner prompts and the charms menus

Other programs that do this are StartIsBack (by IOBit I think) and Classic Shell. I do not know if those programs offer all of the same options as Start 8, and I heard that StartIsBack is better, but I have not used any but Start8 myself.

 

StartIsBack is its own thing and not from IObit. It's not free, but improves Windows 8 usability significantly. I couldn't use Windows 8 without it.

 

Ah. I was mistaken about who makes StartIsBack then.

But yes, I feel the same about Stardock Start 8.

 

I heard this rumor so help me.

Is it true that if you are offline or have no internet connection for a long time, you cannot use WIndows 8.1?

 

Never heard about this

 

Do I have to log in all the time to use Windows 8.1?

 

You can make a local account.

 

This, it's a bit obscure how to make a local account during first setup, but it is definitely doable. In terms of how it works with an Internet connection, on a local account, it is no different than Windows 7.

 

It's pretty simple actually. If there is no ethernet/wireless active during setup only local accounts can be made So hit the wireless switch or disconnect cable for the 30 seconds while creating the account.

Windows 8/8.1 checks its license validity every now and then. I've encountered few computers* where they claimed that windows has not been activated and it went away after I connected them to internet and rebooted once. I don't know how often that check is made, perhaps once every boot, and how many times it may fail.

*sent for repairs for whatever reason, so they have been at least a week or more on the road/offline.

 

Even after you activate the Windows 8.1?

 

Yep. Activation just binds the key in your hardware, then its validity is checked online every now and then. So you can't have multiple computers with same key, one online and several offline.

 

For strictly gaming, both Windows 7 and Windows 8 are fine. For overall use--gaming, media consumption, home server, productivity, and creative work--Windows 7 is still the ultimate no-compromises desktop OS IMO. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that Ubuntu is preferable to Windows 8 for getting work done, provided one is familiar with Linux.

 

I installed Windows 8.1 on to my P170HM and am noticing better gaming performance than on Windows 7. I have been able to increase settings and everything overall is so much better.

I immediately installed ''Startisback'' to get rid of that useless excuse for a GUI that Metro is and after that, all has been perfect. I figure the performance increase is due to general optimization of the OS and how it handles the CPU. I will never be going back to Windows 7 and who knows, maybe 8.1 will offer more performance for GTA V.

So you either get the same gaming performance, slightly smoother, are able to increase settings or you will get much better. In most cases I think it is a win.

 

Wow, what a DRM. I guess I'll stick with Windows 7 then. What if one day I'm going to travel and have no Internet for a year or 2? I would not be able to use Windows 8.1 because it will need to be online to be usable. LOL

 

Besides BF4, where I know DX11.1 gives W8 an advantage, which games? I switched back to Windows 7 after 1.5 years and haven't noticed any performance difference in my games. The biggest thing that happened in that department this year was Nvidia's R337+ DX11-optimized drivers.

 

Also, apparently we're at API level DX11.2 right now. Wonder why I didn't hear anything about any games using that? Or about Microsoft actually releasing it? There was lots of hype about that a while ago...

 

Yep. Windows 8 = DX11.1 and Windows 8.1 = DX11.2

Also notice your hardware feature level is only DX11. GG Nvidia.

 

I noticed better performance in Renegade X and I was able to max out all settings, Shadow of Mordor has a better and higher frame rate, Saints Row 2 has a better frame rate and other than that, my system boots quicker. From what I remember on Windows 7, GTA IV barely used more than 50% of my GPU regardless of settings but now it uses much more, not sure if that's a coincidance though.

 

Who knows, drivers maybe.

The faster boot is because Windows 8 does a kernel hibernate not a full shutdown.

Out of those games you listed, I only have experience with Renegade X on both OSes and it runs the same level of smooth either way. Averages over 60 FPS at 1080p max FXAA and occasional drops into the 50's with 4x MSAA. This is with the .exe added to the UT3 game profile in the Nvidia driver, thus using the UT3 SLI profile. The game isn't well multithreaded--uses only 2 CPU cores and a little of the 3rd and no Hyper-Threading--and is CPU-bound at times, which is to be expected from a DX9 UE3 title (Red Orchestra 2/Rising Storm has the same performance issue). Again, this is on both OSes. So for all of Windows 8's supposed under-the-hood improvements, I haven't seen it in the games I personally play.

 

Eh nVidia always did that. But it wasn't always DX 11.2, it used to be 11.1 a few months ago. This means 11.2 actually came out recently.

 

It came out with Windows 8.1. Probably an Nvidia driver issue if it didn't show up as DX11.2 until a few months ago.