Windows 10

As far as I know it won't be... You will have to use a 3rd party tool like teamviewer

 

fbl_impressive Professional 10166 available on fast ring

 

Thanks for the update. Im updating now.

 

A tidbit;
http://www.neowin.net/news/windows-10-will-not-rtm-this-week

 

Try going into your firmware and doing a quick save and exit. I know it sounds weird but for me it only seemed to see the drives that were present during install. After that if I added drives it would not see them until I went into my firmware and saved the settings once. After that it was all golden.

 

For Alienware M17x R4 users I installed Windows 10 for you. Here is what you will require to get the system working 100% (or at least as close as you can)

For the most part Windows will install 100% of the hardware with compatible drivers. Doesn't matter if Enduro is on or not (I have AMD). I can't say the same on Optimus although most will have it on unless you have an unlocked firmware from upgrading your card or other issue.

With that in mind if you do have an upgraded card then you may need to hold off a bit until drivers are pushed out.

Anyways for sofware that you will needed...

From support.dell.com:
Alienware Command Center 2.8.10.0 (Windows 8)
On Screen Display software (Windows 8.1)
Sound Blaster Recon 3Di audio drivers (Windows 8.1)

From intel.com (optional):
Intel Chipset Device Software

Alienware Command Center is needed for AlienFX
OSD software is needed for Enduro toggle
Sound Blaster Recon 3Di drivers are needed to allow the side ports to work properly. They won't hot detect otherwise. They may not even cold detect. Didn't test that part.
Note: The driver pack installs only the drivers by default when you run the exe from Dell directly. If you want the control panel and extras you need to extract the files from the package then run it from the folder. If you already installed the drivers it will allow you to modify the installation otherwise I assume it may just default to install everything.
The control panel does work on Windows 10.


Once that is done you essentially have a fully working system.

Items missing that would be nice.
Synaptics touchpad support software -- Same as above but there are no working gestures without it on Windows 10. The Windows 8.1 version from Dell does not work as I have tried that already. I did not try from the manufacturer website but word has it they do an OS check anyways so it won't install. Didn't verify that fact myself.
Found some compatible drivers on the Windows Update website that are available for manual download.

64-bit: https://catalog.update.microsoft.co...updateid=f8b51bde-762a-4f94-bf72-ac707b39f6e4
32-bit: https://catalog.update.microsoft.co...updateid=78fcc101-0a2a-4db7-b5cc-4cf331930796
The last links disappeared on me. If it changes again start here and look for version 19.0.15.2 dated 7/9/2015

If anyone came across tested/working versions of the last 2 items let me know.

Tested Build 10162/10240

 

i'm waitting windows 10

 

As we approach RTM, Windows 10 just keeps getting worse.......with every build....

Windows 10 Build 10162: Audio issue detailed

@Mr. Fox

 

I am watching. It's probably going to be scary. If bet Micro$haft gets a bigger black eye from Windoze OS X than they did from Windows 8. And they probably deserve one.

It will also be interesting to see if all of the bizarre NVIDIA problems we are seeing is all geared toward the next OS and a manipulation tactic. If my 780M SLI runs without throttling on Windows 10 and still throttles with Windows 7 and 8, I think a criminal investigation and class action might be in order.

 

The problem there is I doubt in total that these are allof 0.01% of the machines out there running Nvidia SLI. Do you think they care other than to say look at what we can do now?

 

Honestly, I don't think they care about anything other than what they want and how much money they can make from it. What customers want isn't even on their radar except for the customers that have become intoxicated on their Kool-Aid and want whatever Micro$haft wants for them.

As far as the throttling problem goes, I am convinced it has nothing whatsoever to do with SLI and everything to do with the latest NVIDIA cancer drivers aggressively trying to cut back on power consumption, because that's what all the retards are obsessed with. It's extremely stupid. If one 780M used as much power as two, I am almost positive it would be acting the same way. It may have something to do with SLI desktops as well, and all of the Chrome crashing with hardware acceleration enabled. If you look at the nvlddkm.sys file for both desktop and notebook it has recently added code for ACPI power limits and SLI power limits which was not present in drivers back in January and February. March is when my power throttling problems began, If I use drivers from February and earlier, no problems... and those lines of code are nowhere to be found in the nvlddkm.sys files for those drivers.

I tried removing those lines of code, but the drivers were unusable after hex editing.

 

Problem is that even the drivers are coded object oriented. Once you start removing the code for one thing it easily can start effecting something else that is totally not related. Also besides removing the code you have to eliminate all calls and compensate for for the values passed by those calls. Essentially reverse engineer the drivers.

 

Well spotted on the nvlddkm.sys file topic, interesting! What functional benefits are there for NVidia to implement ACPI power control limits? If it's to control power consumption (I guess to lower it), then does this mean that older NVidia Drivers cause a greater power consumption than new NVidia Drivers, I've not noticed a change in power consumption between drivers?

 

No, power consumption is the same, but my 780M SLI throttles because the new drivers actually cut power to the GPUs after a certain point. In case you haven't seen it already, here's my latest YouTube video exposing NVIDIA shenanigans in their newer drivers. I also show a glimpse of the difference visible with the hex editor. If you look in the video what the power level is cut to, it bears a remarkable resemblance to the capacity of the standard AC adapter for new Alienware BGA laptops. Coincidence? Good question. Since all new Alienwares come standard with a maximum AC adapter capacity of 180W, I guess the rest of us get to be limited by the lowest common denominator in Alienware-Land thanks to NVIDIA's latest OEM shill drivers. How do you like that? We're all officially pawns for the OEMs to control with NVIDIA's assistance. No need to clock-block drivers, just block how much power they can use so none of the kids burn up their BGA turd machines. Nice, huh?

View the first video 1080p full screen and look at some of the captions for controls in the driver file shown in the right window. Just the title of those elements in the driver looks really sinister to me. I predict we will see more of the same or even worse abuse at the scepter of Micro$haft from Windows OS X.

There is also a registry key for newer drivers that identifies the machine by chipset hardware ID as Dell, Clevo, MSI, etc. So, NVIDIA can play puppetmaster and do whatever underhanded dirty-work the OEMs ask (or pay) them to do to cripple their laptops. See thumbnail attached. (Example is from my P570WM.)

[parsehtml]<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mpd2ZzAGrfo?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>[/parsehtml]I am releasing a video like this to expose NVIDIA's driver problems with each driver release until they fix it. Below is the video I released earlier, for the last driver.

[parsehtml]<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IGlGg01GOek?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>[/parsehtml]

 

Yeah, it's a rubbish move by Nvidia. Power saving I can understand for low to moderate loads like when at idle or when web browsing or something along those lines, but when you're playing a game you want max power, not gimped power savings. The ACPI control you've noticed in drivers is a nonsensical move by NVidia if it gimps the power when you need it.

EDIT: yep your video makes it very clear to see the throttling by seeing your GPUz readings alongside your UPS global wattage readings - when you showed this to the NVidia reps what did they have to say about it? It's very solid evidence, so it should be very clear to them.

 

They are looking into it. I have also shared the video with some folks I know at Alienware. They are supposed to be talking about it, and hopefully fixing it.

Alienware is still "king" of gaming notebooks (in size and volume only now), so it's probably just a matter of time before the cancer begins to surface with other OEMs unless NVIDIA stops smoking the cancer sticks and providing malware drivers that facilitate this. Alienware is probably the proof-of-concept R&D partner for this crap.

There is really no reason for this technology to exist... at all. We have always been limited by AC adapter capacity. If all they have is 180W or 240W, the AC adapter itself will take care of how far you can overclock. There is no reason for the driver to be involved with or aware of the AC adapter capacity. In my case, the driver "thinks" it knows what is best and my machine cannot even function properly at stock clock speeds because it's an Alienware and it assumes I have a 180W AC adapter. This may be why 980M SLI throttles so bad in an Alienware, and why @Prema, @johnksss, @slv7 and myself have had such a bad time trying to fix it with vBIOS tweaks. Drivers and vBIOS are working together to create the perfect storm of malfunction.

NVIDIA might fix it, because it is bad for them to have drivers that do this. It's just not in their best interest, and I believe they are smart enough to figure that out. Their bread and butter is the enthusiasts that buy NVIDIA GPUs, not OEMs. Even if NVIDIA fixes it, I'm preparing myself mentally for the complete abandonment of notebooks as a viable computing platform for gamers and enthusiasts. I think the industry is run by retards, and desktop PC, until they ruin that as well, will be the only place we can go. Micro$haft will probably destroy that also. They are on a roll of ruining everything they touch.

 

Well, that's excellent that you've been in discussions with NVidia & Alienware with that evidence of yours, I hope they do fix the issue, I'm sure you'll keep us posted - I bet each new driver release teases a potential fix for you! The way it currently stands I think I'll be building my first ever desktop in a year or two, I'll still keep my current laptop for non-gaming purposes at that point.

 

Yes... if something meaningful comes of it, it will definitely be shared.

IF it gets fixed, I expect to hear nothing and a new driver release will quietly resolve the problem. I don't expect NVIDIA or Alienware to disclose or admit to anything. But, I do expect NVIDIA will want to do the right thing at some point. Their future may depend on it. They are the stakeholders with everything to lose by going along with it. I am hoping we will end up surprised and happy, but I am expecting that to come with no prior announcement of something broken being fixed.

 

Well here is the issue. OEM's will configure their systems differently by what capacities are provided to them by the manufacturers of the GPU etc.. Where 180w may have been fine by the design limits real world almost always turns around to bite you. TBH 180w as a design spec is just a joke for SLI.

Now comes the issue, how to make it work. Nvidia was not about to fork over money to update power bricks so it controls what it can with ACPI. IMHO what should have been done is place in driver options a 240w, or even 280-300w power option to limit ACPI interference. I say let the high end user decide what they want too do.

Same is true here of even non SLI. Every manufacturer is difference so instead of just crippling the drivers give a power option for those that either have the higher end bricks or are not as stingy with the power concerns. Then again since overclocking is being pulled it does not appear they are concerned with the higher end user. This amazes me as it is this same high end user that pays a sever premium for their products, but hey who am I to judge?

 

Problem may be, as they clamp down on those drivers, their versions may be stingier with letting things access hardware. This will be true the further in they get to turning your PC into a device. Just a heads up to everyone, as the RTM comes up and further down the line there is nothing stopping them from coming in and eliminating any and all custom tweaks over and above any other system out there. As they say they want "one service and one experience"!

 

Never thought a Personal Computer would become a stupid locked-down UX. As an eg, the Task Manager change from Win7 to Win8 was stupid enough to make me puke over that bloated Win8+ , and this Win10's ton-a-crap user limiting features, this is real hell. XTU not working as intented, Nvidia driver issues, Aftermarket GPU upgrade issues, more to come....
I'm still rooting for Win7 until something worth comes from M$, I hope they will get rekt'd with this win10 = Win1" 0" RTM.

 

Well, that's a bugger, if XTU doesn't work with Windows 10, then that means my time unlimited Full Core Turbo Boost might be a thing of the past! Definitely will be keeping that latest Win7 image on hand after the upgrade to Windows 10!

 

Unless something major comes along to change the corporate mindset as it is then we are stuck. There will be no new OS for our PC's from them. They want to be a service for our devices period. The ramifications to the consumer PC industry have not even started yet, if nothing is done quickly it could easily be a death blow.

The only way I see for a mindset change to happen is if not only Windows 10 is a true failure but its advent starts a shift to other OS/UI choices in a substantial market share shift. If the status stay where it is they will gladly wait till 2020 where consumers forced into change have to go M$ as they can't take the time or learning curve for any major changes.

 

I'm sure XTU is just a bug. 10 is still in beta after all. There's going to be Day 1 updates. RTM isn't the final code.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

Talking of Day 1 updates does anyone have any ideas or best guesses on how long it will take after the launch date to roll out to most people who have already reserved a copy? I read that Windows Insiders will be able to get it on actual launch day, but other people won't be able to get it rolled out to them for a while after that. If there's gonna be Day 1 updates, then maybe that's not such a bad thing anyway!

 

This is why I will be waiting until a few months after Windows 10 releases to switch my OS to it. I want the bugs ironed out before I even consider installing it on my machine.

 

Aw, come on, where is the fun in that?

 

This kind of mindset is an excellent example of why I have absolutely no respect for them any more. Almost everything they say and do is evidence that their issues are beyond being limited to stupidity. They actually lack capacity to think rationally. Stupid people can learn, just as monkeys can. Unfortunately, they have brain damage, and that cannot be fixed.

There is always hope. It wasn't that long ago, unless you're a youngster or totally new to computers, that all of us will remember when Internet Explorer was the de facto standard and it's share in the browser wars absolutely dwarfed everything else combined. The Micro$haft browser is now obsolete and dwarfed by the Chrome and Firefox userbase. I think the same can happen to Windows, and I certainly hope so. Windows 7 and 8 users need to be very careful about allowing Windows Updates to infect their systems. I would put it past the Redmond Mafia to begin doing really horrible things to its own products in an effort to drive adoption force compliance. Those that do not have older OS installation media or an aggressive drive image backup plan need to get on that right away to avoid being caught with their underpants around their ankles.

The nice thing about having a great drive imaging program like Macrium Reflect is I can test drive whatever I want, whenever I want, and cure any digital disease that may arise from my indiscretion in a matter of a few minutes. No commitment required... just the way the Nazis hate it. I will be trying it early, with no fear of the grim reaper from Redmond. For now anyway, I can say that I own them. Their end game is for opposite to be true... ain't gonna happen... at least not as long as I have a say in the matter.

 

Thought about getting the free WX license for keeps sake. Then, I read this article. Let's just say I'm no longer interest in WX:

http://www.ghacks.net/2015/07/02/computerbase-you-have-30-days-to-downgrade-windows-10/

 

With that restriction, possible loss of my old license, it may not even be worth trying the RTM out. At least not at first that is, I may just have to wait.

 

I don't have the self control over my curiosity levels to do that - I'll just install it as soon as I can & then revert to Windows 7 if it's rubbish! (Yep, Macrium Reflect FTW!)

@hirobo2 , that 30 day trial of Windows 10 could be an issue for me though, I might want longer to decide whether or not to keep it, especially if it's a bit of a mess when it's first lanched. Hmm, although I suppose I could use Windows 10 for 29 days, then downgrade back to Windows 7, and then just do a free uprgrade to Windows 10 again before the 1 year free window is up - I'm assuming that would be allowed, but then how long would it be before I could then no longer downgrade to Windows 7 again (assuming this was the 2nd time I'd tried Windows 10).

 

My concern is if they have a downgrade path rather than just a restore image. If you just restore image and do not do the downgrade path will they kill your old license after 30 days?

 

The impression I got from the article was you can't just reimage W7/8.1. You have to reactivate it again (phone activation?) or they will kill the old license after 30 days...

 

Ah! I see the shysters have provided a new and more compelling reason for software piracy to flourish. It will be interesting to see what sort criminal creativity will surface to fix this nasty Micro$haft problem.

I don't have to worry about the 30 day limit. I will know within 24 to 48 hours, or less, whether or not the OS will be permitted to reside on my systems. There is no reason to give it a longer leash or an opportunity to "win me over" to the new OS. I will know as soon as I begin to overclock the snot out of my systems and run 3DMark 11, Fire Strike, Sky Diver, Vantage, Heaven, etc. At first sign of lower performance it will be gone. There is no reason for me to even entertain the upgrade except to raise my benchmark scores. There is no reason for Windows 10 to exist. Its existence is completely unnecessary. Same was true of Windows 8. To the extent is raises my benchmark score it might add value. Windows 8 failed to do that, and it has never earned a spot of respect in my house. The only thing it is good for is fluffing up Fire Strike scores by a few points. I fails in all other measurements compared to Windows 7, including the look and feel of the UI. All things considered, it was a massive downgrade from Windows 7, so it would be specious for us to expect any different at this point.

It used to be true that "necessity is the mother of invention" and it may still be for some things, but this is definitely no longer accurate with respect to Windows. Of course, I guess that also depends on who is defining "necessity" and what their ulterior motives might be.

That's certainly possible. Definitely a blatant demonstration of draconian control and hate for customers.

Yeah, curiosity is always what I struggle with. Curiosity killed the cat but it also has potential to snare the sly fox. I've had to chew my way out of more than one trap before. I find it hard to resist testing because I always want better and faster and nicer, even if my expectations are very low. I also like to be able to speak with authority when I say something sucks. If I haven't tested it, my opinions are anecdotal and worthless. As long as you get in and get out and not let indecisiveness mess you up it should be OK. Just be wary of them doing something to complicate or fail the downgrade process that we don't know about yet. You may end up with a license that doesn't work for either OS. As much as they seem to have a knack for screwing things up, the chance for unexpected (although very convenient) complications to arises are pretty great, especially when downgrading is the opposite of what they want.

 

I do see what you mean. I would know after re-imaging Windows 7 wouldn't I if that copy of Windows 7 needed activation? It would prompt me wouldn't it, or I'd go to the...I think...Windows Experience screen area and see whether it was activated somewhere around there. EDIT: And I'd probably do a Macrium Reflect image of Windows 10 before downgrading in case the downgrading via image screws something up with the licences - thereby giving me the option to downgrade according their preferred downgrade path (I guess through Windows Update or something). EDIT #2: Although thinking about it, I wouldn't know until it was too late if they just work it by keeping both licences active during the 30 day trial, unless you downgrade using their preferred methods (not imaging). Hmm, could get complicated, will need to find out more before trying.

Haha, well I'll try to be on the ball & wily! Will do all I can to avoid ending up with a licence for an OS I don't want - whether that be Windows 7 or Windows 10 as the case may be!

 

I've thought about using Macrium reflect, but I'd rather not spend the day reinstalling everything to find out if something is broke or not, then to have to do the thing a few months down the line XD.

If any problems arise with machines like mine, I'm certain people will be talking about it here, and I can know what to expect.

Without a doubt, I *WILL* be going to win 10 at some point unless there is a system-breaking conflict with my hotkey drivers or something essential to my system, but I'd rather just not sift through the early adopter issues XD. I already had early adopter problems with my 780Ms getting tons of artifacting on my 120Hz screen, or when I did the win 8 upgrade it kept Microsoft Security Essentials from Win 7 installed, then I couldn't uninstall it to upgrade to 8.1 because Win 8.1 wouldn't install while it was installed, but running the "uninstaller" for it ran the "installer" and it would see I was on win 8 then tell me I had no reason to run the installer and force itself closed, and I had to go through MS support to remove their own bloody product, etc.

So yeah, I'm playing it nice and safe =D.

 

Yeah, that's a legit concern, too. This is already pissing me off and it hasn't even started yet, LOL.

It should be no skin off of their noses, but 30 day thing is clearly just a self-serving tactical maneuver to trap people that find themselves in undesirable circumstances and no longer willing to fart around with Windoze OS X. After 30 days, they will have a ring in your nose and a chastity belt around your waist.

I guess 30 days to set up camp or get the heck out of Dodge should be enough. If you cannot tell in less than 30 days if the OS is a pile of crap, then something is wrong. I can smell poop from 30 feet away as long as I'm not upwind from where it is deposited. Procrastinators will find themselves wandering the wilderness for 40 years and longing for the Egyptian slavery they left behind, LOL.

 

Using Macrium Reflect I think you'd be able to reinstall an old image in a matter of minutes (rather than a day), especially if you have a seperate small partition for your OS.

 

I takes me about 10 to 15 minutes to restore a full-blown Windows 7 or 8 OS installation with all of my applications and customization already in place to an SSD from an image store on a 5400 RPM HDD. If it is already activated and you can block it from being able to phone home it may not matter if the license is revoked. It won't matter as long as there is no chance for it to get deactivated.

If you are using a retail version of Windows that you paid for, the decision should be yours indefinitely. It is still a moral dilemma for them if they are going to usurp your right to choose which OS you decide to use beyond 30 days. I always knew there were going to be strings attached to the "free" upgrade. Now we are seeing what those strings are.

 

Whenever I go back to using Windows 7 I don't like it. The file transfer in 8.1 is so much better with the ability to pause. And then there's the significant increase in everyday performance if you're using an SSD. My brother recently upgraded to a decent SSD and it was still noticeably slower than my laptop on 8.1.

I think I'm the only one who's really looking forward to 10. I am going to update as soon as possible

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

Well I'll probably find it hard to resist the curiosity of upgrading, even if I am concerned about the 30 day trial period window & concerns of downgrade paths & potential issues associated with downgrading via image. I think I'll be able to find a way through those issues even if I do try it on day one.

 

All people who "can't resist", do you know that you already can download Insider Preview Build and upgrade to RTM on 29-th? And have not 30 days but 60, 90 and more days of valid license? And if you don't want to install newer builds then just do update hack which "should" prevent OS from installing concrete updates like fbl.impressive builds if you want to.

Or you actually can't resist not from installing RTM but from using your old key or "free" stuff? Lets be clear, shouldn't we?

 

A good point, but I think for me I don't want the hassle of a clean install & re-configuring all my settings - I'd rather have the stuff upgraded & then deal with images to revert. I suppose the benefit of trying the Insider Preview build now is that your old Windows 7 key doesn't get confused into the whole debacle right, that's one bonus for sure. By installing Windows 10 Preview now do you think I could end up with the benefit of 2 valid licences then for my laptop come post launch day? That way I could switch between Windows 7 & Windows 10 at will from that point on forever. I'm thinking that could be the case because anyone that try Windows 10 before launch gets a free copy of Windows 10. Have I drawn the right conclusions here?

 

Yup... everyone is different. I've been using Windows 8 since it was in beta. I bought it for 6 systems and still use it dual boot on a couple of them. The others were downgraded to Windows 7 after about a year because the rest of the family hated it. A year was not long enough to convince them and they were all begging for me to give them back their Windows 7. After all this time I still find Windows 7 superior and Windows 8.1.1 flawed in comparison. Windows 8/8.1/8.1.1 have never really been faster at anything for me, and I was already able to pause file transfers using a third-party utility that is superior (Teracopy Pro) to any native Windows 8 feature.

Already been there, done that, which is why I am already extremely negative. The first three builds were absolutely garbage. I stopped participating because I don't waste time using trash just because it's newer trash. I'm giving them one last chance to impress me with something better than Windows 7 when Windoze OS X goes RTM because I'm such a nice, open-minded person that wants the best for himself. The niceness ends at the first sign of incompetence. Homey don't play dat. There's no shame in using something that is obsolete when it is still superior. Hence, I still dual boot Windows 7. I use Windows 8.1.1 for Fire Strike benchmarks and random experiments. It fails at most of them. Windows 7 still fares better at almost everything.

 

You can install now Inside Build of Win 10 Core (Home) and then just create recovery image, go back to Win 7, do the Official Upgrade, backup activation info and recover old Win 10 image.

 

I meant installing everything on the NEW OS (aka Win 10). I likely would not have much to reinstall (if anything) with the old OS using Macrium Reflect.

My version is retail... are they saying I need to pay to fully own Win 10? I thought the license could simply count for both 8/8.1 and 10 and that as long as I upgraded to win 10 within the first year of its release I'd own it fully forever? Is this wrong?

 

Ha I have no plans of downgrading once I'm fully set up with 10. No going back for me! Unless Microsoft really drop the ball- the current beta builds suggest otherwise though.

I mean a lot the complaints here are super specific. Mainly impacting the super enthusiasts. That doesn't make the complaints any less valid of course, buy it's highly unlikely to affect me as a more 'softcore' PC enthusiast.

I an really digging the new look of the desktop with the return of the start menu. Really slick and attractive to my eyes. I'm really pumped for the updated aesthetics (it looks more cohesive in 10 than 8.1) and the returning start menu more than anything else! DX12 is the most interesting thing to me but still months/years away from actually being utilised.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

No, you already paid for it and they are not asking for you to pay a second time. If what we are interpreting is correct, what you are losing is the right to change your mind after 30 days. This is the moral dilemma to the 30 day time limit and the strings attached to the "free" upgrade that I have a problem with. It's no longer a "free" upgrade at that point. It's a surrender of your right to use the OS you paid for after 30 days by accepting the "free" upgrade. Big time moral dilemma for Micro$haft in my opinion. I'd rather just buy Windows 10 and have unlimited freedom of choice, but since I'll know in far less than 30 days I doubt I will have anything to worry about unless they introduce complications or errors in the downgrade process. That's what I think we should all be most worried about. They haven't given us many reasons to be comfortable with confidence in their ability to execute well on anything for a couple of years now.

 

Ah. That makes sense now. I honestly expected something like that. That being said I might likely just get a new key or something. They can be found pretty cheaply sometimes.

That being said, that's more reason for me to wait and see before trying, no? =D

 

I do agree the Windoze OS X UI is better than 8, but I've always preferred Windows 7 UI over Windows 8. I've tweaked 8 to be more like 7 on purpose. I really loathe the new Start menu and first order of business will be to find a way to replace it with a Windows 7 (tile-free) menu. Second order of business will be full Aero transparency throughout the OS. Without both of those things, I will not have any appreciation for the UI.

I'm not even factoring in DX12 for that very reason. I think it may end up being a big to do about nothing, and even if that is not the case, it may not be relevant for quite some time. The success of DX12 will be dependent on game developers drinking the Kool-Aid and how much effort and money it takes them to adopt it. Might be quick, might not, but until then it's irrelevant. There is simply no reason to care about DX12 at this point.

Yes, I think that is the safest approach. Other than curiosity, there is no compelling reason to upgrade.