Anyone using Windows 8 as Primary OS?

musiclover7

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I am interested in giving the consumer preview a trial run, and am wondering if anyone has gone ahead and started utilizing it as their primary OS. If so, let me know how it measures up, and if you think it is worth doing at this time. I am ready for some change..
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64 Bit
    CPU
    Processor AMD Athlon(tm) II X4 635 Processor, 2800 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Memory
    8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GTX 460
I am interested in giving the consumer preview a trial run, and am wondering if anyone has gone ahead and started utilizing it as their primary OS. If so, let me know how it measures up, and if you think it is worth doing at this time. I am ready for some change..

the release preview is more stable version
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 update 1 Pro X64 with WMC
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    intel i7 2600k
    Motherboard
    Asrock H61M-VG3
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    nvidia geforce GTX 560 Ti
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Internet Speed
    100MB
I am going to install it to a virtual machine and give it a try I guess. In my experience, it is hard to truly weigh in on an OS until you have actually committed to it for a few days to a few weeks as your primary operating system. I installed the Win 8 Beta to a virtual machine earlier this year, and was not very impressed. I want to take a more comprehensive dive this time, to see for myself if there is any hope for this release, but I don't want to wind up with a system that crashes every other day. So I guess this question is to those who have taken the plunge and started working with Windows 8 as your primary system, if there are any in here doing this. How is it working for you? Is it stable enough that this is worth my time? Any advice appreciated!!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64 Bit
    CPU
    Processor AMD Athlon(tm) II X4 635 Processor, 2800 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Memory
    8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GTX 460
I'm a fanboy of 8 so I may be a) biased or b) lucky.

I have an older Acer T690. I'm dual booting 7 Ultimate with 8RP. Both 32 bit. When I do business I'm in 7 otherwise I'm in 8 more often. I will do business there when there's better apps and I'm more confident. No problems whatsoever with 8 for stability. Just a few very minor glitches, but nothing big to mention.

I read horror stories of dual booting. Maybe I'm lucky. I haven't had a BOSD since Windows 98 1st addition on a Gateway.

Go for it! What have you got to lose? Be sure to back everything up. Good luck if you install.
 
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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer T690
    CPU
    Intel Pentium D Dual Core
    Motherboard
    Acer/Intel E946GZ
    Memory
    2GB (max upgrade)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3000 - PCI Express x16
    Sound Card
    Integrated RealTek ALC888 high-definition audio with 7.1 channel audio support
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer AL1917W A LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1440 X 900
    Hard Drives
    350 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10
    Thumb drives
    PSU
    Standard 250 watt
    Case
    Desktop 7.2" (183mm) W x 17.5" (445mm) L x 14.5"
    Cooling
    Dual case fans + CPU fan
    Keyboard
    Acer Windows PS/2
    Mouse
    Wireless Microsoft Arc
    Internet Speed
    54mbp/s
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    Office Pro 2013 / Nokia Lumia 1520 Windows Phone 8.1DP GDR1
I have it running on a Samsung Series 7 slate and an HP 8540w as primary installations, and use both regularly. Other than NVidia driver issues on the 8540w (which can be worked around with an older Win7 driver), both work fine.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 4790K @ 4.5GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus Maximus Hero VII
    Memory
    32GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce GTX970
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Hard Drives
    1x Samsung 250GB SSD
    4x WD RE 2TB (RAIDZ)
    PSU
    Corsair AX760i
    Case
    Fractal Design Define R4
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15
I'm dual booting with Win7, but using Win8 as primary, no problems.
Have Win8 on two desktops and two laptops with no problems.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64/ Windows 7 Ult x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    76~2.0
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-3570K 4.6GHz
    Motherboard
    GIGABYTE GA-Z77X UD3H f18
    Memory
    8GB (2X4GB) DDR3 1600 CORSAIR Vengeance CL8 1.5v
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire HD 7770 Vapor-X 1GB DDR5
    Sound Card
    Onboard VIA VT2021
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LCD Dell SP2208WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Samaung 840Pro 128GB, Seagate 500GB SATA2 7200rpm 32mb, Seagate 1TB SATA2 7200rpm 32mb,
    PSU
    Corsair HX650W
    Case
    Cooler Master Storm Scout
    Cooling
    Corsair H80 w/Noctua NF P12 12cm fan, case fans 2X14cm
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave
    Mouse
    CM Sentinel
    Internet Speed
    Abysmal
    Browser
    Opera Next
    Other Info
    Dell Venue 8Pro: Baytrail Z3740D, 2GB Ram, 64GB HDD, 8" IPS Display 1280 x 800, Active Stylus.
    Haswell laptop: HP Envy 17t-j, i7-4700MQ, GeForce 740M 2GB DDR3, 17.3" Full HD 1920x1080, 16GB RAM, Samsung 840 Pro 128GB, 1TB Hitachi 7200 HDD,
    Desktop: eSATA ports,
    External eSATA Seagate 500GB SATA2 7200rpm,
I gave up on Windows 8. Too much trouble.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
I gave up on Windows 8. Too much trouble.

I still have that To Go USB version but it's not a primary OS. You know the speed on USB 2.0 ...
For the rest Win 8 in VBox and Win7 as a host.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy DV6 7250
    CPU
    Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP, Intel HM77 Express Chipset
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD4000 + Nvidia Geforce 630M
    Sound Card
    IDT HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6' built-in + Samsung S22D300 + 17.3' LG Phillips
    Screen Resolution
    multiple resolutions
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 250GB + Hitachi HDD 750GB
    PSU
    120W adapter
    Case
    small
    Cooling
    laptop cooling pad
    Keyboard
    Backlit built-in + big one in USB
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Sensei
    Internet Speed
    slow and steady
    Browser
    Chromium, Pale Moon, Firefox Developer Edition
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's basically it.
Having read through virtually every post for several weeks now it seems that there are quite a few people attmepting to use it as their primary OS.

Many have had to back track to 7 though and there are still /quite/ a few bugs and incompatibilities once you really start trying to use it daily for the 20 difference programs and pieces of hardware you need to get your work done.

So I'd be careful if you are actually planning on doing this on a machine where you NEED to get stuff done. If it's just for play then go for it, but I wouldn't trust relying on it to boot and run normally every day when it had to yet...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7/8
I do use Win8 primary on an older dual core that I'm online with, but my main laptop uses Win7.
Win8 works well despite that many don't like the look and feel (not a fan of Metro either). I saw something choppy in an empty Word 2007 document once but didn't repeated itself (errors? bugs?.. Bugs Bunny).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy DV6 7250
    CPU
    Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP, Intel HM77 Express Chipset
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD4000 + Nvidia Geforce 630M
    Sound Card
    IDT HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6' built-in + Samsung S22D300 + 17.3' LG Phillips
    Screen Resolution
    multiple resolutions
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 250GB + Hitachi HDD 750GB
    PSU
    120W adapter
    Case
    small
    Cooling
    laptop cooling pad
    Keyboard
    Backlit built-in + big one in USB
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Sensei
    Internet Speed
    slow and steady
    Browser
    Chromium, Pale Moon, Firefox Developer Edition
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's basically it.
I have been using it as my primary OS for Ten Months now, since Developer preview (14-9-2011) and it has been a dream to use, I won't be going back to 7.
It was a bit of a steep learning curve to start but If you use it enough you get to become comfortable with it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro 64bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Custom Build
    CPU
    Intel i7-4770K
    Motherboard
    Asus Z87 Sabertooth
    Memory
    16 Gig DDR3-2400
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte GT740
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27" - Benq 22" - Dell 23"
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 pro 128g SSD
    1xWestern Digital Caviar Green 1TB
    2xWestern Digital Caviar Green 2TB
    PSU
    Seasonic 760 watt platinum
    Case
    HAF-X
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-C12P CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech illuminated keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance MX
    Internet Speed
    Cable
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
I gave up on Windows 8. Too much trouble.

I can't believe it , happy to see you back in the right side

omg.jpg
 
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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 enterprise x64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Pc-Quebec / Area 66
    CPU
    i7-3960X Extreme Edition
    Motherboard
    Rampage IV Extreme
    Memory
    Gskill 4x4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    4 x HD 7970
    Sound Card
    onboard
    Screen Resolution
    2560*1600
    Hard Drives
    C:\Intel series 520 SSD , 250 GB
    D:\ WD 750 black with Intel 40gb SSD cache Intel RST
    E:\ WD 2TB Black
    PSU
    Corsair AX 1200
    Case
    TT Mozart TX
    Cooling
    Water Cooled
    Keyboard
    Logitech G-15
    Other Info
    Windows 8 VM is install on his own SSD.
I've been using it as my main OS since the Developer Preview last September. There have been a couple of device drivers that didn't work before that work automatically in the Release Preview. Every single day, with the exceptions of a networking device not installing and working in 8, I've been using Windows 8 in full glory; some gaming, Office, user data back ups, large data transfers, interwebbing, and consume app content. At this point, I genuinely feel that Windows 8 has offered benefits and made things easier to do than 7. Granted, there are a few things you need to learn, like the Charms bar more than anything, but overall I think it will be a great system to use everyday.

Then again, it's up to the user. Some don't like the Start Screen, but the benefits there usually trump over the arguments against. Like for one, I can pin custom Libraries to it and access easily from the Start Screen. Items that aren't on the Taskbar are pinned to the Start Screen and can be visually and quickly found.

Go for it! Start the Future! :geek:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
One of those things that Win7 misses:
compatibility.png
Who uses that anyway?
-me
Why would they put it there?
-because is useful: some of those (good) older programs require it and I don't want to manualy go back and forth wasting time changing resolution, it happens automatically.

And seriously, that legendary UP button in Win XP explorer that was removed in Vista and 7 (why??) is back.

And there are some other good new features that were added and those would probably make me upgrade when the rtm is ready.

We'll see.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy DV6 7250
    CPU
    Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP, Intel HM77 Express Chipset
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD4000 + Nvidia Geforce 630M
    Sound Card
    IDT HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6' built-in + Samsung S22D300 + 17.3' LG Phillips
    Screen Resolution
    multiple resolutions
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 250GB + Hitachi HDD 750GB
    PSU
    120W adapter
    Case
    small
    Cooling
    laptop cooling pad
    Keyboard
    Backlit built-in + big one in USB
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Sensei
    Internet Speed
    slow and steady
    Browser
    Chromium, Pale Moon, Firefox Developer Edition
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's basically it.
I would have used it as my primary OS if Battlefield 3 had worked on it

After a few weeks I got tired of having to restart in to Win 7 whenever I wanted to play. Usually that was when a friend called me "Let's play" and I have tons of stuff open.
Enoys me to restart en must open everything again
So untill BF3 works I will not use Win 8

But I love it, it just that little problem
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64 and Windows 8 Enterprise N x64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Me, myself and I
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 930 4GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS P6X58D-E
    Memory
    Kingston DDR3 HyperX 1600MHz 3x4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    2x Sapphire 7970 OC
    Sound Card
    Creative SB X-Fi Titanium HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung Syncmaster S23A750D
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 120Hz
    Hard Drives
    OCZ Agility 3 240GB 6GB/s
    WD Caviar Black 1TB SATA III
    WD Caviar Green 1TB
    WD Caviar Green 2TB mounted in Chieftec Black Box USB3.0
    PSU
    Chieftec APS-850C
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF X
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D14
    Keyboard
    Qpad MK80
    Mouse
    Logitech MX518
    Internet Speed
    25/25Mbps
And seriously, that legendary UP button in Win XP explorer that was removed in Vista and 7 (why??) is back.
.

Seriously ?, is that so hard to click on anyone of the folder in the address bar to come back where you want. It's way more usefull than a UP button since you don't need to click may time to come back few folders UP

UP.jpg
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 enterprise x64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Pc-Quebec / Area 66
    CPU
    i7-3960X Extreme Edition
    Motherboard
    Rampage IV Extreme
    Memory
    Gskill 4x4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    4 x HD 7970
    Sound Card
    onboard
    Screen Resolution
    2560*1600
    Hard Drives
    C:\Intel series 520 SSD , 250 GB
    D:\ WD 750 black with Intel 40gb SSD cache Intel RST
    E:\ WD 2TB Black
    PSU
    Corsair AX 1200
    Case
    TT Mozart TX
    Cooling
    Water Cooled
    Keyboard
    Logitech G-15
    Other Info
    Windows 8 VM is install on his own SSD.
How about networking with other Windows 7 machines? There are 2 other computers in my household. I want to make sure I can still share files like a champ should I choose to load 8 on one of them..
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64 Bit
    CPU
    Processor AMD Athlon(tm) II X4 635 Processor, 2800 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Memory
    8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GTX 460
I Have 0 issue networking Windows 8 with all my others PCs, Servers Microsoft or not. Of course my Windows 7 are not set-up with Home group but with Workgroup or Domain.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 enterprise x64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Pc-Quebec / Area 66
    CPU
    i7-3960X Extreme Edition
    Motherboard
    Rampage IV Extreme
    Memory
    Gskill 4x4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    4 x HD 7970
    Sound Card
    onboard
    Screen Resolution
    2560*1600
    Hard Drives
    C:\Intel series 520 SSD , 250 GB
    D:\ WD 750 black with Intel 40gb SSD cache Intel RST
    E:\ WD 2TB Black
    PSU
    Corsair AX 1200
    Case
    TT Mozart TX
    Cooling
    Water Cooled
    Keyboard
    Logitech G-15
    Other Info
    Windows 8 VM is install on his own SSD.
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