Should I upgrade to Windows 8 for gaming?

shadowman90

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After I switched to Fedora Linux for everyday work I now use Windows for 100% gaming and I was just wondering I have a retail copy of Windows 8 Professional and I want to know would it be worth upgrading to that from my current copy of Windows 7 Professional when it will be only used for gaming? Will there be any compatibility issues with the games I currently use in Win7? Also since I understand the retail copies of Windows 8 are upgrade only will I still have my files in tact after the upgrade? I would backup my data anyway but it saves time if my files are still in tact after upgrading. If Windows 8 is fine for gaming and there are no driver issues with my laptop I would gladly upgrade from Windows 7 but I see reviewers have mixed feelings when it comes to Windows 8 and gaming...some say its fine (but adds a few extra steps to start games) and others say it is a disaster. Can anyone that actually games on Windows 8 tell me if it is worth the upgrade or should I stick with Windows 7 for my gaming needs? Thanks.
 

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    Fedora 18 64-bit / Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 7 / Win 8
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    Lenovo T510 / HP ProBook 4540S
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    Intel i5-510m / Intel i3-3110m
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    4GB / 8GB
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    15.6"
it depends on what games you play. if you mostly play a lot of old games and you're happy with the performance of Windows 7, there are no real reasons to upgrade.

if you like the latest games and want to have your system mature as tech advances, then upgrading to Windows 8 is where you'll want to go. For example, DirectX11.1 will only be Windows 8 and beyond. Windows 7 not be getting it. Actually, gamers are the fastest migrators to Windows 8 because they tend to upgrade hardware at the highest rates.

Steam Hardware & Software Survey
By Steam's tracking system, Windows 8 users are already past 8% and about to pass Windows XP. Windows 7 usage rate is already starting to decline.

svrlah.jpg

If you're big into Steam games, there are a lot of Steam launchers out there. And you can pin Steam games directly to your Start screen or to your desktop.

Also, you can get a lot of free games or cheap games through Windows Store. Though the commercial ones are still the best. Like Pinball FX2, Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, etc.

[video=youtube;8Im0XOjqu5w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Im0XOjqu5w[/video]

If you haven't tried out Pac-Man yet, do so! I'm always pimping this game because it's a lot of fun. I have it for my Xbox too. There's a lot more to this game than this short video shows. The Windows version is almost like the Xbox version with some tweaks (like you see an arrow in front of Pac-Man).

[video=youtube;jJmyNNRWTfw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJmyNNRWTfw[/video]

Skulls of the Shogun is another cool Windows 8 only game. And it has crossplatform play. You can play against someone on the 360 or on a Windows Phone. Or if you own it on Windows and the 360, your game saves are crossplatform. You can play on the 360. Turn it off. Go to your laptop and continue playing it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
i would defenitely do so because i have a great improvement in overall performance and better frames in games , i play on a mid-range laptop and on windows 7 i could just run skyrim at 15-20 frames and now i have about 20-25 fps.
also in minecraft, i was running it at about 20-30 fps in 7 .but now it runs smoothly at 40-50 fps
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8 x64 pro
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    PC/Desktop
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    hp
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    AMd 5800k
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    msi
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    8gig 1600MHz
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    amd radeon hd 8470
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I think you should upgrade. I had done so on three computers (one is a laptop) and on all of them i have seen improvements in games especially in FPS. For example on my friends computer where I installed Windows 8 first, in MW3 the FPS went up for about 10-15. On my laptop League of Legends FPS went from 40 to 60 and on my PC Far Cry 3 also has an increase in FPS as well as Save and Load times.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 64-bit and Windows 7 64-bit and Ubuntu 12.04 64-bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    AMD Athlon II x4 2.92 Ghz
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    Gigabyte 77OTA-UD3
    Memory
    6GB Kingston HyperX DDR3
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    ATI Radeon HD5670 1GB GDDR5
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    Samsung SyncMaster 920NW
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
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    WD Caviar Black 1TB
    Keyboard
    Razer Lycosa
    Mouse
    Razer Abyssus
    Internet Speed
    12Mbps
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Avast! Internet Security
I think you should upgrade. I had done so on three computers (one is a laptop) and on all of them i have seen improvements in games especially in FPS. For example on my friends computer where I installed Windows 8 first, in MW3 the FPS went up for about 10-15. On my laptop League of Legends FPS went from 40 to 60 and on my PC Far Cry 3 also has an increase in FPS as well as Save and Load times.

I'd have to second statements like the above claiming that the switch is worth it from a gaming standpoint. I by no means have some otherwordly beast machine, but do game via my PC on a regular basis. My gaming library consists primarily of MMOs and a few titles off Valve titles off Steam (TF2, L4D2, etc). As far as performance with games goes, I definitely feel the lack of umph in my hardware more with newer MMO titles.

On the same machine on Windows 7, I was running Guild Wars 2 at a max of 25fps on medium settings. Switching to Windows 8, I have it on high settings at 40fps as my middleground. Same scenario with TERA and FFXIV, as well. With MMOs, my performance literally doubled. Was more than pleasantly surprised.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
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