Will Win 8 do?

[Mastermariner]

 

Have to get a new key for win 7 on my new sys so thinking about getting new win 8 instead, same price, but will it do for BoS?

Master

[Sim]

Don't have any issues with Win 8.1 and RoF - so yeah, probably it will do. Also, LOFT mentioned Windows 8 will be supported in one of the dev diaries.

[Speckfire]

No issues with Windows 8.1 here

[dburne]

No issues with Windows 8.1 here

 

How do you like it, say compared to Windows 7? Just curious.

I am doing a new build in Dec, and have debated in my mind and about decided I will just stick with 7 for now...

[skline00]

I have Win 8.1 on all 3 of my machines with NO problems.

[HoH]

IMO win 8 is a better sys, faster for sure. It boots v. fast especially if you have ssd.

[Sethos]

Works fine here.

 

Windows 8 + Start8 = Slice of heaven. 

[dburne]

Do you guys find 8 to be much of an improvement over 7?

[skline00]

Do you guys find 8 to be much of an improvement over 7?

Gosh, there are opinions all over the place. I try to keep my OS current due to the belief that MS usually focuses on the latest OS version first. Having 3 multicore machines (3930k,3770k and FX8350) I also wanted the latest OS to take advantage of the multicore tweeks.  I loved Win 7 and I won't "bad mouth it". Win 8 slightly improved it and I find Win 8.1 ( a free upgrade for a licensed Win 8 user) to really be nice.  8.1 puts a start button back but not with the same functionality you are used to in Win 7.

 

I bought a 5 user license for software called StartisBack as an add on to win 8. It is updated to work with Win 8.1. It replicates Win 7's start button  and I'm very happy with it.

 

Il2 BOS works fine on all 3 machines with Win 8.1.

Edited November 28, 2013 by skline00

[Mastermariner]

Well Im not so sure anymore. I feel Im having HAL from 2001 on my computer " Sorry Dave I cant let you do that!" Il give it a week or so before doing a clean instal of win 7.

 

Master

Edited November 29, 2013 by Mastermariner

[dburne]

Thanks for the feedback.

We went to my wife's parents in FL for Thanksgiving, her mother has a new laptop with Windows 8, and asked me if I could do something to get it more like what she was used to with Windows 7.

I first updated it to 8.1, and after reading on the internet downloaded classic shell, and used it to make it look more like Windows 7.

I played around with it both ways, and found the Metro GUI somewhat disturbing I guess, though I am sure one can get used to it - but after using classic shell , I was back in very familiar territory.

 

I may just give 8.1 a try.

[M4rgaux]

I barely used the start button before win8, that fact that it's missing doesn't matter much (as long as you know the mighty [win + x] shortcut).

The only thing really missing in win8 might be cygwin, yet being a gaming rig, this doesn't matter much.

Performance wise, games running dx11 seems to have fewer crash and run a bit better (in my experience at least).

 

Now I'll be honest, I kinda hate microsoft's product, yet the metro interface is the best move they've ever done, it's called evolution, if it goes backward it won't stay, if it work great, it'll improve, but sometime things need to change.

Edited December 2, 2013 by M4rgaux

[Wolger]

Please get the latest iteration of Windows = Windows 8.1

 

I've been using Win8 Pro for quite sometime, no prob with all latest games and old softwares written prior 2000 - no crashes, running smoothly on my heavily overclocked system! If you can trust the Windows Experience score, I get higher scores than people who's using Windows 7 - if it's reliable then it really optimises your hardwares.

 

Dunno with all the hatres towards Windows 8 and MS in general, they infact came out with great products like the Windows (I'm dead serious lol) and developer tool Visual Studio 2012.

 

Never use the Metro UI thou, never like it.

[M4rgaux]

My experience with the 8.1 update was teribad... Forcing user to have a web account is a privacy killer, they should be ashamed. 

That one great point of hate. (I'm still running 8.0)

 

Second point is the inefficiency of the system... Have you ever tried FreeBSD, OpenBSD or a non-windowsed Linux ?

 

Windows in itself ain't that bad, far from it, but they're need for compatibility between OSs is killing them. It's fun to be able to update from Win95 to Win8 without formating, but let's face the uselessness of it...

Most of the code we're running shouldn't be here anymore...

 

As long as they're not ready to disappoint people, the system will be good but never great. (That's why I think the metro ui is there best move yet).

 

(I haven't mentioned the security issues and I won't, it's pretty much irrelevant considering the actual situation.)

Edited December 3, 2013 by M4rgaux

[dburne]

Well I went ahead and ordered 8.1 yesterday, to put on my new build coming up.

Figured as I am starting fresh might as well give it a shot. I feel better about it after playing around with it some last week on my mother in law's laptop.

[keet]

My experience with the 8.1 update was teribad... Forcing user to have a web account is a privacy killer, they should be ashamed... Second point is the inefficiency of the system... Have you ever tried FreeBSD, OpenBSD or a non-windowsed Linux ?

I also skipped updating to Windows 8.1 for now because they wanted my telephone number just to upgrade.  On the other hand, I did tell them my name, address, and telephone number when I bought Windows 8 (and 7), but that's for the credit card transaction, so it's different.

 

I think that the game will probably work nicely on Windows 8.  From what I read, performance is better overall there than in Windows 7, though the interface is an entirely different matter.  I am using Windows 7, myself, relegating my Windows 8 license to, shall we say, demonstration purposes.

 

My main O.S. is Linux (Gentoo), and I would gladly never boot into Windows were it not for games like IL2:BOS.  IL2:1946 works amazingly well in Linux (with W.I.N.E.), but it becomes complicated when you try to make head tracking and communication software work, as well.  I haven't even tried B.O.S. in Linux yet, though I probably will some day.  If they made FaceTrackNoIR or some equivalent work in Linux, then I might just play it there, instead.

[dburne]

Hey gang,

Thought I would report back - got my new build together last week and an install of Windows 8.1.

 

Really I could not be happier. Performance is fantastic on this system. I had Windows 7 on my previous build, so I only have about a week and a half under my belt with Windows 8.1

I will say, at first, it was like WTH have I done... that Metro GUI, augh... Course with 8.1 the start button is back, and I have it booting straight to my desktop. I know have icons either the taskbar, or on the desktop, for my most used apps and games.

 

I did not download any of the utilities to make it look like Win 7 did, like Classic Shell, I stuck with 8.1 as it is.

I have come to like it, and like it better the more I use it. I even play around in the Metro GUI some as well, but the vast majority of my time is spent on the desktop.

The only think I really miss is clicking the start button and getting a list of all my programs. Click the start button on the desktop now, and it takes you too the Metro GUI... However a right click on the start button, gives some familiar options, like control panel, search, run, device manager, etc.

 

Now I cannot compare how any of my games run on Windows 8.1, versus how they ran on Windows 7 for me, as I did a complete new system build with more powerful hardware. I will say though, all that I run, runs beautifully on this system with Windows 8.1.

 

And oh my, booting into Windows 8.1 on an SSD - from the time I hit the power button on my pc, to being at the desktop ready to go - 15 seconds.

 

Windows 8.1 I think utilizes and optimizes SSD's better from what I have read, plus it supports UEFI as does my hardware, so I installed it in UEFI mode which helps that boot speed as well.

 

I have to say I really thought long and hard about it, and ended up buying 8.1 just  a week or so before the system build as I had originally intended on staying with 7. So far, I have not regretted it.

If one already has a system running with Windows 7 on it, can't say I would recommend just upgrading the OS to be upgrading it. If doing a new build with newer hardware and SSD's, then certainly I would suggest they consider it.

Edited December 28, 2013 by dburnette