Windows 8 or Windows 7?

DisplacedMic · Aug 13, 2013

Hello all,

i'm curious which version of Windows those of you that run VMs use on your air? I have always just stuck with XP because that's where the PC world was when I left. Well, they were on Vista which is a big part of WHY I left but i've always fallen back on XP when I need Windows... is that still the case or are more people running their VMs with 7 or 8?
looking around this forum i have seen people having a lot of luck running both w7 and 8 on their MBAs

thanks!

mattferg · Aug 13, 2013

8 is currently the fastest running version of Windows out there, and is also a lot easier/cheaper to obtain than Windows 7, so I'd go for 8. I use 8 on everything I run.

s15119 · Aug 13, 2013

ick. what a crime to put Winblow$ on an Air.

Mrbobb · Aug 13, 2013

Win8 metro interface really wants a touch screen. But I hear the latest 8.1 will let you boot directly into the traditional desktop. That would be my only concern.

DisplacedMic · Aug 13, 2013

mattferg said:
8 is currently the fastest running version of Windows out there, and is also a lot easier/cheaper to obtain than Windows 7, so I'd go for 8. I use 8 on everything I run.

awesome, will do. thanks mate!

----------

s15119 said:
ick. what a crime to put Winblow$ on an Air.

in the real world there are software suites that only work in a windows environment... thankfully that gets less and less every year as market pressure pushes developers to make OSX compatible programs but we're not quite there yet.

ZBoater · Aug 13, 2013

I personally prefer Windows 7. I never warmed up to Windows 8. I have 8.1 preview installed and configured to look like Windows 7. I don't really see the big deal of a difference.

mattferg · Aug 13, 2013

Windows 8 is basically Windows 7 with a redesigned full-screen start menu. Once you realise and accept that it's actually really nice to use

Pretty much as usable as OS X.

tgi · Aug 13, 2013

Which Windows version is generally recommended for gaming via Bootcamp. I went with Windows 7 Home Premium and hoping I made the right choice.

mattferg · Aug 13, 2013

tgi said:
Which Windows version is generally recommended for gaming via Bootcamp. I went with Windows 7 Home Premium and hoping I made the right choice.

Windows 8 has access to more advanced DirectX stuff so 8 is probably a better bet. A lot of the media are downplaying 8 and hyping it up as the next Vista, but the truth is that it's selling fairly well and there isn't much wrong with it from a desktop standpoint. Tablet is another matter.

Let's face it, writing articles proclaiming the downfall of Microsoft because of 8 sells papers/gets clicks.

DisplacedMic · Aug 13, 2013

mattferg said:
Windows 8 has access to more advanced DirectX stuff so 8 is probably a better bet. A lot of the media are downplaying 8 and hyping it up as the next Vista, but the truth is that it's selling fairly well and there isn't much wrong with it from a desktop standpoint. Tablet is another matter.

Let's face it, writing articles proclaiming the downfall of Microsoft because of 8 sells papers/gets clicks.

yeah...but they said the same thing about Vista and Vista really is one of the worst things MS or any reputable software company has ever put out.

ZBoater · Aug 13, 2013

tgi said:
Which Windows version is generally recommended for gaming via Bootcamp. I went with Windows 7 Home Premium and hoping I made the right choice.

You will be fine. I can't see a game publisher (other than Microsoft) making games that ONLY run on Windows 8. They would shoot themselves in the foot if they did that.

jadAce · Aug 13, 2013

ZBoater said:
You will be fine. I can't see a game publisher (other than Microsoft) making games that ONLY run on Windows 8. They would shoot themselves in the foot if they did that.

+1
(Unless you count some of the few "mobile" style games that work with touch on Windows 8, which I'm guessing many people wouldn't use on a MacBook Air anyways).

Mrbobb · Aug 13, 2013

mattferg said:
Windows 8 has access to more advanced DirectX stuff so 8 is probably a better bet.

DirectX is just a module and as far as I know, Microsoft has not stopped updating 7.

mattferg · Aug 13, 2013

Mrbobb said:
DirectX is just a module and as far as I know, Microsoft has not stopped updating 7.

I believe (if I'm not mistaken) that XP was limited to DX9, Vista is limited to DX10, 7 brought in DX11, I don't know about 8 but it's probably a similar story. Either way, 8 runs faster, and thus is better for games as it uses less system resources too. It's just a better choice tbh.

ZBoater · Aug 13, 2013

mattferg said:
I believe (if I'm not mistaken) that XP was limited to DX9, Vista is limited to DX10, 7 brought in DX11, I don't know about 8 but it's probably a similar story. Either way, 8 runs faster, and thus is better for games as it uses less system resources too. It's just a better choice tbh.

8 supports DirectX 11.1 (as does Windows 7). Windows 8.1 (which is not even out yet) will support DirectX 11.2. By the time a game comes out that requires or takes advantage of 11.2, it will be time for a new MBA anyway...

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/179113

thejadedmonkey · Aug 13, 2013

Windows 8. You can pause file transfers across a network.

DisplacedMic · Aug 13, 2013

thejadedmonkey said:
Windows 8. You can pause file transfers across a network.

That is cool

Brandon263 · Aug 13, 2013

DisplacedMic said:
Hello all,

i'm curious which version of Windows those of you that run VMs use on your air? I have always just stuck with XP because that's where the PC world was when I left. Well, they were on Vista which is a big part of WHY I left but i've always fallen back on XP when I need Windows... is that still the case or are more people running their VMs with 7 or 8?
looking around this forum i have seen people having a lot of luck running both w7 and 8 on their MBAs

thanks!

Windows 8 because it's faaaaast and it's fun to play with the Metro interface and it's apps from time to time. If you've got a base Air, it's also leagues better at memory management than Max OS X is.

beautifulcoder · Aug 14, 2013

I would simply stick with XP. XP is the best piece of software Microsoft ever wrote as everything after that was just a downgrade without any real direction. XP still has around 40% market share. Once that market share goes down to zero it's good bye Microsucks.

ApplNat · Aug 14, 2013

I loved WinXP but it's just not supported anymore. I loaded Win 8 on my new MBA under VMWare Fusion 5.

Also, there are free utility programs that will give the user back the look/feel of the Win 7 or WinXP Start button so you never have to see the metro screen. That's what I'm doing and it works great.

fark · Aug 15, 2013

ApplNat said:
I loved WinXP but it's just not supported anymore. I loaded Win 8 on my new MBA under VMWare Fusion 5.

Also, there are free utility programs that will give the user back the look/feel of the Win 7 or WinXP Start button so you never have to see the metro screen. That's what I'm doing and it works great.

I have Windows8 virtual machines (Parallels) running on both my Mac Mini and MBA13. I use Start8 from Stardock to get the Windows7 Start menu back.

Windows 8 or Windows 7?

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