Win7 or Win8.1?

If you were going to buy a new desktop for tracking what OS would you use for X3?
 
And why...as I do not plan to use touchscreen.
 
I guess all I care about is stability and being able to eliminate the unneeded bloatware with ease.
 
I would also like to have some control over what is creating interrupts as well, I guess what I mean is that I would like to be able to optimize the desktop for a DAW and will one OS make it easier for this than another?
 
Thanks

I really like Windows 8.1 pro. Its faster in boot up. Its faster overall. It has the tools to keep it optimized. Its as stable an OS as I have ever had. Darn near bullet proof. Sonar X3 e seems to love it too. 
 
One huge thing to do before taking the plunge is be sure there are drivers for all of your gear that is 8.1 compatible. I believe this to be very important for trouble free usage.
 
It will take some time to get use to but its a very good OS and worth the initial learning curve. 
 
 

8.1.

8.1 handles a lot of under the hood stuff a lot better than it did in 7. Better resource management, better multi-core/hyperthreading support, no Aero, better resource monitoring, native USB 3.0 support, better security.

sharke
I believe Windows 8.1 is their greatest OS to date, and I'd previously thought that about Windows 7. Some of the whining I've read about it borders on the ridiculous. There's a couple of things you have to get used to (i.e. learn) but after a couple of days of use everything's fine and dandy. Wouldn't hesitate to put it on a new rig. Plus if the rumors are true, Windows 8 users will be getting a free update to Windows 10.

I agree with everything you say. I often wonder about the people that seem to have this "hate" for it. How can one hate an OS? I have seen people that seem to have a hard time with it. Those are people that have trouble with computers in general.
 
Then again I was and still am one that liked Vista. I see it as the beginning that led to Windows 8.1.
 
 

"I agree with everything you say. I often wonder about the people that seem to have this "hate" for it. How can one hate an OS? I have seen people that seem to have a hard time with it. Those are people that have trouble with computers in general."

 Hi John-perhaps "hate" is a bit harsh..
I have 2 pc`s running Win7 and 2 laptops,one 7Pro and the new one with Win 8.1, Classic shell and whilst I don't "hate" 8.1 it is my "least favourite" OS.
The fact that startup is marginally faster may have to do with the fact that most new laptops are preinstalled with win8 and are "clean"and are faster machines anyway?
My main gripe with it is,if I wanted apps I would buy a Mac and why was the upgrade necessary anyway?-it`s not like their was a problem with 7 was there?
I think that people who have "trouble in general with computers"( a gross generalisation if I ever saw one) tend to use Win7 and 8.5.3.but it might have more to do with their requirements than their literacy,proficiency or need to be an early adopter.
if X3 and Win8 would make my workflow quicker or easier I would upgrade tomorrow as the cost of upgrading is only very small in the overall scheme.
PS: I do hate my wife`s IPad2-but she is inseparable and seems quite proficient so there you go.
cheers
tony

Don't read too much into what I have said.
 
Webbs Hill. No it is not due to it being a clean install but rather a design of the boot process. I have removable HDs and can replace an OS very easily. When I upgraded to Win 8 I bought a new drive for it. I still have the Vista drive so I can compare the two. Also this a known feature with Windows 8.
 
Machine Claw. "A shock", you say. Guess i did before I had Windows 8. I read up on it. I knew where to look and what to do. I am not a systems administrator yet I had zero trouble figuring out Metro or how to boot directly to the Desktop.  Its a matter of doing ones homework. 
 
I also had a preview of it and got at the reduced price when it first came out. This also helped me in haveing so little trouble with it. 
 
Really with Windows 8 and 8.1 we get two OSs in one. One for apps and one for programs. Plus it is fully touch capable. Its also a very good DAW platform.
 
I would encourage you read up on its more technical specs. How MS made it better underneath then all the past OSs.   
 
 

Count me among the 8-haters. But it really depends on what you want to do with Windows. If it's just something to host your DAW, and maybe run MS Word, then Windows 8 will do just fine. Even that awful Metro UI is OK if you only run a few applications. It does boot faster, I'll give it that.
 
But power users are going to feel like they've been demoted to the kiddie table. It's been dumbed down and idiot-proofed to the point where it's clear they just don't want you to do certain things. Call me a dinosaur, but I shouldn't have to resort to Google just to figure out how to open a port through the firewall.
 
 

"I really like Windows 8.1 pro. Its faster in boot up. Its faster overall."
I know I am selectively quoting you but I just did a little test on launch times for Sonar and this is what I got:
2009 Studio Pc-I7 [link=mailto:2600@2.4GHz]2600@2.4GHz[/link] 7 Pro,8.5.3                              1:16
2011 Old laptop-I5 [link=mailto:M430@2.27GHz]M430@2.27GHz[/link] 7 Home Premium-8.5.3         1:10  
2014 New Laptop- I7 [link=mailto:4700MQ@2.40GHz]4700MQ@2.40GHz[/link] 8.1.1- X1E                    1:48
obviously there are variables-the studio pc has never met the internet or an antivirus and the laptops are heavily protected but in my particular case there is no immediate benefit in upgrading to either 8.1 or X3.
as for being a "hater" of Win 8.1.1,there is a valid argument for retaining stable,workable technology-it`s a bit like comparing a carburettor to fuel injection-sure, the latter is arguably "better and more efficient" but try repairing or even diagnosing on the side of the road- a weak analogy but all I could come up with.
I don`t "hate" Win8 or Win10,in advance-I just don`t like it,don`t need it and reject the argument that frequent upgrading is better for everyone-once again it`s all about your individual requirements and applications.
I regularly lease my studio for pre-production and most visiting engineers,with their Macs and stuff are genuinely surprised at the GUI and workflow-even the seasoned Pro-Toolers and there is no question regarding the quality of the recorded wavs so from a recording perspective any recent version of Sonar is quite capable-mixing and mastering is another story and I guess that`s where the X series kicks in-for the price of another mic I could upgrade both OS and Sonar but the only way I would do it is have my pc rebuilt by Stealth Audio and as it makes no difference to me or my clients,why bother?
cheers
tony     
 
  

I don't understand some of the complaints here? Maybe it was W8 that sucked, but 8.1 does everything the same as W 7 ?? I just pressed CTRL /ALT/DEL and the task manager opened. 
Mine opens to a desktop just like any other version. I did nothing to make that happen. 
First a log on Password screen, then a standard desktop which I easily populated just like XP with the standard icons. 
Then all software installs desktop icons just like before. 
You can even pin icons to the task bar just like before. 
Control panel is exactly the same
Device manager, all the admin tools are still the same. 
There appears to be only the one difference and that is the metro screen instead of a pop up start menu. And the weirdness if you cruise close to edges... stay away from the edge Billy, it's a fickle girl ey it is.. 
And like I say, it's around $50 cheaper.. so unless you're pirating your OS then 8.1 will save you money too. I believe a big reason it exists is it will be much harder to pirate. No more 30 day's,  you have to register or it is totally crippled. And there's another thing, authorizing took me only a few minutes with credit card in hand. Micro Snoft is smarter than we give them credit for.  Oh and you need not buy the higher levels anymore. There's just 2 versions, the more expensive version is only for if your on a big network. The basic version is more or less equal to W7 pro. 

It's true that you may have a little trouble finding a device driver for Windows 8 or 8.1, but the OEM version of Windows 7 is no longer for sale - it's at the end of life for retail sales - so a vendor is committing suicide if it doesn't have one by now.
 
I never use the Modern UI (Immersive shell) and I find the Class Start Button to be a big improvement over the previous start buttons because it is completely configurable. You can put all your power tools on it if you like.
 
Here is what my desktop looks like when I click on the Start Menu in 8.1:
 

 
 

"There appears to be only the one difference and that is the metro screen instead of a pop up start menu. And the weirdness if you cruise close to edges... stay away from the edge Billy, it's a fickle girl ey it is.." 
 
thanks Johnny-that`s a glitch i thought only i had-how do you get your screen back without re-launching your browser?

7

The difference Win 8 brings with the Modern UI is that there is a touch interface that is great if you have a small portable device without a keyboard - so everything is tactile and finger-based.
 
But in a desktop environment - even if you have a touch screen - you will mostly be using the mouse and keyboard.
 
So you don't need that big matrix UI of a start screen - it is not optimized for a mouse spacing of pixels it is finger-based - inches.
 
But more importantly - it is not hierarchical - no folders. No organization whatsoever except maybe for big square chunks. And you can't freely move your tiles - Windows decides how to group these for the most part (try to move them about and you'll see what I mean - they are 'sticky' about certain spots in their group and moving one will move the rest).
 
With a good start button, a nice set of frequently used toolbar icons, and a few toolbar folders for some structure you will have a nice control surface for launching all your applications.
 
Here is what I mean by a toolbar folder - I have several of these that I can add to the toolbar - just create a folder of shortcuts, use a Unicode symbol for it's name, and attach it to the toolbar - instant mini-start button.
 

 
Windows 8 seems to start faster, but actually it just has more delay start services that spread the startup time and give preference to a fast UI startup. If you have a lot of cores, there may be a faster ultimate startup, but probably Win 7 is similar.
The scheduler in Win 8 seems better, too.
 
When I say Win 8, I actually mean the latest Win 8.1 update, Win 8 is a different OS kernel from 7 and 8.1 is yet another OS kernel away from 8, so in reality Win 8.1 == Win 9 because the next OS is 10.
 
And, supposedly, Win 10 is a free update for 8.1 users, but not for Win 7 users.
 
Also you can only do an 'in-place' upgrade from one OS to the next. So you will need to do a clean install of all your apps if you go from Win 7 to Win 10 or later. That may not be an issue for those of you who have just a DAW OS and nothing else, but for me it is my major computer with all my other apps installed. With hundreds of VSTs, Komplete 10, hundreds of apps - it would take at least a month to do a clean install of everything and get all the settings correct.
 
I went from Windows XP to Windows 7 and had to face that issue and it was so lengthy and painful I decided I would never skip an OS release again - I would always upgrade in-place.
 
So far, I'm happy I did this.
 
 EDIT: lots of typos...