Railworks America

You don't get much for anything you do with the computer except a new start page to learn.

The "Metro" page can be turned off and the normal "win7" page will appear at start up.

Win8.1 runs better. I have a dual boot to Win7 to run MSTS with Raildriver and there is an improvement with the Win8.1.

Harold

hminky wrote:The "Metro" page can be turned off and the normal "win7" page will appear at start up.

Win8.1 runs better. I have a dual boot to Win7 to run MSTS with Raildriver and there is an improvement with the Win8.1.

Harold

When you say it runs better how so?

Win8.1 runs faster and smoother.

Harold

I don't have any experience with it other than setting up a few computers. When you say it runs faster do you mean win8 itself or do you mean RW runs faster and smoother with it?

Railworks runs with a few more FPS. Everything loads quicker.

Trainz runs better as an example. Eliminates some of the pop-up and has higher FPS.

Browsing on the internet with Palemoon is quicker.

Win8 makes things brighter and crisper.

My brother also experienced this and he recommended Win8.

Harold

I wouldn't (and won't) switch from Win7 to Win8 on my current computer. the benefits aren't worth the hassle.
But I would definitely put Win8 on any new computer.

Hmmmm. Other than having to learn the new user interface, the gaming community is still in limbo about upgrading.
Apparently some games run better and some run worse on Win 8.1.
I got bored recently and started looking up 7 vs 8 in online forums, and the verdict is mixed at best.
People are still running into driver issues etc, like with any new OS.

The only game I had problems with was MSTS.

It needs to be run in a window in Win8 otherwise it gets 23 FPS. The Raildriver fix doesn't work with MSTS in a window.

That is why I have a Win7 boot.

Lots of people still think XP is the only way to fly. I have a bunch of Car Racing games that won't run in Win7 and have an XP computer for that.

Harold

mdurdan wrote: Is windows 7 pro touch compatible?

Should be, but you have to buy a special screen, and there are limited "touch" functions. It's not as much like a tablet as Win 8 is.

I'm very comfortable with Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit. I'll stay with it for a while. (besides, I got it free from MS because I was a beta tester/ Microsoft MVP back in the day)

Stay away from touch screen monitors if you plan on gaming. too much latency between monitor and video card. Windows 8.1, I have it and love it however if you plan on running older 32 bit software, forget it. Most of my Ham Radio programming is older and will not run on 8.1 but that's why I have a old xp laptop.

I'm looking at buying a new laptop for just normal everyday stuff (not rw) and I have the option of getting 7 or 8.1. I've been reading mixed reviews and I can't decide if 8.1 is something I would like or get used to. Is there any benefit to 8.1 over 7 for everyday internet surfing?

Personally, I find very little difference between Win 7 and 8.1. The metro screen is a little annoying at first, but you can bypass that straight to desktop with a mouse click or setting. If you are truly into computers and you don't mind learning some new tricks, 8.1 is the way to go. If you are just interested in surfing the net or collecting email, either will do, but Win7 might be the one for you.

There are also programs for Windows 8.1 that allow for a true start menu and they are cheap.
In some gaming forums the consensus is usually that 8 isn't better than 7, though some say 8 is better for gaming.
What most observe, that have several games in their library, is that some games do run better on 8, but others run worse. So it's a toss up there.
Some devices will have driver issues with 8.
8 is not a mature operating system. It's on par with 7, when 7 was only a year old.

I remember a joke at Toms Hardware about 3 or 4 years ago. "If they keep patching Windows 7 at this rate, it will be ready for a beta release in about a year..." That was said about 1 year after 7's official release.

I guess everyone's experience will be different but I made the switch to Win 8 and have had no problems with 32 bit programs. Railworks runs great!

mdurdan wrote:Looking like I'm better off staying with 7 for now at least. Thanks guys