Give it to me straight. Is it worth to upgrade?

[Mosov]

I can upgrade to Windows 8 for free. So given that I have this capability, is it worth to upgrade? I have a Thinkpad T420 (should work fine) with windows 7 and also have a windows phone. The question is how much worth it is it to upgrade? I at first didn't like the design of windows 8, but on second look, it actually doesn't look that bad. Give me your thoughts..!

 

[WinFan1]

I have it and love it personally its fast fluid and responsive on touch if you have the capabilities it does take some time to learn but ultimately its definitely worth the upgrade man go for it.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I'm running it on an HP laptop that is 4 years old, and it runs better than Windows 7 did.

 

[berty6294]

I love Windows 8, Everything seems much more fluid and most of all FAST! I mean REAL FAST! Only complaint is with a multi monitor set up, but that's going to be fixed in this upcoming update!

 

[troylytle]

Got an old Acer. Probably 5 years old. Works better with Windows 8. It was worth my 15 bucks by a ton. Would almost pay full price. And with the apps coming in flocks every day it just keeps getting better.

 

[dgr_874]

Yes, Upgrade if you can get it for free. You can always go back to windows 7 if you want to. Take advantage of your free offer.

 

[WasteSomeTime]

Its fast and fluid. Its probably the most stable one of all, I have no recollection of it ever crashing. It does look kinda bland, like the design department was on vacation or something. On the other hand I see it as a privacy nightmare. Having your MS account linked to Skype and so forth is annoying. I dont use my real MS account because I want to be left alone sometimes. Also dont understand why the main computer account can't also be the MS account. I can't just log out of the account without typing in the password of that account, which is stupid. Startup / shutdown times are much faster and reminds me of mac books. Some apps dont work for some reason, but are still in the marketplace. The default picture viewer and PDF reader is garbage. Also some people complain about the search not working after some updates. Otherwise its the most stable windows yet. The start menu themes are ugly, but maybe you can get custom ones. If your missing the start button, you can get start 8 from star dock. I forgot how much that program costs.
Sent from my SGH-i677 using Foroplex Beta

 

[farukdgn]

Install windows 8 if you like metro ui. It's faster and smoother than others. Only thing you should think about is metro ui.

 

[Mosov]

Thanks for the comments. I do like the Metro UI, which attracted me to windows phone. I believe Windows 8 is the future and given I have an option to upgrade for free, I think it's worth it. I just hope I don't have any compatability issues with my laptop or programs that I use. But if I had to pay 100 or so dollars to upgrade, I don't think I would.

 

[WinFan1]

Thanks for the comments. I do like the Metro UI, which attracted me to windows phone. I believe Windows 8 is the future and given I have an option to upgrade for free, I think it's worth it. I just hope I don't have any compatability issues with my laptop or programs that I use. But if I had to pay 100 or so dollars to upgrade, I don't think I would.

you really should not have a problem with applications as everything works on the legacy desktop view. i have rarely had any trouble with any applications though drivers are a different issue.

 

[gsquared]

Yes, Upgrade if you can get it for free. You can always go back to windows 7 if you want to. Take advantage of your free offer.

Agreed!

 

[BIGPADDY]

Yes just do it, don't think do it like I did with both my laptops.

I've had a great time with it already in fact were already married twice.

 

[ag1986]

I use Windows 8 on my gaming box, but only because it was cheaper than the cheapest Win7 license I could buy.

TBH I'm not the best person to comment on this - I boot, drop into desktop view and play, so the Metro UI is not something that affects me one way or the other. However, it's not a significant benefit; I note no difference between Win 8 and the unlicensed 30-day trial of Win7 it was running before.

I will say however that the upgrade completely borked wireless connectivity on that box. I suspected my router but it worked fine with Win7 on the same hardware. Intel finally confirmed that it was a bug in how Win 8 worked with that particular Centrino2 chip - it got fixed after about 2 months, but since I prefer Ethernet for gaming it made no material difference. Another problem was with my Cyborg RAT7 mouse, it randomly stopped tracking and Cyborg said it was an issue with the HID interface. This never did get fixed, but I decided to switch to a Logitech G500 for other reasons.

You may want to confirm that all the hardware you have works well with Win 8 before committing to the upgrade, if only to save aggravation.

 

[fwaits]

Thanks for the comments. I do like the Metro UI, which attracted me to windows phone. I believe Windows 8 is the future and given I have an option to upgrade for free, I think it's worth it. I just hope I don't have any compatability issues with my laptop or programs that I use. But if I had to pay 100 or so dollars to upgrade, I don't think I would.

Yeah I would say compatibility with Windows 8 and Windows 7 (same edition (x86 vs. x64)) is nearly 100% so you should not have any issues there.

 

[Ridlah]

The integration between the PC OS and phone's OS is amazing. The calendar for example, and one note for example. Skydrive is also pretty quick to pull up. Most of the apps might replace your web browsing experience, for example since windows 8 i use the weather and news apps to see whats going on. The Pandora alternative PRadio is also very nice i like switching between windows using Start+Tab its snappy and makes jumping in and out of programs more simple. Windows 8 is also faster in terms of speed which is a huge plus and your touch pad can probably support the gestures i would look them up, i know swiping from the right of the touch pad brings up the charms.

 

[scolab]

I did a fresh install of Windows 8 on a new 64GB SSD in 5 yr old laptop. Boots up in about 10 seconds. Apps open almost instantly. Windows 8 install is much leaner than Windows 7 also. Even with Office 2013 installed on my laptop and synced with Skydrive, I've still got about 50GB of freespace.

 

[DavidinCT]

My advice, Find some backup system and do a complete image of your system. Then install it but, have a backout plan, just in case you don't like it.

I'm one who is not going to be like everyone else here. First, I love Windows Phone 7/8 and everything about it. I have Windows 8 installed on a partition on my desktop/gaming computer (that I use mainly for games, pretty stripped down) and I have a Samsung Slate 7 with Windows 8 (tablet). My first thoughts about Windows 8, It sucks with a keyboard and mouse and I still think it does (after a few months with it). The Metro interface is really designed for touch and it does not feel fluid with a keyboard and mouse combo. Some will disagree here but, I think Windows 7 is a lot better with a keyboard mouse combo and a lot of tasks are quicker in this aspect. This is why I suggest doing a full backup because you can restore you Widows 7 just like it currently is.

With that being said, with a touch screen, it's pretty darn good. Windows was never really tablet/touch friendly, They made some interfaces that helped but, the Metro interface is great with a touch screen. I really like it on my tablet. Even from using IE full screen to doing simple tasks on the desktop. The app selection is ok but, not as large as some would like.

If you can get a license for free by all means, take it, keep your key(I would never turn down a free key like that) and even if you don't like it, you can go back. Just what ever you do, have a backout plan, just in case...

Good luck !