Tango's Review of the NEW Windows 8.1 Spring Update

[jamesriley94]

I know Sieb plays far more games than I, so he's probably better off answering.

I've not personally had any issues whatsoever running games on 8. I have also run every one of the OC3D testing games for reviews on Windows 8 and had no difficulty with anything then - and that includes the older Resident Evils, AvP, CS:S.

We aren't saying it's massively better and everyone should upgrade to it, and certainly not for the amount of money Microsoft seem to want for it these days. But, I got my copies for £15 when it first came out and I do think it's worth that.

Also, when people are here planning new builds, I'd definitely suggest they get Windows 8 over Windows 7, assuming they were similarly priced.

 

[SieB]

I have no idea what these games are that supposedly don't work on Windows 8 but if someone wants to post an example and proof of a certain game or games that do not work due to compatibility problems then feel free.

I have installed quite a few old games and had no problems with them, if a game works on Windows 7 and XP then it should work on Windows 8 seen as it is backwards compatible and has compatible mode options to run it under old OS requirements, the same as Windows 7 does.

The oldest game I have installed and played is the original Halo, at the moment i'm playing The Witcher 1 from 2007. Some other games I have played date from 1999 to the present day, i'm yet to experience any issues with any games/s.

Old DOS based games probably don't work, but who plays DOS based games in 2014? Can't really blame MS for dropping support for games that are that old, it's like moaning about not being able to use your SNES cartridges on your PS4.

 

[vorticalbox]

I have no idea what these games are that supposedly don't work on Windows 8 but if someone wants to post an example and proof of a certain game or games that do not work due to compatibility problems then feel free.

I have installed quite a few old games and had no problems with them, if a game works on Windows 7 and XP then it should work on Windows 8 seen as it is backwards compatible and has compatible mode options to run it under old OS requirements, the same as Windows 7 does.

The oldest game I have installed and played is the original Halo, at the moment i'm playing The Witcher 1 from 2007. Some other games I have played date from 1999 to the present day, i'm yet to experience any issues with any games/s.

Old DOS based games probably don't work, but who plays DOS based games in 2014? Can't really blame MS for dropping support for games that are that old, it's like moaning about not being able to use your SNES cartridges on your PS4.

I've got dungeon keeper installed.

 

[Dicehunter]

Well day number 2 of windows 8.1, Got my custom theme, Icons etc...installed, Butt loads of things tweaked and I'm kind of liking it so far, System is faster, Certain games run smoother.

Desktop -

Folder And Window View -

Start Menu And Clock -

 

[barnsley]

I have no idea what these games are that supposedly don't work on Windows 8 but if someone wants to post an example and proof of a certain game or games that do not work due to compatibility problems then feel free.

Unless it was fixed , Arma2 crashes or flat out refuses to run. Thats very poor considering how relatively new the game is. Also I -think- COD4 can't run on it either. I believe its something to do with metro/aero in most cases. There are also driver issues with some hardware stuff. I'd hope most of it has been fixed since the launch of 8.1 but I'm not 100% sure.

 

[SuB]

lol that theme, what you need is Linux/Unix sir

You've got a osx style dock and ubuntu'esque shell

p.s. Traitor

 

[Dicehunter]

lol that theme, what you need is Linux/Unix sir

You've got a osx style dock and ubuntu'esque shell

p.s. Traitor

I like this theme, Clean and simple, The dock serves me well and I've used it on every Windows installation
I've tried linux and no thank you, I don't want to learn 10 lines of code to do something that takes seconds in windows ^_^

 

[SuB]

I like this theme, Clean and simple, The dock serves me well and I've used it on every Windows installation
I've tried linux and no thank you, I don't want to learn 10 lines of code to do something that takes seconds in windows ^_^

While I agree, it's not ALL like that in linux, things like mint and ubuntu and stuff are just as easy to use as windows these days dude.

 

[Dicehunter]

While I agree, it's not ALL like that in linux, things like mint and ubuntu and stuff are just as easy to use as windows these days dude.

I'll stick with windows as I do a lot of gaming plus Linux has never really caught my eye

 

[SeekaX]

Unless it was fixed , Arma2 crashes or flat out refuses to run. Thats very poor considering how relatively new the game is. Also I -think- COD4 can't run on it either. I believe its something to do with metro/aero in most cases. There are also driver issues with some hardware stuff. I'd hope most of it has been fixed since the launch of 8.1 but I'm not 100% sure.

CoD4 does run, but i'd consider it crawling more than running. The framerate is supposed to be atrocious.

 

[Wraith]

Arma II is just a pain to get running, TDU is choppy, Unreal Tournament III has terrible frames and I can't get any of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R series to run either.

Games aside programs seem to be much better, Photoshop for example appears to be a lot more responsive but I'll stick to Se7en for now anyway.

 

[Damien c]

Passed the video on to a couple of people I know and they laughed like crazy when they watched it.

 

[barnsley]

CoD4 does run, but i'd consider it crawling more than running. The framerate is supposed to be atrocious.

which is impressive considering how little power you need to run it.

 

[SeekaX]

which is impressive considering how little power you need to run it.

My laptop manages 250fps. My PC at home ~800 or smth like that.

 

[Dicehunter]

BF3/4 run a lot smoother, Less jerky frames, Pretty much most games I've tried seem to run a tad smoother, Might be a placebo but it's a good one ^_^

 

[SieB]

See, Windows 8 isn't as bad as people make out. Once you get over the initial shock, hide the metro screen and learn the slight differences it is a good OS.

 

[Dicehunter]

See, Windows 8 isn't as bad as people make out. Once you get over the initial shock, hide the metro screen and learn the slight differences it is a good OS.

And tweak the hell out of it with custom themes ^_^

 

[SeekaX]

Arma II is just a pain to get running, TDU is choppy, Unreal Tournament III has terrible frames and I can't get any of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R series to run either.

Unless it was fixed , Arma2 crashes or flat out refuses to run. Thats very poor considering how relatively new the game is. Also I -think- COD4 can't run on it either. I believe its something to do with metro/aero in most cases. There are also driver issues with some hardware stuff. I'd hope most of it has been fixed since the launch of 8.1 but I'm not 100% sure.

CoD4 does run, but i'd consider it crawling more than running. The framerate is supposed to be atrocious.

See, Windows 8 isn't as bad as people make out. Once you get over the initial shock, hide the metro screen and learn the slight differences it is a good OS.

Yep, bloody good.

 

[SieB]

Yep, bloody good.

An OS is for more than just games you know? :lol:
Also ARMA II does work, there were problems when 8 was first released but they are now fixed. Same with CoD 4, don't know about S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

Just because it wont run a couple of games, old ones at that, doesn't make it bad. I have run games older than those games on Windows 8.

 

[SeekaX]

An OS is for more than just games you know? :lol:
Also ARMA II does work, there were problems when 8 was first released but they are now fixed. Same with CoD 4, don't know about S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

Just because it wont run a couple of games, old ones at that, doesn't make it bad. I have run games older than those games on Windows 8.

Those games aren't that old, all post 2005.
The amount of work i'd have to put into it to make it like windows 7 is just absurd, the small performance gain doesn't do anything for me either if i have to hope that the game/program runs in the first place.
And even if all of that stuff would get fixed, the whole existance of the metro interface is just a sad statement of the state of mind microsoft is in. Everything has to be dumbed down and simple, i don't want to be part of the tablet generation. Windows 8 was their first try to turn the PC into a restricted, simplified platform. Windows in general doesn't exactly stand for freedom of use, but the idea of making tablets and PCs one entity is just horrible.
Windows 8 is like Apple gear to me. It's not horrible, but i still won't buy their stuff because it would conflict with my principles.