How much better is Windows 8 than Windows 7 from a gaming standpoint?

[Sobaka]

Hello I am building a mid-end gaming pc and I have heard some news floating around that Windows 8/8.1 has better latency in some games than Windows 7. I personally like the layout and navigation of W7 more than W8. Also I understand I can install a regular start button but I would also like to know if I can disable the tile menu entirely. In other words can I still buy W8 but make it feel like W7 without the silly tile menu and other Microsoft mistakes. Now for the main question..

Can someone please detail to me how much better my gaming experience is going to be if I buy Windows 8 over 7?

 

[david271749]

It's really not going to make a huge difference. If you're running windows and games from an ssd you'll see higher speeds. For os, it just depends on what you prefer.

 

[Sobaka]

I will be installing an SSD for my OS boot and for my main games and files. For the rest I am getting an SSHD. It's just I heard that under the hood Windows 8 does run slightly better and will be for most future games. I want it to look good, be navigable and still get the most fps out of my games.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

There is a difference. 8 is about as much faster than 7 as 7 was over XP. Here are links to a couple of comparisons.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/windows-8-gaming-performance,3331.html

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013/11/24/battlefield_4_windows_7_vs_81_performance_review/1#.UyarZmdOW00

There are plenty comparisons out there if you just google it.


Personally I hate Windows 8 and the small gains are not worth it to me. I have 7 Ultimate on my gaming desktop, 7 Home Premium on my main laptop and 8.1 on my work laptop and I use the one with 8.1 on it as little as possible. But from a pure performance perspective 8.1 is superior.

 

[david271749]

Opinions vary on this from person to person. I prefer 7.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Opinions vary on this from person to person. I prefer 7.

By posting links to benchmarks any ' opinions ' are ruled out. Windows 8 is superior.

 

[Supernova1138]

Windows 8 is superior only if you want to play Battlefield 4, for virtually every other game there is no significant difference between the two. Whether the performance bump in that one game is worth dealing with the crappy UI is up to the individual user.

 

[Sobaka]

So it is decided that Windows 8 is superior in terms of under-hood performance (?) so be it if it is only ~3-6% or something. Other than that, do you think that it would be a good idea to buy 8 simply for future-proofing. Will Game Devs focus on optimization for 8 now that it is the next big thing? I personally don't mind 8 as long as I can disable/hide/mask stupid things like Metro and add things like Start 8 for a regular start menu.

 

[aspri]

Well, I upgraded from Win7 to Win8 and FPS boost wasn't big maybe 2-5 fps depending on games. However in the cases of BF4 and Crysis 3, where I used to had stutters and lags the upgrade was benefical since those disappeared. Good thing. Plus Win8 has better DirectX11 compatibility.

 

[Sobaka]

Yeah the DirectX is in line with the Mobo I plan on getting so that will be good.

 

[James Mason]

Game devs will likely skip windows 8 in favor of windows 9.

Windows 8 is a dead platform just like Vista, just have to wait till 9 comes out.

 

[Sobaka]

But am I right in assuming upgrading to 9 from/through 8 will be a smoother transition?

 

[James Mason]

It will probably be easier than upgrading from XP to 7 was, that wasn't too hard.