Windows 8 Finally Hits General Availability

[egill]

On Amazon Windows 8 Pro cost $70, but through tomorrow they will also give you a $30 gift card towards Amazon. For those of you who were willing to $40, but turned off by the fact you couldn't do a clean install, perhaps this would work? As for myself, I am considering this deal. I think $40 might not be too much to be on the newest version for another 3 years.

 

[killerclick]

[citation][nom]damianrobertjones[/nom].Do all of the Windows 8 haters come together on this one page to slag it off? This seems to be, literally, the one place where the negativity sits.[/citation]

You're not from around here, are you boy?

 

[Dyseman]

Upgrade 8 Pro WILL Clean Install. Done it 4 times. 2 to go. Loving it so far!

 

[Dyseman]

(To add to above) I downloaded and burned once. Puchased each key from each computer after running the assessments. Nuked Hard Drive. Started from Scratch. Even had lastest nVidia drivers already on image.

 

[PseudopsiaKite]

I will only rage upgrade when games I like start taking advantage of DirectX 11.1, RAWR! I don't see any reason in upgrading so soon. When I build a new computer in the next year, then I'll buy a copy.

 

[j2j663]

I would really like to know if win8 has been deployed yet at Microsoft HQ. Just a curiosity of mine.

 

[besplatan]

[citation][nom]pseudopsiakite[/nom]I will only rage upgrade when games I like start taking advantage of DirectX 11.1, RAWR! I don't see any reason in upgrading so soon. When I build a new computer in the next year, then I'll buy a copy.[/citation]

You'll just be rewarding Microsoft for their behavior. Besides, that approach didn't work for Vista, I doubt it'll work for Windows Metro.

 

[ravinmachine]

Best thing to do if you buy a PC with Win8 on it is to activate it then call microsoft to upgrade it to Win7. The key will become a Win7 key, but you will need a phyisical copy of Win7 to actually install it, but the key from Win8 will now work for Win7, thats my plan.

If for some reason you want to change it to Win8 again (whether you have a frontal labotomy, or microsoft actually grows the other side of their brain and actually gives the customer the choice to use and make Win8 look and feel the way they want it to) you can do that with the same key.

 

[bllue]

I've no need for it RIGHT now but I do plan to upgrade in the future when I build a new rig. I've used the preview for days now and I've gotten use to it. On it I spend over 80% of the time on desktop mode so the new UI isn't a problem for me. My guess is by the time I get it the OS will be more polished, have more apps and overall better than it is now... plus less people will be parroting as they adjust or stop paying attention to it.

 

[deejaybos]

[citation][nom]Dyseman[/nom](To add to above) I downloaded and burned once. Puchased each key from each computer after running the assessments. Nuked Hard Drive. Started from Scratch. Even had lastest nVidia drivers already on image.[/citation]

I'm so confused now... I even contacted microsoft support and they told me that the Win8 pro upgrade could only be installed onto a pre-existing win7, xp, or vista install. WTF?

So, if I take a brand new HD, I can do a full install of Win 8 Pro for $60?

 

[PseudopsiaKite]

[citation][nom]besplatan[/nom]You'll just be rewarding Microsoft for their behavior. Besides, that approach didn't work for Vista, I doubt it'll work for Windows Metro.[/citation]
I'm impressed I was thumbs down so fast. I did manage to skip Vista, do I get any points for that?

 

[damianrobertjones]

[citation][nom]ravinmachine[/nom]Best thing to do if you buy a PC with Win8 on it is to activate it then call microsoft to upgrade it to Win7. The key will become a Win7 key, but you will need a phyisical copy of Win7 to actually install it, but the key from Win8 will now work for Win7, thats my plan.If for some reason you want to change it to Win8 again (whether you have a frontal labotomy, or microsoft actually grows the other side of their brain and actually gives the customer the choice to use and make Win8 look and feel the way they want it to) you can do that with the same key.[/citation]

Maybe someone actually wants to install Windows 8 and is perfectly sane. Are you 15 or something? We're free to make our OWN decisions

 

[baddad]

I'm on my second machine now and so far this the best upgrade I've done with MS OS ever.

 

[unoriginal1]

[citation][nom]deejaybos[/nom]i was even considering purchasing when i found out that the retail version is ONLY available as an upgrade install from a previous windows install. they don't even have a full version to install onto a clean hard drive. the only way to do that is with an OEM copy, but then you get all sorts of issues when you want to install a new piece of hardware. Guess they lose another possible customer on that front.[/citation]

The only issue with replacing hardware with an OEM copy. Is if your replacing the MOBO. All other parts can be replaced. Ive reinstalled OEM copies hundreds and hundreds of times. Granted... sometimes it does take a quick call to ms activation but if you explain that you had to replace an HD, RMA'd a MOBO for exact model etc etc. They are extremely good at getting you activated.

On the windows 8 front. As a technology person I feel like i have to try it because it's something new and unfortunately i will have to deal with it. But personally I don't have a reason to switch from 7. Happy with whats not broken.

 

[megahustler]

I have a full retail Win 7. If I get the Win 8 upgrade, will that be considered a retail version with regard to hardware upgrades? I think the Microsoft page is unclear on that...

 

[unoriginal1]

[citation][nom]megahustler[/nom]I have a full retail Win 7. If I get the Win 8 upgrade, will that be considered a retail version with regard to hardware upgrades? I think the Microsoft page is unclear on that...[/citation]
The upgrade will be a retail version. The full install is an OEM.

 

[Guest]

Windows Vista SP2 Ultimate X64 will stay in use until the day it stops receiving updates in 2017.

 

[ravinmachine]

[citation][nom]damianrobertjones[/nom]Maybe someone actually wants to install Windows 8 and is perfectly sane. Are you 15 or something? We're free to make our OWN decisions[/citation]

LOL, well someone really stooped low pretty quickly, but you miss my point. You say we're free to make the choices we want to make, well not according to microsoft, their way or no way. Im surprised you conveniently missed that.

 

[Guest]

A lot of people liked Vista and ME too. Doesn't mean they were any good.

Honestly, I'm surprised they stuck the name "Metro" for their tiles. Especially since "metro" is essentially synonymous with calling someone a "girly boy" or a "sissy."

 

[antilycus]

Linux Debian (Wheezy) w/ gnome3 has been treating me great for over a year. Guess how much it cost me... N O T H I N G. Guess how many driver issue's i've had Z E R O (thank you NVIDIA). WIN is on it's way out. If server 2012 is metro only, people will switch. MySQL (just known as SQL now), Apache (what most all web servers run), rock solid mail servers, and config files that make sense (instead of a overly bloated hive based registry, which is horrid). No GPO's to worry about, even with they are set up correclty. No back end security this security that. Linux FTW. (I work with both on a regular basis)

 

[antilycus]

[citation][nom]Metropolitan Area[/nom]A lot of people liked Vista and ME too. Doesn't mean they were any good.Honestly, I'm surprised they stuck the name "Metro" for their tiles. Especially since "metro" is essentially synonymous with calling someone a "girly boy" or a "sissy."[/citation]
Win 7 and Win 8 are all based of the VISTA kernel, which was devloped (just like Windows XP kernel) by IBM, which MS paid for them to do.

 

[Camikazi]

[citation][nom]JOSHSKORN[/nom]I will buy Windows 8 as soon as I'm drunk again, incoherent and on my computer.Note to self: Don't drink near my computer.[/citation]
Good luck with that but you know that is where you are gonna end up next time you drink

 

[Camikazi]

[citation][nom]antilycus[/nom]Win 7 and Win 8 are all based of the VISTA kernel, which was devloped (just like Windows XP kernel) by IBM, which MS paid for them to do.[/citation]
Where did you read that? I have not been able to find anything about that at all, the only IBM developing I have read about was way back when they collaborated on OS/2.

 

[willard]

I know this may be silly of me, but I'd like to take a break from the Win8/Metro bashing and actually talk about Win8 a little.

First of all, installing is a breeze. I did a fresh install to my SSD in about an hour, including installing Win7 first. Ran the setup out of Win7, no need to make a bootable disk. Setup process is definitely simplified from previous versions of Windows, and a bit faster than the Win7 setup.

No surprises on performance. It still boots insanely fast. It also seems a little more stable when overclocking both the CPU and GPU than Win7/Win8 RTM was with the same drivers. I was able to get my 3770k to validate at 5.075 GHz (up from about 4.9 GHz), and my 7970s hit 1200 MHz (up from 1175) stable under Bitcoin. Using CCC 12.11 Beta4.

An irritating issue with my mouse that plagued the RTM has been fixed in retail, so there's definitely some more polish if you tried the RTM. My WEI scores also went up from the RTM. Haven't gotten down to serious benching yet, so I can't report on any changes in those scores. Also haven't had a chance to do any gaming, though I'm looking forward to seeing if some issues I had with Dishonored have been resolved.

 

[Guest]

Steps to a no mess upgrade:

Download and install Windows 8 RTM

Activate with Windows 8 Pro upgrade key in Windows 8 RTM

That is it, all done

BTW, we are using Win8 on the kids computer that has an ELO touchscreen, with current drivers that work like a charm.

Kids love the Netflix app, just like the tablets.