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Windows Windows 7 or 8.1 for Boot Camp Gaming

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tbolt11

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 20, 2013
91
0
Ideally I would not have to do boot camp at all, but alas, many games are still windows-only. Windows 7 is a nice operating system. Windows 8/8.1 while having some nice concepts is ultimately terrible and very confusing.

What I want to know is since I will simply be using windows as a launchpad for games, which one is better? As in, does 8.1 provide performance advantages over 7? If that's true, I have no problem using 8.1 then.

Thanks
 
I

Irishman

macrumors 68040
Nov 2, 2006
3,407
846
tbolt11 said:
Ideally I would not have to do boot camp at all, but alas, many games are still windows-only. Windows 7 is a nice operating system. Windows 8/8.1 while having some nice concepts is ultimately terrible and very confusing.

What I want to know is since I will simply be using windows as a launchpad for games, which one is better? As in, does 8.1 provide performance advantages over 7? If that's true, I have no problem using 8.1 then.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Use 7.
 
T

tbolt11

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 20, 2013
91
0
I have read that windows 8/8.1 has better drivers and newer versions of DX. Wouldn't I want to benefit from these?
 
S

saturnotaku

macrumors 68000
Mar 4, 2013
1,978
97
The drivers for Windows 7 and 8 are more or less the same. A "newer" version of DirectX is meaningless unless you have the hardware and software to support its features.
 
luffytubby

luffytubby

macrumors 6502a
Jan 22, 2008
684
0
Yeah, with 8.1 you can disable almost anything, remove all apps and only have game titles on the metro screen. If setting Steam to start on boot up, basically windows metro start screen becomes a floating screen of game icons.
 
K

kelub

macrumors regular
Jun 15, 2010
136
45
8/8.1 is fine. I use it for boot camp gaming with no issues whatsoever.

Some people feel strongly about the "metro" UI. /shrugs/ I think that one of the benefits of being a multiple-OS user is not being as phased by (or as emotional over) one or the other. I prefer OSX over Windows, but there's no need to seppuku over the new Windows interface. Just use it and learn it, and it won't be foreign anymore. :rolleyes:

If anything, using Windows 8 with an Apple touch-based input device (trackpad or magic mouse) makes the interface even easier to navigate. Regardless, your ability to get to the desktop and launch a game will be unimpeded. 8 has some good updates, and its boot time is impressive as well.
 
S

saturnotaku

macrumors 68000
Mar 4, 2013
1,978
97
tbolt11 said:
I think im going to try out 8.1
Click to expand...

typie.gif


kelub said:
8/8.1 is fine. I use it for boot camp gaming with no issues whatsoever.
Click to expand...

One of the great things about OS X is the abundance of easy to use virtual machine software. I used Parallels to play around with the consumer preview of Windows 8. It was a very "meh" experience - I didn't really like it but couldn't muster the level of bile of its harshest detractors. A few weeks ago, I managed to snag a legit but very cheap copy of W8 and have been using it ever since. It's really grown on me, and I quite enjoy using it, so much so that I sold my Windows 7 retail license for significantly more than what I paid for 8. The installation and configuration of 8 and now 8.1 hasn't been without a few headaches, but it's been a worthwhile learning experience.

I said in another thread here a couple months back that it seemed the response to Windows 8 from Mac users was far more positive than it was from the rest of the community. Now I fully understand why.
 
T

tbolt11

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 20, 2013
91
0
I have 8.1 on my macbook air in vmware but it's terribly confusing. getting from 8 to 8.1 was a nightmare. with that said, I think it will be good to give it some more time.
 
B

bp1000

macrumors 65816
Jul 7, 2011
1,476
185
steinercat said:
How big are the install footprint for 7 & 8.1?
Click to expand...

My partition was 70gb and I ran out of space after the first windows update. That's with 1 game installed, bf4 at 35gbs.

However page file was about 5gbs and hibernation was 13gb!

The OS is about 22gb.
 
Huntn

Huntn

macrumors Core
May 5, 2008
23,586
26,704
The Misty Mountains
I'm comfortable with 7. My impression is that 8 does more and consequently has more overhead and I dislike live tiles so I'll just stick with 7 until I'm forced to upgrade.
 
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imacken

macrumors 65816
Feb 28, 2010
1,232
127
Huntn said:
I'm comfortable with 7. My impression is that 8 does more and consequently has more overhead and I dislike live tiles so I'll just stick with 7 until I'm forced to upgrade.
Click to expand...
Why do people keep going on about the 'metro' UI and live tiles?
If you don't want to use these, just boot directly into the old desktop style UI and you'll never have to see the 'new' UI again!
Even if you are in 'metro' mode, it's one keypress to go into 'desktop' mode.
Also, AFAIK, 8.1 uses less resources than 7, but i might be wrong on that.
 
D

deluxeshredder

macrumors 6502a
Nov 30, 2013
557
9
I find Windows 8.1 to be a pretty good under-the-hood improvement over Windows 7, it is worth the upgrade price for the performance boost alone. But both should be fine for Boot Camp gaming.
 
C

Cougarcat

macrumors 604
Sep 19, 2003
7,766
2,553
Huntn said:
I'm comfortable with 7. My impression is that 8 does more and consequently has more overhead and I dislike live tiles so I'll just stick with 7 until I'm forced to upgrade.
Click to expand...

It has less overhead, faster boot, and Metro can be ignored/disabled.

That said, I just use Windows as a game launcher so I'm not upgrading til a game requires it.
 
Huntn

Huntn

macrumors Core
May 5, 2008
23,586
26,704
The Misty Mountains
Cougarcat said:
It has less overhead, faster boot, and Metro can be ignored/disabled.

That said, I just use Windows as a game launcher so I'm not upgrading til a game requires it.
Click to expand...

Win 8 has less overhead than 7?

One thing that is readily apparent to me is how fast Windows boots (on my PC) as compared to the MacOS on my Mac. Now I've got 4GB RAM with 3 extra hard drives hooked up to my Mac and and more stuff going on in the background, but I usually see the spinning beach ball for a time on startup. It just does not seem I should be seeing that.
 
C

Cougarcat

macrumors 604
Sep 19, 2003
7,766
2,553
Huntn said:
Win 8 has less overhead than 7?
Click to expand...

Yes. Performance is basically the same, but you will see better boot times.

One thing that is readily apparent to me is how fast Windows boots (on my PC) as compared to the MacOS on my Mac. Now I've got 4GB RAM with 3 extra hard drives hooked up to my Mac and and more stuff going on in the background, but I usually see the spinning beach ball for a time on startup. It just does not seem I should be seeing that.
Click to expand...

Do you have a SSD? If not, what's taking forever is the resume feature. Apple was a bit overzealous with it--IMO they should've disabled it on HD-based Macs.
 
Huntn

Huntn

macrumors Core
May 5, 2008
23,586
26,704
The Misty Mountains
clukas

clukas

macrumors 6502a
May 3, 2010
990
401
I have nothing against Windows 8.1, unfortunately for me some applications which I need for some games are limited to Windows 7, so thats holding me back otherwise I would probably upgrade.
 
I

imacken

macrumors 65816
Feb 28, 2010
1,232
127
clukas said:
I have nothing against Windows 8.1, unfortunately for me some applications which I need for some games are limited to Windows 7, so thats holding me back otherwise I would probably upgrade.
Click to expand...
What are examples of these Windows 7 only applications?
 
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