Unknown Windows OS?

[nihil]

might even have to save up for a proper i5 CPU

You will have to wait a long time for Intel to make one for you then...........

I have this W8 running on an AMD Phenom II x4 BE @ 3.4GHz. It scores 7.4/7.9 on the Windows Experience Index. The weak links with Win 7 & 8 would appear to be graphics cards/chipsets and the HDD.

This HDD is running Sata 3 and still only gets a 5.9 ........... just like my 7200rpm Sata 2 does with Win 7.

Overall score with this is 4.5, but that is not a problem...... just an ancient GeForce 8500GT that won't play games. And is now running at 63c without really being asked to do anything............back to Vista and out with the thermal grease methinks?

Now, my Vista box scores 5.7/5.9 overall, and runs really well with all the aerocrap and stuff turned on.

Only the business and gaming graphics lets it down............ the rest are 5.9/5.9.

I must admit, it runs pretty damn well, and I have reconsidered my initial attitude towards Vista as a result.

Me/ I wouldn't go Intel unless there was a 7 in the month, and the conditions were "extreme"

As for the "gadgets".... this version of W8 still supports them, so I don't know if they are gone for good or just stopped in development? All I have ever used is the clock, and the CPU/RAM performance dials. Can't say I would really miss the feature personally.

I have used the Start Button though. Either to get to the Control Panel quickly or for the missus so she can pick her MS Office app quickly. I don't suppose that would be a problem with this "metro stuff"???

Mostly I just want to go straight to my desktop.............. my suggestion would be to make it user selectable as to metro or desktop as the default. Then use the "start button to go to metro, as seems to be the case with this very early demo version?

//Aside//

W8 spotted the previous video card and went and found a driver for an "engineering sample"................. the old 8500GT it just loaded with no problem or question, as you might expect.

Looks like the driver issue is being addressed pretty early on?

Cheers................ more to follow......................

[Cider]

Looks like the driver issue is being addressed pretty early on?

I really think they are heading in the right direction if driver issues are being looked at. I cannot tell how how much hassle it was when vista and then native w7 launched with driver issues. I haven't actually tested so im going to do the dreaded 4 GB DL tonight.

@ Gore: who wears the pants man, take that CPU cooler :P

[nihil]

Hi Cider,

Please be careful, I seem to recall that you can't get rid of it once installed? I guess a VM is required?

I loaded on a machine that I intend to run it on anyway, so I didn't pay that much attention, as I will just wipe it and start afresh.

//slightly off-topic:

I see that one of the great Windows mysteries has been preserved.................

Every now and then it polls the 3.5" floppy drive for no apparent reason

Yeah.............I have a 3.5" floppy because the guy who gave me the case had lost the plate that blanks off the hole where one had been //

[gore]

The CPU cooling system isn't the "coolest thing" about that machine lol. It's also about two feet tall and neon Blue with Red neon lights all in there, and little holes that make it look pretty awesome. Oh, and it has a HUGE fan on the top of the case. Something I hadn't seen before personally. I mean it has this huge exhaust fan on top, the CPU is water cooled, and the rest is all nicely cooled too. I'm a total ****ing nut job when it comes to cooling; I once tried to find a way to make Liquid Nitrogen work with a CPU but ...Well obviously it didn't work.

Then I came up with an idea; "PC-Chillin'" Computer Cooling Systems! Before PC-Cillin sued me, I'd take those mini Refrigerators, the ones you can basically put about a case of something in, gut it, and build a Motherboard inside it, drill some holes, set up said Motherboard, carve out some holes in it, where I'd put Exhaust fans, and then use the racks most people put Beer or Jolt or whatever on, and use that for Components once modified to do so a little better.

I'd get sued for the name as I said, because I'm pretty sure whoever made "PC-Cillin" would be pissed, but I thought it was a "cool" name lol.

[foxyloxley]

You will have to wait a long time for Intel to make one for you then...........

I know
but it will give me time to save up

[Cider]

@ Nihil

I would only VM it , I dont have any spare phyisical boxes.

@ Gore

That cooling system sounds epic actually, how will you deal with the condensation though?

[nihil]

I'll get back on the hardware and cooling implications a bit later

For now, here is my latest test. I mentioned that I have a rig I built for Vista and it runs ("ran", now ) like a dog. Well I remembered that I beta'ed 7 on a single core AMD, so I thought I would give it a go, now that I have Vista running well on other kit.

My test rig:

Athlon 3000+ @ 2.17GHz (single core)
256MB DDR1/400 + 1GB DDR1/333 (Via KT400 chipset +Gigabyte MoBo)
Maxstor 7200rpm HDD
NVIDIA GeForce 6200 AGP mounting.

I loaded the Windows 8 32bit version on that and it runs just fine with all the aerocrap and everything switched on! Just as good as XP if not better.

So, it will work with old kit!

It gets a Windows Experience Index score of 2.3/7.9 due to the graphics card, which leaves me wondering why Vista ran so badly with a score of 3.6/5.9.

// I went to the NVIDIA UK site and got them to scan for updated drivers...............they offered me a Linux one!!!!.............. is there something MS haven't been telling us? .............. //

More later...............

[gore]

Nihil; Nvidia isn't too far off. Remember years ago when we were all discussing the SCO Unix "Suing Linux" and all that? Microsoft saw SCO sinking fast, so they bought up a huge Unix License which, as far as I know, they used, and saved SCO in the process.

Then again, the TCP/IP stack was a direct rip off of BSD.

As for the cooling and condensation, I thought about that a lot, and one thing I thought of was Dry Ice, and also, using some other means, such as a mini freezer instead of a Refrigerator so it wouldn't be as moist in there.

I think a Freezer would work a little better because they seem to be much more dry. That and the Exhausts, would probably work, but I'm not positive.

[nihil]

Well folks, this is the 32bit test machine.................so far it is running just fine on its single core processor and Windows Experience Index of 2.3

I have had no messages regarding downgrading aero or the colour scheme, which is a little surprising given that I am using a low-end 2004, VGA slot card.

Hmmmm.............................. "Is this a dagger I see before me?" (MacBeth).

Errr nope, it's a Sempron 145 2.8GHz................4GB Kingston DDR2/800 .............. 1TB 7200rpm HDD .................. I feel another build coming on, this time with low-end current hardware.

I guess I shall order some stuff later on today and get started

It all makes me wonder about my experience with Vista................ I can only guess that there was some sort of incompatibility issue? I did try a different video card and that didn't help, so I haven't any real idea

[Cider]

Nihil can we not come to the conclusion that Vista was just a broken OS?