Which is better to install windows 10 or 8. The best version of Windows. Negative user reviews

Do I need to switch from Windows 7 to Windows 10? Maybe, well, these innovations and beauty? Or still keep up with the times? This is a question that confuses many of today's Windows users.

Comparison of Windows 10 and Windows 7

As an example, take any laptop with very decent performance, for example, Samsung R60Y+. Don't be scared by the fact that this model is 9 years old - it's a machine with a dual-core processor and 2 GB of RAM. Windows 8/8.1/10 runs very quickly on it, which cannot be said about inexpensive and weak netbooks: one of these is Acer Aspire The One 521 with its regular processor and just 1GB of RAM.

Windows 10 and Windows 7 performance

For comparison, we took a PC with the following equipment:

  • CPU Intel Core i5–4670K (3.4 GHz - 3.8 GHz);
  • RAM 8 GB (DDR3–2400 RAM architecture);
  • Nvidia video card GeForce GTX 980;
  • Crucial MX200 1TB drive;
  • SilverStone Essential Gold system unit with a power of 750 W.
  • Startup and behavior when turning on the PC

    Windows 8 and 10 versions load faster. This is not a file-by-file loading of the operating system kernel, as was the case until Windows 7, but loading of the last successfully completed session with working settings and user data. Starting Windows “from scratch” every time you turn on the PC is a thing of the past for operating systems: this method wore out internal drives faster (SSD drives and bootable flash drives LiveUSB, less wear-resistant than a simple HDD) and greatly overloaded RAM and processor.

    After booting, Windows 7 shows the classic desktop and taskbar with the main Windows menu. In Windows 8.x, the Start button was hidden, but in Windows 10 it was made more accessible, as in earlier versions of Windows. Most tools for configuring and debugging Windows 10 are still readily available and will be discussed below.

  • remove the password that was imposed when you first launched Ten - in Windows 7 and earlier versions the password was not forced;
  • remove autostart of some components and Windows services, which, as a rule, are not urgently needed, especially if the computer is used for work and entertainment on the Internet;
  • clear lists of assigned tasks that are also not needed;
  • disable slideshow screensavers and “wallpapers”, set simple Windows decoration, remove other annoying paraphernalia.
  • To begin with, the BootRacer program measures the time it takes the OS to start - from the appearance of the Microsoft logo to the display of the Windows desktop.


    Windows 8.1 showed the best time; Windows 10 booted within 6 seconds, Windows 7 within 5 seconds

    If the Windows 7 shell had not started from scratch every time, it would have started in just 3–4 seconds. And this on PC with very impressive performance!

    Switch to Standby/Hibernate and Hibernate Windows

    The first mode that allowed you to safely stop Windows without closing programs or losing data was hibernation - saving the entire current session on drive C. The more perfect Windows version, the less time it takes to execute the hibernation command.


    The older the system, the longer it takes to go into hibernation mode; the best time - 21 seconds - was shown by Windows 10

    Hybrid sleeper Windows mode- something between hibernation and normal sleep mode - takes slightly less time, and here again the superiority of Windows 10 is visible.


    In Windows 10, the time it takes for the PC to go into sleep mode is the shortest

    Windows 7 and 10 system requirements for PC

    The values ​​given below for RAM, video card memory, CPU and space in the system partition (in the case of using one version of Windows, this is usually partition C:) must be exceeded at least twice, otherwise this is not work on the computer, but torture.

    Windows 7/10 computer requirements - table

    The main factor is the PC bit capacity. Changing Windows 7 to 10 makes sense, for example, in the following situations:

  • Computer performance suffers; the software was updated/replaced - replacing Office 2007 with Office 2013, Photoshop CS1 with the CC version, etc.;
  • I want to try new games that are more demanding on hardware resources; for example, update GTA4 to GTA5, Crysis 2 to Crysis 3, and so on;
  • a large monitor/projector was purchased, and a PC or laptop performs the functions home theater or operates a projector at a university;
  • the entire “system unit” is being upgraded or completely changed due to the launch of 16-channel video surveillance with IP cameras at guarded posts - the PC itself is used as a video recorder: for example, 16 GB RAM, a 1 TB hard drive and an 8*3 processor are purchased, 5 GHz.
  • Which version of Windows is best for gaming?

    It is necessary that the game does not freeze anywhere - and it does not matter whether it is single-player or multiplayer. Who would like a laptop that is overheated to capacity and makes noise at half the apartment with its fans at night, in which your favorite World of Tanks or Call of Duty Black Ops constantly freezes, control of the main character is lost, and you are killed in the game in an easy place?!

    Windows 7, 8 and 10 are only slightly ahead of each other - if only there was a powerful and fast “stuffing” of a computer or tablet. Most games of the last decade require at least Windows Vista, otherwise you are unlikely to play GTA-4/5 or the latest World of Warcraft series on them.

    An example is the game Tomb Raider. No noticeable increase in loading speed was found.


    Tomb Raider load times are almost the same on all versions of Windows

    There is a slight lag between Windows 10 and Windows 7 in the games Metro Redux and Crysis 3.

    Which version of Windows runs faster applications for work tasks?

    As in games, the hardware itself decides a lot here. For example, when starting programs Download Master, Firefox Portable, Adobe Photoshop, Avant Browser and some others, a splash screen (cover) of the application appears on the screen for a second or two, which you are unlikely to speed up - this is how these programs are configured, they maintain an interval for displaying this splash screen before opening their main working window. This is reminiscent, for example, of the intro of a Call of Duty or Grand Turismo game, but, unlike desktop applications, you can interrupt the demo video and start the game by pressing Enter or clicking the mouse.

    Labor productivity is important here. If for you a computer is not a toy, but a means of earning money, applications should work quickly - for example, Microsoft Office does not slow down when typing documents; the printer, scanner, copier, etc. work quickly; the local network the enterprise does not “fall off” and does not slow down.

    Launching Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge

    Internet Explorer 11 and new browser Microsoft Edge. With each shift, Windows IE gets a little faster. Microsoft is right - Edge is much faster than slow-witted IE.


    Edge browser loads almost twice as fast as IE, regardless of Windows version

    Internet Explorer is clunky, and yet banks and corporations use it - they don't need Chrome, Opera, or Firefox.

    Adobe Photoshop launch monitoring

    Throughout its history, Photoshop has accumulated so many software modules, templates, filters and settings that it takes a very long time to launch even on high-speed machines.


    Photoshop loading speed on Windows 7 and 10 is almost the same

    The further development of Windows did not greatly affect its startup speed.

    How Microsoft Excel performed

    Overall, nothing has changed in Excel performance.


    Speed Excel work 2013 is almost the same in all recent versions of Windows

    This is one of those cases where productivity in work applications does not change for the better.

    People's reviews about Windows 10

    One fine morning, I came across news about the public availability of Windows 10 from the company Melkosoft. Initially, I was very surprised by the release of the 10th after the 8th, but that’s not the point, I immediately downloaded it and hemorrhoids began, because after a 2-hour installation, a 5-hour search for firewood that would work correctly system, I came across a crude, unfinished system in which even the conductor does not work reliably! Popandos, comrades! The graphical component is very minimalistic and uninteresting, almost everything was ripped off from 8, but a start menu was added, conceptually it’s a mixture of 7 and 8, to be honest, this is of no use, I would say that I’m waiting for a full-fledged version, but it can’t be so after what I saw. Result: Despite the ardent desire to switch to Linux, I rolled back to seven

    Qwetyshttp://otzovik.com/review_1424470.html

    Since 2013, I have been using the Windows 8.1 operating system and was completely satisfied, but when I saw a discussion of Windows 10 on the Internet on forums, how beautifully people describe how good and convenient it is, I couldn’t resist and went to the official Microsoft website. In general, I downloaded the installation and started installing this system. The installation did not take long, like all windows, it quickly installed, rebooted and then it started... Well, of course, I’ll immediately note that the interface is beautiful, the icons were replaced with more neat ones, the taskbar and the main screen. The screen began to freeze , you are looking for settings to adjust but you can’t understand where they are located, I read on the forums that you need to demolish the previous version and I bought a Windows 10 image with a license key. In general, I formatted HDD and installed windows 10...And it started again... - now I’ll just list what problems I encountered. The store doesn’t work - there are always errors, the explorer doesn’t work, updates don’t work, games and programs don’t start - something is always missing from the library... All files that are missing for full-fledged work PC - it is not possible to find on the Internet specifically for Windows 10. As a result, Windows 10 was disposed of and the PC was returned to Windows 8.1

    Lengushihttp://otzovik.com/review_1955777.html

    Good day. Most of us are accustomed to the Windows 7 operating system, so it’s understandable that the transition to Windows 8,8.1 and 10 is met with hostility. After all, you need to get used to the new, but the old has already been studied inside and out. It’s probably strange, but for me personally, it is learning new things that arouses great interest. New things don’t just mean new problems, bugs and other crap. New is also a solution to old problems, optimization, improvement, improvements. I have already installed Windows 10 five times, demolished it, returned to 8.1 and 7. But at the moment I have clearly decided to stay on the top ten. It is more convenient, it works many times faster than the previous ones OS, and yet it is new. In the end, new versions of programs and games are optimized for it. Games don't interest me at all, but still. There was only one unpleasant moment - an annoying message asking me to upgrade to the top ten, which appeared with updating previous versions of the OS. But even with him it was easy to fight. There was no need to install updates, or it was tedious to remove something from the installed ones. It’s a matter of two minutes. Turning on bluetooth on the keyboard doesn’t work for me, but there’s a very convenient panel here. Just for me. They say that a dozen monitor users and send data to Microsoft. Well yes, that's true. What next? It is stupid for the average user to worry about this. Not everyone is an employee of the FSB or similar organizations. Why such paranoia? Terrorists may need to worry, but ordinary people have no reason to. A fake problem, which by the way can be solved by installing a small patch that destroys all the shit, including the cool thing Cortana. I use it with pleasure. I disabled the standard antivirus and installed my favorite Avast. I don't know any problems. Oh yes, there was one serious problem. I have a folder with films. At the moment, its volume exceeds 400 GB and Windows was not friendly with this folder. The bar at the top took a long time to load. Everything froze. The problem was solved simply, in the folder settings I changed the folder optimization from “video” to “general elements”. It’s strange that she was dumb when it came to optimizing for video. But I solved the problem, and this is the main thing. Of course, I recommend this operating system. Fast, attractive, easy to use and configure.

    Kosmonaut Mishahttp://otzovik.com/review_2744012.html

    Summary: is Windows 10 as necessary as it seems?

    So, if you have a lot of free time and want to please your eyes with a new design - go ahead! What will change if the Windows main menu becomes not just a menu, but a tile with large icons and cells of different sizes? You can’t argue with the statistics: more than half of people still love Windows 7 - it works just fine on their computers.

    The first requirement for any operating system is functionality, which includes features such as:

  • support for new devices and faster and more productive equipment - for this, Windows must have all the main drivers that are universal for many brands and models of PCs, laptops and tablets. In particular, this applies to panoramic shooting for Google Street and Yandex Maps - support for the latest “circular” and “spherical” HD cameras with a resolution of each of their matrices of thousands by thousands of pixels;
  • the emergence and development of voice control (Cortana voice dictation in Windows, similar to Siri in iOS, support voice search OK Google, etc.);
  • support for 3D technologies: support for 3D monitors, 3D printing. This is becoming increasingly popular. Previously, they could only print text - now it is possible to print, for example, a toy or a model on a 3D printer, and this is not the limit. Windows 10 should also work smoothly and quickly with this;
  • support for multi-display work - used at presentations, lectures, and generally when working in any company - and it doesn’t matter what this company produces, be it a new bicycle or an iPhone;
  • There is an abundance of all kinds of settings - it is the new functionality that gives a serious impetus to their expansion.
  • The list threatens to become endless. No matter how huge it was, people expected new features, new functions from Windows 10, and not just new screensavers and shiny panels, mosaics and animations, which the “Gates office” never skimped on. Since Microsoft is unlikely to release new version Windows (under the name 11 or Prima), all hope is for Windows 10 updates, which will bring to mind what is already there.

    Video: Windows 10 settings

    Updating Windows to Windows 10 is not that important. If you don’t need the Cortana “voice”, virtual desktops and other “bells and whistles”, stay on Windows 7; in any case, you won’t lose anything either in work or in play.

    Before you choose which system to use, Windows 8 or 10, you need to know how they differ. Let's look at the differences that everyone can encounter, and not at the system subtleties that are important only to developers.

    Comparison criteria

    When choosing the system on which you will work in the near future, do not forget to pay attention to the following points:

    • appearance, design. It is worth considering that the color scheme can be customized and the interface can be personalized using system settings and third-party programs;
    • performance. Different versions systems will solve the same problems on the same computers in different times: some OS will take more time, some less;
    • device support. Some modern devices work only with the latest version of Windows, and outdated ones do not always work with it. Although the last Windows problem 10 solves using compatibility mode;
    • presence of functions. Windows support 8 by Microsoft has officially ended, so new technologies and services invented by the company are not added to the old operating system.

    By comparing the two versions according to the criteria described above, you can understand which version is right for you. Feedback from people who have tested both Windows will also help you make the right decision.

    Minimum Requirements

    Minimum requirements are a list of the “weakest” components that make up the computer, the presence of which is necessary to install the system. If your graphics card, processor, or any other component doesn't meet the minimum requirements, you won't be able to upgrade to the new Windows. The only way out is to replace it with a modern and more productive analogue.

    The minimum requirements for Windows 8 and 10 are the same. Although the latest version of the system has acquired a wider range of functions, good optimization made it possible not to increase the minimum performance level:

    • 1 GHz processor;
    • RAM - 1 GB or 2 GB for 32 and 64-bit systems, respectively;
    • HDD or SSD disk with 16 GB or 20 GB of free memory for 32 and 64-bit systems, respectively;
    • The video card must support DirectX version 9 or higher.

    Design comparison

    Windows 8 is very different from other versions as it has an innovative tile design. There is no traditional desktop; access to applications is provided through rectangular tiles. The user has the right to drag them, change colors and dimensions.

    Windows 8 has a tiled design

    Since the appearance of the G8 caused a lot of disapproval, Windows 10 returned the usual design: a desktop with shortcuts and the Start menu. The only difference is that now the system search string located in a separate tab. The interface is similar to the presentation of Windows 7, but slightly modernized: unnecessary elements have been removed, system settings are organized and intuitive, window frames are flat and rectangular.


    Well-known ones have returned to Windows 10 Windows users 7 desktop and start menu

    Which design is better and more convenient is up to you to decide. It is recommended to watch several videos comparing the appearance of one and the other system in order to understand how it looks in reality, in motion, and not in pictures.

    Performance

    You can find many tests on the Internet, their meaning is as follows: the same components are taken, the same versions of several systems are installed, and the same tasks are performed on them. As a result, the time it took for each version to cope with them is compared.

    Speed ​​of system processes

    The graphs presented below clearly illustrate how quickly Windows 7, 8 and 10 cope with the work. From them we can conclude: in most cases, the “ten” wins.

    Photo gallery: comparison of speeds of system processes Windows 7, 8, 10

    Comparison via programs

    For performance comparison there are also special programs, which specifically load systems with various tasks, and then produce results on all points. According to the findings of these programs, Windows 10 wins in most cases.

    Photo gallery: comparison of Windows 7, 8 and 10 performance using programs

    Comparison in applications

    Another way to determine the winner is to analyze the speed of the most popular applications: Excel, Mozilla browser, Adobe Photoshop, etc. According to the results of these tests, the tenth version of Windows is not always the first, but it is not far behind.

    Photo gallery: Windows 7, 8 and 10 app performance comparison

    Video: Windows 7, 8 and 10 gaming performance comparison

    Differences in Features

    Some functions of Windows 8 moved to the tenth version, others remained only in it, and others appeared only in the “ten”. The list below will help you understand what this or that Windows can do.

    Virtual tables

    Built-in support for virtual desktops appeared only with the release of Windows 10. In previous versions of the operating system, it was possible to work with multiple tables only after installing third-party programs.

    By creating as many desktops as you like, you can divide the programs you use between them. For example, a browser and notepad will be open on one table, a photo and video editor on the second, and some kind of game on the third. In other words, the need for multiple desks may arise for people who work on many applications simultaneously, or for those who share their computer with other people and want to give them a separate desktop.


    You can create multiple desktops in Windows 10

    Video: How to use virtual desktops in Windows 10

    Charms Bar

    Charms Bar is a Start or Start menu that varies greatly across the Windows in question. In the “eight”, by pressing the key with the Windows logo (a square divided into four squares), the user brings up a whole set of tiles, providing access to applications and news. The menu opens in full screen and can be scrolled wide. The list of tiles located in the menu is initially proposed by the system itself, but can be changed by the user in the future.


    Charms Bar occupies the entire screen and consists of tiles

    In Windows 10, the Start menu has taken on a more familiar appearance, although with a slight difference - the search bar, which helps you search for applications by name, has been moved to separate window. By default, Charms Bar opens in a small tab that takes up about 1/6 of the screen and contains a list of all the programs in the computer's memory, as well as advertising and news tiles. The appearance, number of folders and blocks can be configured manually.


    In Windows 10, the start menu is smaller and different appearance resembles the Start menu in Windows 7

    At the same time, Windows 10 has a full-screen mode, the activation of which will lead to the menu starting to open in the entire monitor.

    Sync with OneDrive

    OneDrive is a cloud service that allows you to store copies of many computer elements. To work with it you will need an account Microsoft entry. You can send your photos, videos, some types of files, and even backups systems with the help of which broken Windows can be restored in the future. The technology is supported in both Windows 8 and Windows 10.


    Personal data can be stored on OneDrive so that if your computer breaks down, it can be easily retrieved

    Video: how to use One Drive

    Standard browser

    As in everyone previous systems, Windows 8 uses the standard Internet browser Explorer. Although it has been improved for a long time, it still lags far behind all popular browsers in terms of performance and the number of supported technologies. Of course, IE is capable of performing standard functions, such as viewing news and videos, but most users are in a hurry to replace it for many reasons.


    Used in Windows 8 outdated browser Internet Explorer

    Windows 10 has introduced a replacement for the unsuccessfully updated Internet Explorer - Microsoft Edge. This browser is faster, more beautiful and simpler. Modern design and support for many modern technologies make it competitive. He's probably still worse than most free analogues, but it’s already more pleasant to use.


    Windows 10 uses an updated and competitive Edge browser

    Voice assistant

    The voice assistant, named Cortana, appeared in the desktop version only in Windows 10. It is present in mobile version Windows 8 Mobile, but in the edition for the computer on this Windows stage she wasn't there.

    Using the assistant, you can open applications by voice, request data, perform some actions, for example, minimize or switch tabs, search for information on the Internet, etc. But you will need a microphone through which Cortana can hear you.


    Windows 10 has Cortana, a voice assistant that lets you do simple things using just your voice

    At the moment, the assistant is not available in the Russian edition of Windows, so you will have to select a language supported by Cortana during system installation or after that by going to its settings. Full list The languages ​​with which the assistant can interact can be found on the official Microsoft website.

    Xbox Games

    At one of the conferences, Microsoft announced that all games released exclusively for Xbox One, will become available on Windows 10. That is, a user with an Xbox Live account will be able to purchase a game released for game console, and play it on your computer. The games are not compatible with Windows 8.


    On Xbox Live you can buy games from the console and play them on your computer

    Disk information

    Windows 10 has a built-in service that provides detailed information about how HDD space is used or SSD drive. It shows how many megabytes each program uses, how much space certain files occupy. Of course you can install additional programs on Windows 8 to get the same information, but in latest version system, just go to the computer settings.


    Windows 10 can provide detailed information about the disk and programs that are using up space on it

    Smart Split Screen

    In Windows 8, there are the first signs that Microsoft is working on a feature that lets you split your screen instead of manually dragging windows around and formatting their sizes. It was possible to divide the monitor into two halves: one is allocated for the desktop and everything that happens on it, and the second is for windows with system settings and parameters. Convenient, but not entirely practical.


    The screen in Windows 8 can be divided into two parts

    Windows 10 has a full implementation of this feature. By dragging a window to the left or right side of the monitor and releasing it, you will create a screen that is divided into two parts. The dragged application will go into one part, and the application you select from the list of running ones will open in the other part. After this, using the arrows, you can divide the monitor into 3 or 4 blocks with different programs.


    In Windows 10, the screen can be divided into 2, 3 and 4 parts

    Increased security

    In Windows 10, there are ways to set a password on account became more. With Windows Hello, you can install following methods Personal identification: standard password entry, fingerprint recognition, use graphic key, identification by face. Of course, to analyze a fingerprint, you need a special touchpad, and to scan your face, you need a camera with support for Full HD and an infrared sensor.


    You can set face or fingerprint identification to log in to Windows 10

    One of the marketing promises Windows 10- even more fast work(the corresponding slogan sounds like “Designed for speed"). Compared to Win 8.1, the system should turn on faster, wake up from sleep mode, etc. But is this really so? Let's check!


    Test device and input data

    A top-end multimedia laptop was taken for testing - ASUS UX-501. Configuration: Intel Core i7 (overclockable to 3.6 GHz), 16 GB RAM, GeForce video card 960M GTX and 128GB SSD. This is one of the most interesting devices of 2015.

    A clean installation of both versions of Windows was performed. software(drivers, test programs). The test was carried out in a room with a temperature of 23 degrees, the “Optimal” energy consumption mode was selected, all tasks using the command Rundll32.exe, advapi32.dll, ProcessIdleTasks worked, all the proposed ones were installed Microsoft updates, all the optimization features offered by Windows are included. All tests were performed three times, and the arithmetic mean was entered into the tables.

    Testing

    1. Loading time

    The Windows® Performance Toolkit was used - a set of tools that manufacturers of Windows devices and programs resort to its services when they want to test the runtime and speed of their products on average computers. The result of version 8.1 is on the left, “tens” is on the right, the unit of measurement is seconds:

    The difference cannot be called big, but it is clear that Microsoft still decided to spend time and improve an already excellent indicator - Windows 10 is 0.7 seconds faster than its predecessor. On a top-end device like the UX-501, the owner of the device will not notice much difference, but on a regular laptop or PC, the difference can become much more noticeable.

    Winner: Windows 10

    2. Launch Internet Explorer

    While working on a computer, we constantly open and close applications. A long time to load a program important for work is not just annoying (and nerves, as you know, are not made of steel), but also interferes with work or surfing the Internet.

    For measurements a set is used Windows tools Assessment Toolkit. Unit of measurement is milliseconds:

    Again, not everyone will notice the improvement in the indicator from 0.9 seconds to 0.45 seconds - but such an indicator warms the soul in any case, Microsoft showed concern for the user here too.

    Winner: Windows 10

    3. Typing, web browsing and video chat

    To carry out these tests, the PCMark 8 benchmark tool was used. It simulates real-life scenarios: surfing the Internet, working in Office 2013, Adobe Creative Suite and other programs that are usually used at home and in the office for work. The exact time to complete a task is measured, down to milliseconds:

    The differences are minimal - only 1%. True, it’s still in favor of Windows 10.

    Winner: Windows 10

    4. Productivity in Word, Powerpoint and Excel

    PCMark measures performance speed while running basic office applications- for example, processing time for a large table in Excel:

    But here the increase is much more obvious: office workers involved in computing, it seems, really should upgrade to “ten”.

    Winner: Windows 10

    5.Grand Theft Auto V

    God be with him, with the office - let's play! The test passes Best game 2015 - GTA V, its own built-in benchmark is responsible for measuring FPS (frames per second).

    The first “defeat” of the new OS from Microsoft. But it’s worth remembering that the “ten” supports DirectX 12, which makes games up to 50% faster than before. The only thing left to do is to finally wait for such games.

    Winner: Windows 8.1

    6. Adobe Creative Suite

    Good performance is needed not only by gamers and nervous housewives, but also by IT professionals. Case in point: Adobe Creative Suite:

    And again, the victory is more than convincing, as much as 17% - for Windows 10. Microsoft has worked on the use of resources and drivers, so for every self-respecting IT specialist, “ten” is not a luxury, but an urgent necessity.

    Winner: Windows 10

    7. Battery life (office)

    Microsoft promises that Windows 10 will be more gentle on the weak batteries of Windows laptops. PCMark 8 runs performance tests until the battery is completely discharged:

    In all three tests conducted, Windows 10 ran 9 minutes longer. To be honest, I would like more, but thanks for that.

    Winner: Windows 10

    8. Battery life (games)

    When we get stuck into something very interesting, not only time flies by very quickly, but also the battery charge. Unfortunately, even with the current driver from NVIDIA, when playing GTA V, the operating time in the “ten” was reduced; all tests show a decent “minus” of 13 percent:

    Winner: Windows 8.1

    9. Battery life (movies)

    When viewing a video clip in 1080p format via Windows Media Player on Windows 8.1 laptop turned off after 2 hours and 25 minutes. In Windows 10, this figure was much better - 3 hours, or +25%. Apparently, the “ten” takes a more rational approach to this usage scenario - background activity is reduced to a minimum, only the video player works “seriously”:

    Winner: Windows 10.

    The final score is 2:7, not in favor of Windows 8.1.

    Verdict

    Windows 10, even at the very beginning of its life cycle, is already faster than Windows 8.1. But miracles don’t happen: in the winning use cases for the “top ten,” the increase in speed is most often minimal; significant progress was achieved only in terms of watching videos. Let’s also not forget that the tests were carried out on a “clean” version of the system, Windows with a large number of installed games, programs and drivers will start to work much slower over time.

    How (is it faster or slower) does Windows 10 work for you, dear readers? Share your opinion in the comments!

    Windows 10 has been rolling out for almost a month. The guys from Microsoft made a good marketing platform, but even it does not answer questions regarding the advisability of switching to a new version of the OS. In fact, there is nothing surprising in this case. One has only to remember what the situation was at that time with the release of the same “seven” or 8.1.

    The release of each new version was always accompanied by doubts potential clients. After all, they are not aware of what to expect when upgrading to a new version of the software. What is equally important, at the moment there is no complete stable version of the tenth generation, based on which any conclusions can be drawn. However, according to experts, the differences in the beta version and the final release will be minimal. Accordingly, it is advisable to start conducting this kind of checks right now - we are unlikely to be able to see a noticeable difference in the future.

    System Performance

    To check the performance indicators, an HP Specter x360 laptop was used as a “guinea pig”. It contains LPDDR3 memory with 8 GB, identical SSD with a capacity of 128 GB, Intel Core i5-5200U “brains”, as well as identical BIOS. To carry out the tests, the PCMark 8 Creative Conventional benchmark was used, the task of which is to simulate everyday tasks - such as video files, browsing, games and group chats via video conferencing.

    According to the results obtained, the advantage of the tenth generation is at a minimum. Approximately the same difference can be seen in other testing programs.

    As for gaming applications, without support for DirectX 12, the difference is more obvious, but not so great as to indicate a qualitatively different behavior.

    Testing did not affect file system, battery life, and so on. In fact, the conclusion suggests itself: even though both systems have very good performance parameters for our time, it showed only a slight difference in performance before 8.1. This, in turn, can be classified as a disadvantage, because it is unacceptable for a modern operating system. And this is taking into account the fact that Microsoft representatives claimed that Windows 10 will have significant differences.

    In front of you is a graph that shows the time in seconds required to fully load the operating system when exiting sleep mode. The graph is designed in a rather unconventional way: the lower the value in each field, the better. Interestingly, the results of this test revealed the following: the “ten” cannot even overtake the 7th generation. This raises a number of questions for developers, who claim that it will be possible to get started even faster, and this despite the increased load on the processor during startup. Windows 7 loses almost one second to Windows 8.1, which is quite logical. But for the top ten to be two seconds behind 8.1 is unacceptable.

    Although, on the other hand, it is not worth drawing exact conclusions. Even due to different behavior on different devices with fundamentally different hardware installed.

    In terms of archiving speed Windows files 10 also loses out to previous generations. Even though the difference is insignificant, a number of uncomfortable issues for Microsoft engineers cannot be ruled out in the future.

    Interface differences

    Perhaps one of the most exciting news is the introduction of the traditional Start menu. This suggests that the developers really understood their mistakes made in the eighth generation, deciding to listen to the opinions of their customers. After analyzing user opinions, we can come to the conclusion that using a touch-based interface is a fundamentally absurd idea.

    However, a complete “back to past” should not be expected. The company decided not to abandon the successful solutions implemented in Windows 8. For example, the engineers decided to leave “live tiles”. The color of the start menu, as before, will adjust to the color scheme of your desktop.

    The redesigned Start menu allows you to call up the traditional list of programs, but its size can now be changed at your own discretion. “Live tiles” from the eighth version are also present here. You can scroll through it without opening all applications, as was the case in previous version. The user is also not imposed such a command as placing applications in the start menu from the official Windows Store Store. If such action is not taken, the icons will appear in base list along with other programs installed on the computer.

    Charms Bar is no longer there

    Both Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 came with the Charms Bar. Buyers of licensed versions have long said that this is a completely useless program that takes up additional RAM. In version 10, it is used exclusively on touchscreen laptops and tablets. You will not find this panel in all other devices.

    When the developers decided to fully bring back the desktop, the guys at Microsoft thought of a number of innovative solutions that would make it possible to improve the traditional user interface. And one of them can probably become the most effective and useful. We are talking about the possibility of creating multiple desktops. It is noteworthy that this function has existed in OS X and Linux for a long time.

    Using this approach in the user interface, the computer owner has the ability to create several desktops at once. Their organization is at the discretion of the user. To add a new desktop, the user must use special menu. You need to right-click to move application icons, which is a rather inconvenient solution. If you have a running application, you can close it using Task Switcher mode. The program can be closed regardless of which desktop is being used at the time of this operation.

    conclusions

    Yes, indeed, in new Windows 10 developers tried to implement as many innovations as possible. But such a decision had to be made at too high a cost. It was necessary to sacrifice productivity, which, in principle, was done. In practice, we have a very small difference in performance compared to 8.1. In addition, the launch time raises questions, which, as can be seen from the tests, is inferior even to the 7th generation.

    If you want to try something new, we recommend waiting full version Windows 10, and if stability is your priority, it is better to use version 8.1.

    Since Windows 8 went on sale, it almost immediately acquired ardent haters and gained a reputation as a failed operating system. Only Vista could compare with it in terms of the number of negative reviews, and even the modified version of Windows 8.1 did not save the situation. Windows 8, like 8.1, was aimed primarily at touch screens and on desktop computer it was extremely difficult to control.

    The starting screen is in the Metro style (by the way, a very interesting solution), but, unfortunately, not many people liked it. The “Start” button is, in general, a separate conversation; users seem to have been deprived of something very important and necessary. Those who risked upgrading to eight, like an avalanche, rolled back the system back to the stable, familiar Windows 7. Comparing both operating systems, Windows 8 or 10 , We can definitely say that Win 10 is better. At first glance, it, of course, looks like a figure eight, but this is just an apparent similarity. It has absorbed all the best from Windows 8 and Windows 7.

    Positive aspects of Windows 10

    • In the uncompromising debate Windows 8 vs Windows 10 , Undoubtedly, the top ten is in the lead. Finally, the OS has a really good, and most importantly, fast and functional, built-in Edge browser, replacing the outdated and extremely slow Internet Explorer.

    • It became possible to work with virtual desks, which was previously impossible to do in the Windows family without using third-party programs. It is very convenient to use one table for work and another for entertainment.
    • The “Start” button, naturally, is in the top ten, and is much more ergonomic than in earlier releases, tiles can be swapped, groups of applications can be created and placed in folders, and the size of tiles can be changed. Living tiles look very interesting. True, only application tiles from the store can change and show some information in real time without launching the utility. Third-party programs are displayed simply as a folder, by clicking on which you can easily launch this or that application.
    • Appeared voice assistant Cortana, for certain reasons, is not yet available in most regions, including in Russia. This is due to the difficulty of translating and integrating Cortana into language and culture. But we hope that Cortana will soon speak Russian, at least work is underway in this direction, according to unofficial sources. It is unlikely that Microsoft will bypass the great and mighty.

    • Free Cloud OneDrive service, in which you can save any information if you need to reinstall the system or for quick access to working documents from anywhere where there is access to the World Wide Web.
    • Notification Center is fast access to most settings. To events in in social networks, mail, and many other very useful functions.

    We can talk endlessly about how good Windows 10 is compared to the eight, the loading speed, the huge number of a wide variety of functions that amaze the imagination. With each new update, the top ten receives even more goodies that satisfy the needs of even the most demanding users.
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