Thread: Windows 7 vs Windows 8 for new Carpc

you wont HAVE to upgrade your car PC to win8. Win7 will be viable for far longer than your hardware. As i understand it, win8 will cold boot faster, so if that's important to you then it might be worth it.

In my vehicle i'll stick with 7. .Net remains supported, 7 is "service pack stable", meaning they're not going to do anything radically different with the interface like i've heard rumors with in 8. Another reason i'll stick with 7 is because car PC hardware isn't ready for half of what 8 delivers. The metro interface is crippled without a multi-touch screen, and unless you're using the surface acoustic Lilliput, that's what you're currently stuck with.

I have windows 8 32 bit, and simply HATE it! You have to have a minimum resolution of 1024 x 768 to run their apps, which is hard to see on a 7" screen. Drivers are almost non-existant, so make sure there are drivers for every subsystem first, instead of the hearsay that manufacturers post.

Example of their typical stunt:
They advertise they have motherboard drivers supporting Windows 8.
But after you purchase and install, you discover the onboard graphics is not supported, rendering your ability to change screen resolution to few choices, and your windows experience level gets chopped to "1"

You also discover that your combo dual wifi with bluetooth 4 actually only supports the wifi part and bluetooth is not supported, costing you another precious usb port for another supported BT module.

Then you have to deal with the microsoft store for everything, just like you do with un-rooted phones.

Summary, it generally sucks! Just my opinion, your mileage may vary.

-Robert

My thought on this would be to get the win7 version and then on black friday sales get the win 8 upgrade for cheap. Win 8 is a steep learning curve to get it to do what is needed for the car pc. But time will solve that and then you can upgrade to win 8. But my best advise to you would be to spend alittle more and get yourself a technet subscription and have access to all flavors of microsoft products. You get usually 3 keys with each product. Best 300.00 bucks I have ever spent. SNO

Win8 is only 40-50 bucks as an upgrade, and metro can be ignored if you install start8 by stardock for 7 bucks. I have had no driver issues. The resolution issue is valid but I am happy with how my screen looks on an 8" lilliput. I would not start with Win7 at this point if you are starting fresh. I'm not saying 7 is not a good choice, just that for 40 bucks, I'm happy with 8.

I'd second what PhilG says. Win8 is completely stable, Everything you can do in 7, you can do in 8 plus you get market access, which may be of benefit (depends on how you choose to use your system). And fact is, it's cheaper than a licensed version of 7. I really haven't found multi-touch to be much of a factor. Metro is certainly "useable" without it, but it would be nice to have, for sure.

Just depends on what you enjoy about your carPC. If part of the attraction is expanding possibilities (and you're not a Penguin fancier), then Win8 is the only rational choice, since it represents the current and future Microsoft environment. There are and will be challenges to overcome, but that's kind of the point. On the other hand, if that's not what you enjoy, and prefer the comfort of the status quo, then Win7 (or even staying on XP) might be a better choice.

I'm obviously a Centrafuse guy, and CF can be the "gray flannel suit" of carPC frontends. A little staid, and maybe even boring for some folks. But I use it every day on Win8, back and forth to work, and it just works. No drama, no fuss, no muss. I get all the features and apps that CF provides AND I get access to anything I find interesting in Metro. Stuck waiting for the wife at the store? Netflix works GREAT in Metro. Hulu+, Angry Birds Star Wars...all there. Check my bank account? No problem. Are they integrated in the front end? No. Are they completely usable with a standard touchscreen? YES. And that's the point. They aren't a replacement for a carPC frontend, CF and RR are much better suited for use by the driver while the car is in motion. But unlike standard windows desktop apps (as you would typically find in Windows 7), every single Metro app is designed for use on a touchscreen, which makes it usable in your car. And having a little BT or RF keyboard in the car makes it even easier to use Win8. Not an absolute requirement, but a definite "nice to have."

So that's the pitch. The times they are a'changin. My bet is 6 months to a year from now, no one will think twice about making the move.

VegasGuy

Or get Win 7 now and get a win 8 upgrade later and dual boot.


That's how my new test/development laptop is set up.





Multiboot FTW.

Originally Posted by VegasGuy

I'd second what PhilG says. Win8 is completely stable, Everything you can do in 7, you can do in 8 plus you get market access, which may be of benefit (depends on how you choose to use your system). And fact is, it's cheaper than a licensed version of 7. I really haven't found multi-touch to be much of a factor. Metro is certainly "useable" without it, but it would be nice to have, for sure.

Just depends on what you enjoy about your carPC. If part of the attraction is expanding possibilities (and you're not a Penguin fancier), then Win8 is the only rational choice, since it represents the current and future Microsoft environment. There are and will be challenges to overcome, but that's kind of the point. On the other hand, if that's not what you enjoy, and prefer the comfort of the status quo, then Win7 (or even staying on XP) might be a better choice.

I'm obviously a Centrafuse guy, and CF can be the "gray flannel suit" of carPC frontends. A little staid, and maybe even boring for some folks. But I use it every day on Win8, back and forth to work, and it just works. No drama, no fuss, no muss. I get all the features and apps that CF provides AND I get access to anything I find interesting in Metro. Stuck waiting for the wife at the store? Netflix works GREAT in Metro. Hulu+, Angry Birds Star Wars...all there. Check my bank account? No problem. Are they integrated in the front end? No. Are they completely usable with a standard touchscreen? YES. And that's the point. They aren't a replacement for a carPC frontend, CF and RR are much better suited for use by the driver while the car is in motion. But unlike standard windows desktop apps (as you would typically find in Windows 7), every single Metro app is designed for use on a touchscreen, which makes it usable in your car. And having a little BT or RF keyboard in the car makes it even easier to use Win8. Not an absolute requirement, but a definite "nice to have."

So that's the pitch. The times they are a'changin. My bet is 6 months to a year from now, no one will think twice about making the move.

VegasGuy

Originally Posted by Enforcer

Or get Win 7 now and get a win 8 upgrade later and dual boot.


That's how my new test/development laptop is set up.





Multiboot FTW.

Thanks everyone. I got both sides of the issue fast and with positions well explained. This forum is the best.

I do want really fast cold boot times, and I would like to be toying with the next generation OS going into the future. I don't expect the carPC to actually take over running the car for about 6 months at the rate I get things done, but I want to figure this out in time for black Friday shopping. This sets me up perfect to be able to deal with the learning curve of everyone from the users to Microsoft to the companies getting drivers out as well.

The dual boot option is a fun route during the experimentation phase. I'm going to keep my eyes open and if I see some sweet deals on Friday for the 8 upgrade I'll just get that and Windows 7. If not I'll jump head first into 8 and see what happens.

Alright guys, I stumbled into a sweet upgrade deal on Black Friday like we talked. The officemax near me had it for 30 bucks, so I went ahead and got that.

I have an xp disc that I might be able to upgrade to 8 from, which would save me a good chunk of money so I'll try that first.

Stick to XP. Lol.