Ableton Forum

Just got a new laptop and trying to decide between a fresh install of Win 7 or Win 8... I tried searching but too generic so thought I'd ask for peoples opinion, or feel free to link to thread of course (and sorry for not finding it!)

I'm not really sure what to base my decision on... The new laptop is not touch screen (else win 8 would be obvious choice... I will upgrade to Ableton 9 when out and have Suite and Max.

Thanks in advance!!

here is something to read: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=186474
im a technic freak so i recommend the newer and imho better os

In terms of performance, on PCs two or more years old, DAW performance on Win 8 will be the same as or worse than on Win 7, depending on your hardware and drivers. On brand new PCs, assuming your drivers and HW are fully supported on Win 8, your DAW performance might be 1-2% better on Win 8.

If it's a brand new PC that was designed for Win 8, I'd try that first. You can always do a fresh Win 7 install later on if Win 8's not working out for some reason.

Also, I have a new Win 8 laptop with a touch screen and I gotta say, touchscreen on a laptop ain't that great. It's different on a tablet, because of the way you hold it. But reaching across the keyboard to hit the screen on a laptop isn't a lot of fun... especially if it's on a desk instead of on your lap.

I also highly recommend the open source Classic Shell Start menu replacement from SourceForge if you don't like the Win 8 UI. It gives you a choice between Win XP or Win 7 style Start menus, and optionally bypasses the Metro/Modern Start screen on Win 8.

7

Depends. From my experience, Live works fine in Windows 8 (on o/s that in itself is a lot nicer to use than 7 once you get on top of its quirks). However, some vst's and Maschine are currently CPU hogs under Windows 8. Or at least something has caused them to be since I upgraded and the logical explanation would be Windows related. Maaschine's CPU usage has at least doubled and some vst's have tripled.

If you are more "serious" about music making Id stick with 7. If it's more of a hobby/bit of fun then I'd go with 8 and wait for the inevitable patches that wont take long to appear.

I've never had a problem of any sort with anything audio-related on Windows 8. It's just across-the-board better than Windows 7; I can't imagine choosing 7 over 8.

Live 8 64bit uses a little less CPU on Win 8 64bit than it does on Win 7 64bit and samples load faster. I wrote down the CPU numbers on a mix I titled Win 8 test and then I could compare them after the install.

U-he DIVA and ACE used less CPU on Win 8 than win 7.

win 7 - why make your life more difficult than it needs to be?

unless you like dicking about with new o/s and wondering why your apps don't work exactly the way you had hoped.

I use my music computers to make music - I mess around with operating systems and program computers in my 'real' job

I made the switch over to Windows 8 and have not had an issue with either Live 8 Or Live 9. I personally prefer Windows 8 over Windows 7. It is a little clumsy but still better. It is just a matter of how you want to work with it. It is like having all the benefits of running the fastest tablet in the world as well as always having a desktop for your serious work. You just cant do everything from one place yet and that is a little frustrating.

the fastest tablet in the world - give me ibuprofen any day