Renzatic on 5/3/2012 at 08:40
Okay. Something little, but very impressive I didn't notice while testing out Windows 8 on the laptop.
I just installed the latest drivers for my graphics card...and I didn't have to reboot. That's...man. That's neat. This is a feature we've all been expecting since XP, finally realized.
Also, text rendering looks far better in 8 than it does in 7. But on a bad note, the metro taskbar is still getting in my way.
edit: HOLY FUCKING SHIT! GPU ASPECT RATIO CORRECTION ACTUALLY WORKS NOW! THIS IS A MIRACLE!
Briareos H on 5/3/2012 at 10:18
You didn't have to reboot after installing video card drivers in 7 either, and maybe even Vista.
Renzatic on 5/3/2012 at 19:47
It always requested a reboot after install on Vista/7. In Win8, it just blinked the screen once, and went on it's merry way.
Also, once I discovered this settings under PC settings/General...
Inline Image:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3018396/app_switching.jpgWindows 8 has become far more usable to me. Now I don't have the Metro taskbar popping up along the left side of the screen, making things far, far smoother on the desktop.
In fact, when you start thinking of the new Start menu as an actual start menu, instead of a tablet interface grafted on top of Win8, it starts working much better for you. I've already started playing around with customizing it taste. For example...
(
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3018396/Win_8_Start.jpg) New Start Screen
and my favorite bit (despite a few exceptions I'll get into below)...
(
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3018396/Win_8_search.jpg) The far more robust type to search screen.
I imagine that there are quite a few people who won't like it. But for me, it's easier to follow. The few exceptions I have about it us that there isn't an "all" button, and it doesn't search specifically for folders. I hate it when I want to look for a document, and I have to move over to "Files" button typing it in.
I also don't like that the bottom left hotcorner doesn't switch between the start menu and the desktop specifically. If I'm searching for a file, and don't find what I'm looking for, I have to go back to the start menu, then click the desktop tile to get back home. Too many steps.
So is it perfect? Hell no. Is it as bad as I originally thought? Not quite. I think I dismissed it a little too quickly. There are some good things here, but there's also quite a bit of herky-jerky weird stops and interrupts in the interface that keep it from being a perfectly smooth experience. I'd say I've gone from bashing it outright, to damning it with faint praise. It's alright, and it does give you some new neat features (like I'm finding the start menu actually useful again for something besides searching) but you're ultimately not getting anything that 7 doesn't already offer, just in a slightly different form.
SubJeff on 5/3/2012 at 19:52
Yeah Renz, what's up with your Win 7 install?
In other news - I still hate having what are essentially 2 desktops. The tiles are a nice idea but I don't want to use all MS stuff so if I could create tiles to link to the things I do want to use I suppose I could get used to it. I'm sure you can but I'm using Win 7 mostly because all my games are installed on it.
Metro reminds me a little of Rainmeter. I'm sure that's no coincidence.
Renzatic on 5/3/2012 at 20:11
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
Yeah Renz, what's up with your Win 7 install?
I copied my Win7 partition over to another harddrive. If I want to go back, all I have to do is hop into Gparted and click a few buttons.
Quote:
The tiles are a nice idea but I don't want to use all MS stuff so if I could create tiles to link to the things I do want to use I suppose I could get used to it. I'm sure you can but I'm using Win 7 mostly because all my games are installed on it.
You can. Though if you've done an upgrade install, the new start menu won't search for, or allow you to pin most of your programs that were previously installed on Win7. Like I couldn't find or pin Dropbox until I reinstalled it under Windows 8.
There is a shortcut to get around this little problem though (which is hopefully just a beta bug). Open explorer, and put...
%appdata%\microsoft\windows\Start Menu\Programs\
Into the address bar. You can make folders, and drag shortcuts of all the programs you want displayed on the new start menu.
And games? I've fired up a few, and they run exactly the same in 8 as they do in 7. In fact, performance in general has been just as smooth, if not moreso, as it is in 7. And it all takes up 10% less memory on average. If there is one thing that is considerably better, it's all the under the hood tweaking MS has done to make things feel just a tiny bit snappier.
The only bug I've experienced is that my Metro app tiles don't show an icon. They're just colored boxes. But hey, I uninstalled all the Metro apps anyway, so it don't bother me none. :P
Quote:
Metro reminds me a little of Rainmeter. I'm sure that's no coincidence.
Rainmeter does have that Metro theme going on, which is one of the more popular skins for it.
lost_soul on 7/3/2012 at 16:06
Well, I saw a news story a wile ago about it being demonstrated on a 72 (or 82) inch touch screen. That would be one way to make folks get exorcise. What's the activation system like? Do you have to register your e-mail address to download it? Do you have to put in a product key to install it?
FTR this was one area where Win7 was much better than prior versions of Windows. You can install it without digging out your key and it runs for thirty days (and continues to run) if you don't activate right away. There's also an official method of extending the period for ninety days.
Al_B on 7/3/2012 at 17:06
Quote Posted by lost_soul
exorcise
Out! Vile Microsoft demons! Out!
gnartsch on 30/3/2012 at 21:21
Back to the topic, guys !
This is a Game forum. :rolleyes:
Anyone testing if Thief, etc. will still work ? :cheeky:
june gloom on 31/3/2012 at 09:57
er well
this particular subform isn't really just about games
also nobody cares about thief anymore
