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Thread: Operating system advice please

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    Operating system advice please

    I've had a look for a thread relating to Win 10, with any recent views/comments, but can't see anything dedicated, so created this post.

    As I've posted elsewhere recently, I'll be looking to buy a new rig soon, possibly once Vega is out and (hopefully) puts pressure on 570s or 1060s to bring the costs down - although I grant the pressure may be more squarely aimed at 1070s and '80s.

    So, my Q is are people getting on with Win 10 now - is it an intrusive, data gathering monster, or is that exaggerated?

    Is there any benefit in a casual user opting for professional over the Home version? i.e can you opt out of the way updates are applied - or is that even a factor anymore?

    Any views, avice would be appreciated.

    NB: right now, I's more than happy using Win 7, but don't see how I can retain this with a new build I'll be buying a pre-made set up this time around and don't want to be replacing the OS on a newly bought machine, no doubt invalidating any warranty.

    Cheers all.

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    Re: Operating system advice please

    Unlike quite a few people here, I personally haven't got a problem with the "data gathering", since you can opt out of it easily enough and for the rest you can get tools to lock it down even more. I find win 10 to be a very good OS. Stable, fast and modern looking.

    On Home vs Pro I would always go for the pro edition, it gives you some power features that you may need, depending on what you will be using the machine for of course.

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    Re: Operating system advice please

    I agree with virtuo, however, I run home, for home vs pro check what features you need extra, if any.
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    Be Careful on the Internet! I ran and tackled a drive by mining attack today. It's not designed to do anything than provide fake texts (say!)

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    Re: Operating system advice please

    if you do go win10 go pro. The auto updates are annoying and I've had them happen in the evening which is a real pain when it does the full OS updates.

    I hate the app store, cortana, and just abuot everything they've done with win10 vs win7 except the added security and pretty pictures when you log on. When that's all you can say it's a pretty poor show. It supports a few more things natively which helps, but isn't insurmountable for win7. (USB3, NVMe etc)

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    Re: Operating system advice please

    Windows 10 is just fine. If you're using your rig primarily for gaming then it's just fine.

    Don't opt out of updates, there are some outside cases of update screwing things up, but unless you're running a critical business on your computer with no redundancy then it doesn't matter. Even then, you'd need to have something pretty bizarre to catastrophically lose your data and require going back to backup (or, re-downloading your Steam games).

    Pro is not needed for gaming. Probably the most useful thing I find on Pro is the ability to remote desktop to my computer, which can't be done if the destination computer is on home. But I'm not your average user.

    Data gathering can be turned off. In reality it's not especially invasive, but from privacy good-practice you should disable it. Things like Cortana and what not can be turned off/shunted into the background.

    And ultimately, if you don't go with Windows 10, what are you going to put on? Windows 8? With that terrible UI? Windows 7? That's already out of mainstream support and security patches stop in a couple of years. Linux? Good on you.

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    Re: Operating system advice please

    I have Win 10 Pro and use O&O shutup to turn off most things I don't want.
    Jon

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    Re: Operating system advice please

    The updates has never been an issue for me since I request Windows to carry it out at 4am.

    However, I tend to keep my PC up to date to the point in doesn't interfere with any task.

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    Re: Operating system advice please

    What's your use case? If the games you want to play are only on windows then there's not much choice. If you're not gaming then it's a trickier decision - I prefer to run Windows with linux under VMs, some of my developer colleagues prefer native linux, others still prefer Mac which does seem like quite a nice blend of Windows ease of use with easy access to local terminals.

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    Re: Operating system advice please

    What kalniel said, +1 .... it all depends on your usage, needs, preferences and priorities.

    Contrary to what many have said, for me, both the privacy intrusion and the nature of updates are major issues. As is the direction of travel MS are taking with these and other issues.

    But there's no right or wrong in this.

    For me, these are issues, and sufficiently so to have migrated most of my usage to Linux, kept some at Win 7 some even on XP, secured via comprehensive backuos, physical security and airgapping.

    However, I'm surprised you can't find threads on this because I've had this discussion personally, repeatedly and at great length, to the point where if I mention it, I tend to get raised eyebrows and groaning comments of "oh no, not that again".

    Fact is, I'm not changing my mind and I rather guess some of those above saying "not a problem" aren't going to either.

    I think all you can conclude from that is that to me (and like-minded others) it is a problem and even a terminal one, but for another (no doubt larger) group, it isn't. You have to make up your own mind, because nobody can do it for you.

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    Re: Operating system advice please

    I have a couple of machines (all-in-one desktop and 2-in-1 laptop) that I'm thinking of reverting to their original Windows 7/8 when I get some free time because of some of the mentioned issues. Updates you can't schedule, Windows Store, third party apps being pushed to your desktop without meaningful consent, apps which cannot be removed, not to mention the tracking which you have to turn off rather than opt-in to.

    DirectX 12 would be the only sticking point. Or if you Xbone and want stream games, etc.

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    Re: Operating system advice please

    It's just another modern OS, if you own a smartphone then you're subject by the same behaviour by that OS.

    While it would be nice to know which data Microsoft is analysing, all the privacy watchdogs do seem to be satisfied that they're doing to anonymously.

    The Pro version adds very little for the non-business user.

    Quote Originally Posted by jimbouk View Post
    Updates you can't schedule.
    Have you installed the creator's update? Microsoft have expanded the update timing options in the latest major update.

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    Re: Operating system advice please

    I think generally you have to just decide whether you trust Microsoft or not. If you don't trust them, then why would Windows 7 be any safer than Windows 10 against your being spied on when Microsoft can and have forceably installed updates on Win7 machines in the past and so could at any moment start the machine uploading anything to them that they want? The same terms and conditions apply regardless of which OS you install, so in both cases the only safe way to use it is to airgap the machine so it can't talk to MS servers.

    Personally, if I have to install Windows then I install Windows 10. That is the current MS mainstream OS, so if you want good hardware support and timely patches that is the one to use.

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    Re: Operating system advice please

    Here are my thoughts on Windows 10 as someone who has just built a gaming PC recently and installed Windows 10 on it. I've been using a Mac for the last 4.5 years and it's still going strong. It's an old Mac Mini and is my main home computer. It does everything I want it to do but is unsuitable for gaming as the integrated graphics chip is not powerful enough. macOS Sierra is incredibly powerful and secure. Between Microsoft and Apple, it's Apple who seem to be the privacy champions for their customers. I've never needed an anti-virus program on my Mac.

    When I started researching the build of a Windows 10 PC, the very FIRST thing that I looked into was security and privacy. I made notes on how to turn off all the intrusive elements of Windows 10. I use the built-in Windows Defender as my antivirus program. I have turned off anything that is likely to send data back to Microsoft or make it available for anyone else. I do not keep any personal information on the Windows 10 PC.

    On the plus side, Windows 10 runs really well and has only crashed twice in the last couple of months. My Mac Mini has never crashed at the OS level in 4.5 years.

    I only really run X-Plane 11 on my Windows 10 PC and that crashes about once a week. My Mac apps (I use around 25 regularly) crash at the app level at a combined total of about once or twice a year.

    I notice a LOT more router activity when my Windows 10 PC is switched on and I'm not actively using it.

    However, needs must, and I like Windows 10 for gaming, learning Powershell and Notepad++. I'm trying to find other uses for the Windows 10 PC but that will be another thread.

    Personally, I always feel a bit uneasy using Windows 10 and I don't have much control over what it is doing in terms of sending my personal data to Microsoft and exposing my PC and apps on it to governments.

    So, on the issues of privacy and security, it's Apple for me. Whilst I believe that ALL tech companies are under extreme pressure to allow snooping, I think that Apple is amongst the best out there when it comes to resisting this pressure.

    As for Windows updates, you can control these to a small extent.

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    Re: Operating system advice please

    If your computer is crashing once a month I'd be looking for a hardware issue, You shouldn't have anything like that frequency of problems with a modern version of Windows.

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    Re: Operating system advice please

    Quote Originally Posted by EndlessWaves View Post
    If your computer is crashing once a month I'd be looking for a hardware issue, You shouldn't have anything like that frequency of problems with a modern version of Windows.
    I agree with this, crashing once or twice a month? That's not right. 10 has crashed twice for me since launch and both related to Nvidia drivers.
    Jon

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    Re: Operating system advice please

    Yeah, Windows doesn't crash these days. Bad hardware or drivers crash.

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