Microsoft Windows 8.1 64Bit English DVD OEM

Comment:
...not as bad as I thought it would be, especially with Classic Shell loaded...it is what it is and not as bad as it could be (Vista, ME)...

Comment:
This is an all-round good OS and came with everything required to install windows. No frills packaging with a DVD and a code- no downloads required. Appreciated the sticker that came off the box with windows key on it, useful for client builds.

Comment:
fast load into windowsspeedy performancebut no start menu like windows 7, crappy app ui is annoying, but its not the end of the world. Just need to get used to where everything is located. I hope you can upgrade this version to windows 10 in the future

Comment:
Altogether, Windows 8 is not better or worse than Windows 7. The improved performance and security come at the cost of having the metro UI. If you can get over it though, the rest of Windows 8 is quite good. In the end, it all comes down to personal preference on whether or not you want to use metro or not.

Comment:
It comes with a key which only works with this specific DVD, so none of the tools to download Windows to an USB drive work with it. This makes it a huge inconvenience to install if you don't have access to a PC with a DVD drive to rip the ISO to an USB drive for installation on your new PC.OEM keys aren't the same as retail keys either, so you can't activate a functional retail installation with this.If you call over the phone for phone activation help, the number they give you for US or CANADA is an invalid phone number.Ultimately, it's better than windows 7 and is the least expensive way to get windows 8 if you aren't a student. I just don't have access to a DVD drive at the moment and had no issues at all with the regular retail version, so I'm puzzled as to why Microsoft made it such an inconvenience.The DVD itself has fewer funny holograms than previous versions.

Comment:
Better than Windows 8, but this is nothing to be excited about. Installation is quite easy, and switching around major components won't always require a reinstall which is nice. Hopefully Windows 9 will be better...

Comment:
I might be a little bias because my previous OS was vista witch I hated ever since I got it from my cheap refurbished pre-built PC. Win 8 launches faster, so far no crash, more customization and my pc runs it better then it did vista which would freeze up at least 2-4 times a day for at least 1-3 mins. I was going to buy win 7 but not only was win 8 cheaper it supported more then 16 GB RAM on 64 bit(if I ever need more then that doubtful though), I still had my doubts because of the metro UI, the taskbar buttons and the start button missing(oh and I don't like the idea of linking my PC account to Microsoft but that's just me). Most of those cons have a solution though the taskbar buttons can be changed back to being separated, the start button might be added by Microsoft them self or if you don't want to wait you can get Classic Shell(haven't tried it yet myself though), you can also make a local account if you don't want to link your PC to a Microsoft account and the metro UI I actually got used to it.

Comment:
Faster and feels more stable than Windows 7. I do prefer the flatter look of Windows Explorer. However, as a desktop user, the metro apps are incredibly frustrating when they accidentally open. The dual UI is pretty jarring to me and I almost never deliberately leave desktop mode.

Comment:
Inarguably faster than Windows 7, 8.1 is in my opinion a good candidate for a gaming/ general purpose OS. However, its User Interface is bizarre and tends to make you feel like your 1200$ High Power Gaming PC is a trendy little toy. It took me an hour to properly setup the OS and get it to interface in a fashion that I found satisfactory. Out of the box I would rate this OS as 3 stars on PC. Once youve spent some time getting it to function to your liking I would give it an extra two stars.

Comment:
I got windows 8.1 to install on my desktop, it's better than 8. Still not as good as 7 tho.

Comment:
Overall, I find coming from Windows 7, this is a bad OS. I tried using this for a while when building a computer for someone, and although I am sure that with a bunch of hours to learn it, it'd be fine, but in my experience, I found it less intuitive than Windows 7. The start screen with the "Tablet" look to it doesn't belong on a PC, in my opinion. You are required to download custom programs to get a proper start menu again, or else you are forced to learn the Windows Key shortcuts.

Comment:
Install start8 or clasicshell after installing.

Comment:
Once you figure out how to avoid the weird new UI thing it works pretty good

Comment:
Not a bad OS, but Metro doesn't have its place in a desktop OS....

Comment:
Besides the metro interface, everything else is an improvement over Win7. Bootup times and general navigation is faster, snappier. With 8.1 you can boot directly to desktop. Use third party app like classic shell to get the traditional start menu back.

Comment:
1. Enable boot to desktop (which is now available on 8.1)2. Download and enable the Classic Shell (brings back the Start button)

Comment:
Well, I already use it at work, but this OS is just very good. People who says that it sucks, are the kind of people who prefer to keep their old thing and never wants update. This OS is stable, fast, and works perfectly. Nothing to say. Start Menu? fuck it, it is faster like this xD

Comment:
hard to get used to when you 1st get on win8.1, but after some looking, reading a few articles its quite easy now...even though it seems like sometimes few to many steps to do certain things.biggest concern however is the fact that you can only activate it on one computer....well one motherboard...so if i were to upgrade in a year or so i would have buy a new copy, price should be waaayyy lower then $100 per MB??? microsoft seemed to be making enough money the previous way....would have been 4/5 stars if not for the whole 1 computer/MB thing

Comment:
Not intuitive enough for a successor to Win7,annoying interface(metro)mouse lag in some games.Hope they do better with Windows 9