Should I go Win7 or Win8 on new laptop

[Spookyer]

Hi All, I will be up for a new laptop shortly. Is there any consensus as to whether Win 8.1 is fine for Astrophotography use or is Win7 still more supported device and software wise. Generally I would probably just go Win8.1 but don't wont to take on a situation where a lot of astro software or hardware doesnt' work with 8.1.

I use SGP, Astroplanner, pinpoint and have ASCOM 6 loaded and have an AP mach1 mount and focuslynx focuser.

thanks

Brett

[acropolite]

IMO if you can get a new laptop with Win7 go that way. Win8.x, aside from initial faster booting, has nothing to offer but frustration.
The Lenovo laptop I bought had the option of reverting to W7, I opted not to because it wasn't a straightforward process and involved contacting Lenovo support for authorisation details etc and having to source a W7 distro to do it.

That said, I have SGP, and ascom drivers etc running on my Win8 laptop. I had some difficulty getting things to work but it's not been impossible. Getting my SSAG running was a problem, but I eventually found a workaround, seems that 8.x has issues with reporting the ID of some devices when plugged in to USB3 ports.

This thread detailing the issues with the SSAG and resolution might help if you go with 8 and have problems with other hardware. http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=112400&highlight=SSAG

[RB]

As Phil said, if you can still get a Win 7 lappy then go for it.
I am so happy I picked up a Win7 lappy before Win8 took over.

[pluto]

I've had the odd pain upgrading my old lappy to win8.1 due to Sony's lack of drivers but it all works now and all my astro software works perfectly. Plus I think it's much quicker and _much_ more stable than win7.

My new lappy, on the other hand, has run perfectly since day one on win8.1. And, again, all my astro software runs fine.

Astro software I've run on win8.1 includes:
CCDSoft v5, PHD and PHD2, Nebulosity, CCD Inspector, Atik Artemis Capture, EQMOD and ASCOM, BYE, Startools, and PS and LR.
On the hardware side:
Atik 314L+, SBIG STT8300M, QHY5L-II, SW EQ6


Having upgraded an old lappy I would say, if it ain't broke don't fix it - leave it running win 7 unless you're willing to spend time getting it running smoothly.

But for a new lappy IMO it would be the reverse. Trying to install win7 on a new lappy will surely require a fair bit of fixing to get it all to work.

[Poita]

I was a windows8 hater, but if getting a new machine, I'd go with 8.1 now.
Pretty much all of the problems are now gone, and the stability and new features are worthwhile, it just runs better on the latest gear.

Win7 is 5 years old now, and I am running Windows 9 developers beta now, so it is getting long in the tooth, and support starts to dry up a bit once you are 2 versions behind.

On an older machine, I'd stick with 7.

[leon]

Agreed Peter, Win 8 is a real pain, however 8.1 works very well, it dose for me anyway, and as said Win 7 is getting on a bit, and updates will cease quicker than they would for Win 8.1, IMHO.

Leon