Sounds good Mike, nice one
I've been on Win 8 for ages, now Win8.1, and it's fine. Very fast and stable and everything I've ever tried to run has worked.
Just install "Start8" from Stardock if you can't live without a start menu. I know you shouldn't have to but it's $5, which is nothing compared to the cost of the lappy, and then you get the best of classic Windows with the speed and stability of Win8.