Help a Mac user choose a Windows version

[ilikestargazing]

Hi there! After all you guy's great advice on my DSP thread, I've decided to do a clean install of Windows on my Mac. I grew up with windows in the 80's, 90's and 00''s so I know my way around, but I've been primarily a Mac user for the last 15 years and so I've completely lost sight of what version of Windows is any good. Especially in a work environment. So what do you think is the best choice and why?
I'm thinking 7 or 8, since 10 just gives me the major heebee-geebees. But I would like any input and thoughts behind it.

The sole purpose of the installation will be to use Reason 9 and dropbox to sync my work files. Nothing else will be run on there, not counting spyware and the nsa

[jonheal]

I used to be a Mac person and slowly moved more and more to Windows. I finally retired my last Mac earlier this year. Anyway, enough about me.

I was a very happy Windows 7 user for years and years. Eventually, I succumbed to the Windows 10 free upgrade offer. I do not regret it at all. The user experience is very similar to Windows 7, although using the Start menu takes a few extra clicks, but I don't mind. It seems completely stable to me, although I did a bare metal installs from scratch. You don't have to click down very far to see that much of the "guts" of the Windows user interface is still Windows 7. All in all, I would say go for 10.

That said, Microsoft will continue to patch Windows 7 for security issues until 2020, although no more enhancements.

[Olivier]

Just go for the latest version (i.e. 10). Best chances of any form of support the next couple of years. Yes you will have to disable some features, but the web is littered with guides on how to do that. For my machine 10 runs the fastest, boots the fastest. It took me a while to step onboard with 10, but i have no regrets. After closing it up its the most stable my pc has been in a while.
Also, its pretty cheap to buy at places like http://www.allkeyshop.com/ and thelike. But they'll also sell you 7 or 8.

[TheMiles]

I use Windows 10 recently, still got my MacBook Pro for when im on the road. I don't know the other Versions of Windows but I can say I get along with it quite comfortably. There even is a Plugin I installed to bring Expose-like functionality to Windows. Only thing that troubles me is the connection of Window and Document. You can't just close your document and open another as closing the last document causes the Application to close as well. Thus you have to open a second document first before closing the old one wich is a bit cumbersome... :/
Performance wise all is good... I can't really compare the performance on my PC VS my Mac as the Macbook is quite old and the PC I use is a brandnew Hi Performing machine, BUT I can say that Reason runs smoothly and stable on my Windows 10 and that the switch between those two OS didn't cause me much trouble.

Don't know if this helps you in any way, just sharing some of my experiences!

[Carly(Poohbear)]

My gaming PC is still Windows 7, thought that was a very stable product (after SP's), one of the main reasons I have left this PC on Windows 7 is I do run a number of VM's on it which I would have to rebuild (but I have until the 29th July to make the final decision).

I run my Laptop on Windows 10, I think Windows 10 is a lot better than Windows 8, see it as a hybrid between 7 and 8. It's been very stable, very quick and easy to use.. I mainly run "Reason" on my laptop and it runs better but then again it's a lot newer i7 chip compared to my PC (my PC leaves the laptop behind when comes down to playing games, has an old Rad HD 7790 GPU and the laptop a nvidia 970m).

Double check with google what is the best OS on your hardware?

[Goriila Texas]

I like 8 better than 10. My music computer is 8,home computer 10.

[Gulale]

Man I have installed win 10 on bootcamp and once in awhile I see blue death screen on start up and I won't recommend it. 7 is Great.

[guitfnky]

10 is pretty awesome, actually. just make sure to turn off the sharing of usage data with Microsoft when you install, and it's great (a quick search should get you steps if you have questions; it's pretty easy though). I use 7 for work, and it's meh, at best. I used 8 for a bit before 10 was released, and it was a little confusing to use. 10 beats both on all fronts, as far as I'm concerned. and I came from being primarily a Mac user as well, for whatever little that might be worth.

[pushedbutton]

If you're totally ignorant of how windows worked in the past there's no reason to get anything but 10. OK, it's sending all your private details to the CIA but it's stable, it's faster and it's more straightforward on the whole. If you're a Windows user and you've grown up using it as I have then there's a few things you need to re-learn but most of the bad press it gets it down to the autistic traits of its critics. We fear change.

[ilikestargazing]

As far as the system sharing data with someone else, I think it doesn't matter much what OS you're using. But hey, I'm sure they appreciate the occasional poop pics and nudes.

My main concern is stability and compatibility. I don't like Windows in any case but if it makes Reason run smoother, it'll be worth it! I'll be installing Windows 10 tonight and see how it feels. As for now, Reason never utilises more than 50% total cpu in OSX El Capitan, usually 40% at best. Anything more than that would be remarkable! I'll post again at some point with any thoughts.

[Loque]

You should first check if there are drivers for your hardware. Win10 supports most hardware, but some old devices like scanners may not work anymore on the latest windows. Also check gfx, audio card, mainboard or hd drivers.

Imo win10, but disable all that sh*t Microsoft thinks is usefull for customers like their indexing service, cortana aso... If you need DirectX, go to win10 in any case. I am quite satisfied with win10, its stable if you dont install too much poorly developed software and after disabling some Microsoft stuff it runs fast. Also the starting problems when win10 came out are mostly solved.