Building a new rig

[Apothem]

Wait for windows 10; stick with what you got. Win 10 is doing free upgrades for everyone with win 7/8. Just keep using your key bro.

And from everything I've heard/seen of win10 it's actually going to be a good release. I have yet to hear anything really bad about it at this point.

Also, from what I hear, win 8.1 runs bf4 better than 7 because of directX optimizations, better multi-threaded application support, amongst other things.

[edward850]

Better disk cache/IO, too. Fraps actually records noticeably faster.

[Undead]

Honestly, Windows 8.1 is objectively superior. If it's about having to buy Windows 7 or Windows 8.1? Definetly Windows 8.1. But if you already have Windows 7, the upgrade isn't that necessary. I also always link this, which I made, whenever a debate about this appears.

[scalliano]

WTF kind of theme is that? #subsilver2masterrace4lyfe

The one I use, I'll have you know.

[Caligari87]

I figured as much Just ribbing.

[Graf Zahl]

I also always link this, which I made, whenever a debate about this appears.

Why is this a con:

- UAC has to be disabled via registry to truly be killed because Microsoft's apps stop working if UAC is fully disabled. Although, it might mess with other programs... for me, Dropbox's context menues didn't work after turning off. If you want UAC to turn off completely, head to regedit and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System and set EnableLUA to 0.

First, making this hard to deactivate will discourage software makers from creating shitware that requires UAC to be turned off, which is a good thing and second, why make your system more vulnerable than necessary. UAC has helped me detect sneaky software multiple times.

[GooberMan]

It's worth pointing out as plainly as possible considering how this thread has been going: Anyone that doesn't regularly update any OS they run is literally sitting on a ticking time bomb. Net nerds are always going to rage when an OS provider pushes out something unwanted, but the upgrade in security can't be made clear enough. Exploits are constantly found in OSes that not even a firewall can protect you from. Hell, Windows XP and 7 and 8 in an unpatched state allow a JPEG to compromise your system.

Don't be a tool. Keep on top of your own computer's security.

[DoomRater]

I actually told someone that him using XP is a bad idea to connect to the net. His response was that, apparently, such things are already taken care of by people smarter than me and that I need to take a seat.

Not to mention, even my own work in open source software has allowed me to close quite a few exploits in something as innocuous as an RP tool helper for Second Life. All it took originally was knowing what the channel was and someone could have triggered menus or responses that people didn't want triggered.

[Undead]

UAC has helped me detect sneaky software multiple times.

How? I don't think it flat out tells you that something is fishy, that's your antivirus/malware/common sense's job. From my experience, it just prompts me for permission a lot. Having to deal with prompts everytime I want to make a change in the Program Files directory, for example, is much less than desirable when I'm the sole user of my computer.

UAC in itself is definetly not a con - the fact that it isn't truly disabled when the slider in the UAC control panel is pulled down fully is. At least to me.

[Caligari87]

It's more getting in the habit of checking permissions and being able to recognize when something's off. For me, I use Linux which means I have to sudo and enter my password for most major changes. It's usually stuff I'm actively working on, so if I suddenly get a root access request out of nowhere, I'll know something's up.

It's also a good barometer for what a program's doing. So if you're playing with an app that should only be working in a local directory, and suddenly you hit a UAC request, then it might be indicating the app is trying to do something outside its expected parameters.

Personally I just got used to it and I appreciate the extra sense of security now. When I decide to delve into a system directory for whatever reason, it makes me extra careful since I have to open a separate file browser with admin permissions to change anything.

[Graf Zahl]

How? I don't think it flat out tells you that something is fishy, that's your antivirus/malware/common sense's job. From my experience, it just prompts me for permission a lot. Having to deal with prompts everytime I want to make a change in the Program Files directory, for example, is much less than desirable when I'm the sole user of my computer.

If you want to muck around in Program Files you are definitely doing something wrong. I rarely get prompted outside of software installations, but I prefer that software I install doesn't get free reign of the system, sometimes there's stuff hidden in there that's not so nice in the mere hope to find a user who got the security measures disabled.

[GooberMan]

I don't think it flat out tells you that something is fishy, that's your antivirus/malware/common sense's job.

Don't be ridiculous. None of those things tell you if a program accesses system resources it shouldn't unless they've already been thoroughly investigated by the company making the software. Antivirus/malware detection developers are well aware that they have basically lost the battle and are increasingly trying to remain relevant in a world where exploits are more valuable than viruses. UAC should be nothing less than your first line of defence.

[edward850]

Indeed so. It's pretty common now for people to flat out recommend not installing any sort of anti virus nowadays, as it flat out doesn't do anything useful. Post 2001, malicious software now comes in the form of crapware/scareware asking for bank cards, when the exploits started to get harder to find, and developers realised there's more money in keeping the users system intact and asking for their credit cards.

Of course, this also meant changing the distribution model. So most stuff now is packaged with installers for worthless toolbars with license agreements that the unknowing user doesn't bother to check (and it's always the same people who disable or ignore UAC without knowing what it's actually doing). I haven't even seen autorun infections for the past 3 years (although I think 7 properly fixed that?), or any automatic downloads.

[darkhaven3]

If I was insane I'd suggest that you get it right now as it's completely worth it, but Windows 10 is essentially beta-quality software right now and I can't in good conscience suggest that for your primary machine. There is nary a single compatibility issue that I can think of that broke the OS for me; in fact, after using it since release, I do not recall any issues besides DS3Tool behaving unusually due to some problem that also existed on Windows 8. Also, the latest GeForce and AMD Catalyst drivers work fully properly.

That said, stick with Windows 7 x64 until Windows 10 goes gold. It's going to be great.

Also:

WTF kind of theme is that? #subsilver2masterrace4lyfe

The correct one, you heathen.

[Nash]

I haven't installed any antivirus programs ever since Microsoft introduced Security Essentials, and I think even that got phased out? I haven't used SE in probably a whole year.