Windows 11 Yay or Nay For New PC?

[WalksInSilence]

I'm currently buying all the bits and pieces I need for a new desktop build aiming for a daily task/browsing long life PC usable for retro gaming until I can afford a decent graphics card.

For this reason I'm probably going for Z690 MB which supports DDR4 RAM with an i5-12600K (on board UHD 770 graphics) and 32GB RAM. I thought about a AMD Ryzen 5600G which out performs the i5-12600K in gaming/graphics comparison tests but in, almost, every other measure is not as good. So the i5-12600K is what I've set my mind on as being the best solution.

That brings me to the OS - I'm dreading giving up Windows 7 64bit for regular use but I can't decide whether its best to go all new with Win11 or not. Its going to be a pain re-learning where everything is and getting it set up as I want it whether it is Win10 or Win11. So if Win11 is really just Win10+ then surely it makes more sense to go for that rather than the older OS which will likely stop being supported before Win11.

Also am I right in thinking I can upgrade Win10 Pro to Win11 Pro for free ie. no new licence needed? There are some relatively cheap Win 10 Pro offers available (adverts here for some of those too) so is there any reason not to install Win11 Pro this more affordable way?  

 

[D.Draker]

 onboard UHD 770 graphics and  retro gaming , I don't think so. Well what to count as retro , of course . If you mean 2015 is retro , then fine. For DX9/DX10 games , no.

For real retro gotta grab smth like GTX Titan 6gb or Titan Z. I had terrible problems with the newer Titan X (native DX12) and older games.

[WalksInSilence]

Well whatever is considered retro gaming (I'd say 10+ years old) I'm certain the UHD 770 graphics will be more than good enough.

I currently use an i3-3553 with HD 4600 and its good enough for most games up to about 2005. One of the reasons I chose that particular CPU, bought in 2015 I think, was because it had been reviewed as being able to get just about playable fps on some games as recent as 2013 (Tomb Raider).

I can't afford a decent GPU and get all the other stuff I want too, at this time, due to the limited monthly budget I have. But what I can't avoid is having to make a decision on the OS and that's why I'm asking about Windows 11. 

[D.Draker]

13 hours ago, WalksInSilence said:

I can't afford a decent GPU and get all the other stuff I want too

Exactly , that's why I suggested a 10 years old Titan . 

And what I meant was not about the horsepower of this UHD graphics per se , I meant the compatibility with older DX9 games.

For example , playing Spellforce on a native DX12 card will give you distorted health and mana bars when running fullscreen , etc.

[WalksInSilence]

There's always something with PC gaming - its like a game in itself getting stuff to run properly.

But I think I am or will be covered for any DirectX compatibility issues. I have a second PC build going on or more correctly re-casing project and one of the main reasons for that is to be able to use the Radeon RX480 4GB GPU I bought at a snip secondhand over 18 months ago. That will free up the Radeon 7850 1GB currently in that PC so I can use it in the i3 one. So, with any luck, if I get any problems as you've described I'll have a set up to match it.

BTW I did think about installing the Radeon RX480 in the new build as it does support Win11 (which surprised me) but I don't want to be relying on a used GPU. Its capabilities in regard to recent games are low end now too. In short I want something better and I know that is going to cost.

[D.Draker]

3 hours ago, WalksInSilence said:

Radeon 7850 1GB

Is too weak for Spellforce , even though the game is old. Why am I talking about SF ? It's an iconic DX9 game and a good example. The bare minimum for it is GTX 780 OC . To answer your question about the system, Windows 11 runs fine with the driver 471.96 and the old (hugely compatible) Titan , no glitches discovered by me personally . Don't know about win 10 , sorry.

I don't work for Nvidia , I actually hate them for their latest tech . .... but the reds are absolutely not meant to be played on (sorry), the red fans are very welcome to downvote , lol.

Writing only from my personal experience, trying to help you . Don't judge me strong , thanks.

Edited May 31, 2022 by D.Draker
mistyped

[Dozerguy]

bought an MSI GE-76 raider (11UH-461) last fall about christmas. my first winblows11 machine. since then i (30 days ago) have rebuilt my tower pc. i7-11700K, MSI Z590unity MB, Noctua dual-fan chip cooler, RTX3050, 240g M.2ssd and the 1TB M.2 SSd (that came in my Raider) 32g ripjaw memory...Winblows11 ( paid $20 for retail pro version)

I just am not going to fight it anymore. I started out on the insider WAY back when windows 10 was being released and stopped a few years ago and set everyhing back to Win7. new s*** just isn,t meant to run the "good old" stuff anymore. winblows11 isn,t that bad when you ignore all its bad areas....lol

[D.Draker]

3 hours ago, Dozerguy said:

new s*** just isn,t meant to run the "good old" stuff anymore.

My thoughts exactly ! Since win 7 and all the way to win 11.

[Eddie Phizika]

I would rather die than use win10/11 daily ever again. better to use 7 or maybe in the future vista or if i someday had something that cannot run on NT, BSD. linux distros have the special power to kill me inside me because it's the same buggy unstable ***** experience from 10/11 + bloated from non-PC-related code slow linux kernel + its server/mainframe nature inpraticity and weirdly unintuitive more work for no benefit (for my use at least) way of doing everything.

Edited July 4, 2022 by Eddie Phizika