I upgraded Windows 10 to Pop! OS 21.04, all Windows Games are working perfectly under Steam Proton or Lutris. 2 Months Windows free now and i wish i have done this earlier.
While I do appreciate it when people can successfully move to Linux, I always wonder if the enthusiasm lasts once the details start to make themselves known. Like, oh I'm finding these important Word docs are getting mangled in LibreOffice (issues that others you collaborate with won't be very sympathetic too). Or just the little things like Windows software you've grown comfortable with doesn't have a direct Linux version, so whatever alternative you end up using instead, even if it is mostly good enough, results in that little nagging feeling that you've moved based on a euphoric feeling rather than practical needs. It's quite possible I'm just too much of a Windows power user and I've gotten too comfortable with the Windows ecosystem after using it since Windows 95. I do live in the Linux ecosystem as well (mostly at work), but for personal use there's too many downsides such that I'd rather deal with Microsoft's bulls**t and dark patterns than move to a system with 1-2% of desktop usage base (and all the problems that result from such a low user base). Path of least resistance I suppose. Fortunately I can ignore Windows 11 for a while it seems, and in the meantime I'll be experimenting with a Ubuntu setup as a side project.
Just upgraded my wife's 10 year old i7-2600k to Windows 11 / Office 2021. Just upgraded my 6 year old i7-6700k to Windows 11 / Office 2021. So far no issues/bugs/crashes at all. Seems a little snappier and gaming looks the same. Windows and Office updates are operational. Pleased so far.
In my case, it was more practical for me to switch to Linux primarily. I reinstall my OS frequently for tests and other stuff (longest installs barely last a month), and Windows is a drag to configure each time. It's bad enough that I have to do the install, driver installations, and other settings before I can even connect to the internet, otherwise Windows decides it's a good idea to ignore my metered connection and download a year+ old graphics driver in the background, which takes out all my devices twice (PCI bus driver takes out my USB and graphics), right in the middle of whatever I'm doing. I try to put most settings I can in batch files, but I still find myself having to adjust things in the traditional Control Panel, the UWP control panel, and over a dozen batch files for other settings that aren't exposed, and then having to re-check these settings after each CU. Overall, it takes me about an hour to get Windows running basic enough so that I can then start installing stuff, and realistically having to do this because the OS wants to do whatever it wants is gross. On Linux, it takes me maybe 20 minutes of tossing various commands into a Terminal, and this covers everything from basic OS settings, some device configs, and even software installations. I can leave my internet connected the entire time as well. And troubleshooting issues is worlds easier for me on Linux. My hardware in-general performs a bit better on Linux too, according to benchmarks anyway. Even AIDA64 when ran through Wine on Fedora (with SELinux) gives me slightly better numbers across the board than a Windows 10 install with all security mitigations disabled (Defender off, UAC off, Feature Masked CPU mitigations disabled, all basic Windows exes and benchmarks themselves with all 22-24 security mitigations individually turned off). The non-VR games I care about all mostly work under Linux. The few that don't work too well will very likely start working once Steam Deck arrives (Halo MCC and DJMAX; both are only an issue because of Anticheat, and I think Halo has a workaround currently even). The major MMORPGs work on Linux too (WoW, GW2, FFXIV). Games that use a steering wheel work fine (ATS, City Car Driving, Project CARS). Even Diablo 2 Resurrected, a recent DX12 game works fine. The only reason I deal with Windows currently is VR with a Quest 2 headset. It's barely worth it, but the little bit of sim racing I do makes it worthwhile. If ALVR gets to a usable point on Linux, or I happen to find a cheap Vive, I can get away from Window again. Windows 10 is what finally got me to give Linux a chance, and I stuck with Linux up until about two years ago when I got a Rift CV1 headset. Windows 11 would have me just selling off my VR set-up if I had to put up with it, but for now I'm content with sitting on W10, and moving to the next LTSC when it arrives.
It's just a matter of perspective. You should consider this as a useful reminder: "This PC meets perfectly all the system requirements in the world, however keep in mind MS is a bunch of clueless f*ckt*rds who insist on shoving their half-baked pre-alpha useless OS down your throat." edit: and, yes, after 72 hours with Win 11, I'm back with Win 10. Too many quirks, too many issues, too many losses in productivity. Their toy is pretty but that's a joke of an OS.
Voted "No" in the poll. My main rig will never see this. This Win 11 release feels so much like that garbage Win 8 release (not 8.1).
What would have happened when they just had kept calling it 10 and offered new feature experience packs?
"...tossing various commands into a terminal..." It makes sense only if you never bothered to automate a Windows install (and it's perfectly fine not having done that, of course). The same commands you have saved somewhere (or worse: memorized) you can have install by default, too, if you learn how to use autounattend.xml and setupcomplete.cmd and you can build on these and apply a plethora of reg tweaks and such as the template for your Windows install. Just like you learn over time, gather tweaks/commands over time, you just keep them in one place and add to them as you find them and apply them with the methods mentioned. Any Windows install thus configured will get installed with everything pre-configured. I had this issue of many installs as well, but it is easily prevented if you don't keep repeating the same inefficient method of installing Windows. At this point, I just plop an updated install.wim/esd in the build folder and as the rest is already set up the way I want. So this argument is really one of blaming Windows for being hard to configure, whilst at the same time not properly learning how to configure it. Installing vanilla anything will get you vanilla, it's just as simple as that. So, in no shape or form can this be construed as another Windows vs Linux thing. It just can't.
So, if next patch tuesday windows 11 releases an update, you will be able to install without issues? I missed a lot of reading about unsupported hardware and have 2 computers which need to be reinstalled and want to try win11.
Windows 11 gives me a good bit of reasons not to like it, but I think I'll just upgrade to it and deal with it. Honestly, it's not offering me anything new I care about. The UX is bad and somehow manages to get in my way. But I suppose it functions enough to play my games, and that's the main reason I run Windows, and I'm interested in being up-to-date with all things software-related. One of these days, I'll be able to go back to Linux primarily, but there's plenty of fun to be had in the meantime with tweaking Windows The only issue that's a bit of a drag is the L3 cache thing with Ryzen, but admittedly the few games I tried weren't affected in any notable manner. Hoping that gets addressed in the very near future, but worst-case, I can run Dev builds until that point no problem. Edit: The more I use W11, the more things I find inconvenient with it. Defender miraculously finds a way to re-enable itself (albeit at least real-time scanning stays off when disabled in gpe), and there's no way to hide the clock from the taskbar. I think I just need a break from Windows in-general; trying to shoe-horn perfection with it is impossible, and W11 just exacerbates this.
A fix is coming out this month and games work fine for me too so whatever. This may be the first time amd has been finally well tuned in the OS and if so we may come out on top.
Upgrade my current build to win11, but going forward the old hardware use to build my 2nd PC will be switching to POP! OS giving it a brand new lease of life. Seriously the old hardware struggle with no new driver update from manufacturer, so might as well switch to POP! OS at least the driver works for old hardware and not contributing to e-waste.
I run Ubuntu and Arch on my machines but always dualboot some Windows due to legacy software I need to use and games because using Wine sucks as much as using WSL on Windows.