I certainly hope that the Ryzen series is just more than competitive and gives Intel a good run for its money.  I've read bits and pieces here and there [articles on NT Compatible] that suggest the Ryzens are way up there and can even better some of Intel's offerings.  Whether that's true remains to be seen, but I've used several AMD processors in the past and quite liked them.  The FX series was quite good, but the Ryzen's are reportedly much faster out of the box.. 

Let's hope so.  My next new build was going to be based around a 7th gen intel i7 7690X, but given the higher costs of Intel CPUs, and from what I'm reading, I am now leaning more towards a Ryzen high-end unit instead.

Yup, we'll just have to wait and see. Intel needs some competition. Kaby Lake performance seems to be identical to Sky Lake. Because of Ryzen Intel is said to be working on a couple of high-end CPUs. This is not a good time to buy something. Should wait and see how things pan out. I think CPUs have to come down in price; they are too expensive right now.

http://hexus.net/tech/news/cpu/102184-amd-ryzen-processor-full-lineup-leaked/

Found this at pcworld.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/3167279/computers/amd-sorry-there-will-be-no-official-ryzen-drivers-for-windows-7.html

Thank you for ruining my day/week/life  

There are two solid OSes for PC: Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. Linux and Windows 10 can be fun to play with but too many problems for production.

I tried Windows 10 again the other day. I wrote down several serious problems (I will spare you those). In the end I just stared at the screen and cursed the "waiting loop" that was introduced with Windows 8.

Except for the ugly "waiting loop", Windows 8.1 is pretty nice, but of course that won't be supported either.

Windows 8.1 is supported until 2023. Why no drivers? I can't believe Windows 10 is that different from Windows 8.1. My interest in Ryzen fell from high to very low. While Linux will support both Kaby Lake and Ryzen, Windows 7/8.1 users are left out in the cold? You are on your own if you want to install those. That's the message. This is the end for PC (Personal Computer, not Remote Controlled Device). Mr Gates; you created something special and then you took it away. Thanks for the memories...

For mine, the reasons MS give as to why new CPUs are not/will not support older OSes are not valid and reek of behind the scenes dirty work.  In other words, MS is full of sh!t and is doing this to force Win 10 onto users, whether or not they want it, and millions don't.

While I like Win 10 a little better than I did at first [little being the operative word], it is NOT my first choice OS and I by far prefer Win 8.1 any day.  Win 10 is stupidly in a constant state of flux and keeps breaking users PCs and/or disabling programs, perfectly good drivers and associated hardware with its enforced updates, needed or not.  Win 8 may not have gone down well with users, but Win 10 is far crazier and less likable IMHO.

As for MS, whatever respect or liking I had for it completely evaporated when it started using dirty tactics to force Win 10 on the millions of users who clearly didn't want it, myself being one of them  I still have Win 8.1 on my two main rigs, Win 7 on another and XP on a non-net machine for older games, but Win 10 was forced onto my HP 2-in-1 during Scheduled Maintenance, very much against my wishes and, worse still, the recovery partition was erased so I couldn't roll back.  Let me tell you, I was NOT happy.

The 6 machines I have....

4 run 10,

1 runs XP,

and this one....the one with the [now] over $9000 price-tag 'state-of-the-art' [2 years ago....time flies] ... is on Win 7, and will likely stay on 7 until MS finally gets 10 right for public use.....

...which is probably never.

Nothing warrants using 10's bastard-childs ...8 or 8.1....

Nothing...

Don't hold yer breath!  It'll be a cold day in Hell before MS gets that right, me thinks.  And forced auto updates are still breaking users machines with monotonous regularity.  I've lost count of the people who've told me that WU feched their machines and needed them fixed. 

I went to the trouble of disabling Windows Update and fetching the security patches myself from majorgeeks and other places, yet MS persists in downloading crap drivers I neither need or want via Scheduled Maintenance and repeatedly feching up my keyboard and network adapter.  I shouldn't have to go to System Restore every month to undo the damage, but that's what I'm faced with.

Putting the cart before the horse, aren't we?  Win 8 and 8.1 were here first, meaning that 10 is in fact the bastard child.  And what a right proper bastard it is, too!  Win 8.1 is far superior in my book and 'legitimate'

Oh, and for the record, it would be bastard children, not "childs" ... if in fact Win 10 were the first.

On another note: I have reconsidered the Intel i7 build similar to yours and now will look at an AMD build with a Ryzen CPU and compatible board.  Given that the i7 6950X and ASUS board come to just on 2 grand, I'd get better bang for my buck going with the AMD setup, thus leaving me more money for RAM and other components.  And if what I'm reading about the Ryzens comes to fruition, it'd be one snappy machine with plenty of grunt.  It'll still be late 2017, early 2018, though... gotta re-save the money I spent on the air-con and more besides.

No....it can also mean the 'child' that is 8 grew into 10 - the adult.

As a mal-formed progeny....same as Vista was for 7.

Both needed maturing.

I have had the same PC for 9 years now, Intel Core I7 920 @ 2.67GHz, dual nVidia 4GB graphic cards, 24GB of DDR3 RAM, dual DVD drives, Cooler Master case, liquid cooled, and all hard drives have been upgraded to SSD. It run Windows 7, 8.1 and 10 just fine, no issues. I only use Intel CPU's here, and since this PC fits all my needs, I will probably never update to anything newer. Just because something new comes out doesn't mean you need it. Maybe when holographic computers that you talk to come out, I might consider that though. Probably be gone to heaven by that time though. 

I was swapping hard drives last week and decided to give Win 10 another go, to see if it had improved at all. Needless to say , It only took 24 hours and I was back to using my beautiful Win 7 Ultimate. I had high hopes for Win 10, but , as has been the case more often than not, Microsoft has been a major disappointment that seems to continue without abatement.

-- Ace --

Totally agree on Win 7 Ultimate Ace! 

Orright, then!

In any, event, however, 10 is hardly the adult.  At best it is a precocious and unruly child... and a proper bastard at that.  Yes, 10 has some good points [though not nearly enough], but Win 8.1 is still by far the better OS, and when used in conjunction with Start8 it near identical to Win 7 but faster.  Frankly, MS should have stuck with 8.1 and kept updating it, as it does with 10.

Actually, it's MS that needs maturing. What with its bully-boy/stand-over tactics regarding 10, the downright bullshit as to why 10 'won't' support older OSes, MS belongs more in a schoolyard [as the schoolyard lout] than it does in high tech.  Of the friends MS 'did' have, it has far fewer today, thanks to its strong-arming people into upgrading to a buggy OS they didn't want

Oh yeah, having read a few articles here and there, many tech writers have said that MS went entirely the wrong way in trying to roll out Win 10, with some going as far as to condemn MS for its methods and the 'stupidity' of using "dirty tactics and even force" to increase uptake numbers over a shorter period. 

The biggest gripe was forcing users to upgrade over the top of existing OSes with potential bugs and issues, rather than making 10 available as an ISO download for a clean install.  According to most articles, those who had the knowledge and opportunity to perform a clean install were among those with the least issues, whereas, 'over-the-top upraders' were among those with the most/greater number of issues.

The first installation on my HP 2-in-1 was an enforced 'over-the-top' one that presented me with issue after issue, BSODs and various programs borking.  However, since the Anniversary Update completely broke my machine and I had to do a clean install, the issues are fewer and farther in between.  My biggest bitch at the moment is being forced to take crappy updates each month via Scheduled Maintenance that continually break things.

LightStar

reply 9

I have had the same PC for 9 years now, Intel Core I7 920 @ 2.67GHz, dual nVidia 4GB graphic cards, 24GB of DDR3 RAM, dual DVD drives, Cooler Master case, liquid cooled, and all hard drives have been upgraded to SSD. It run Windows 7, 8.1 and 10 just fine, no issues. I only use Intel CPU's here, and since this PC fits all my needs, I will probably never update to anything newer. Just because something new comes out doesn't mean you need it. Maybe when holographic computers that you talk to come out, I might consider that though. Probably be gone to heaven by that time though. 

My AMD FX8350 Black Edition rig is near that age [give or take] and still going strong. I also have an Intel i7 4970K based machine that I also quite like.  In fact, I've been happy with both the AMD and Intel machines I've owned over the years.  It's just that pricing will be a factor with my next build, with the AMD Ryzen likely to get the nod.

Oh, and I love Coolermaster cases and its hardware as well.  I have my i7 4790K machine encased in a Coolermaster Cosmos II, which is also liquid cooled by Coolermaster, and I totally love it for its solid construction, great design and huge amount of interior space... not to mention its great looks as well.  Must admit, though, it is darned heavy with everything in it [including 13 HDDs], and I need help to lift it up onto the bench when it needs work, etc.

I also like Thermaltake cases, but that's another story. 

interestingly... just noticed the nvidia driver installed by win10 automatically...apparently a few days ago. 376.53 - it doesn't exist on nvidia's website...... wonder what's so important... i had 376.33 installed. .. 1st time it happened i think since i installed win10.

normally.. i don't install the 3d vision drivers.. just the gfx/hd audio and physicx... it auto-installedthe 3d vision this time... just as well it didn't install the geforce experience...

if only it autoupdates the realtek audio drivers

https://www.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/5sqj05/windows_10_forced_a_37653_driver_update/

I just hope Ryzen is competitive with intel otherwise, it won't matter if it supports every OS from Windows 3.1 to Windows 10, as well as Android, iOS, and whatever else.

Though I don't understand the cult-like praise of Windows 7 here. I've been using Windows 10 since July 2015 and I would never go back to Windows 7 by choice. I actually love using Cortana, Xbox play anywhere games, and UWP apps on my desktop. Most of the time the updates help improve an app, though occasionally an updates will maul an app (this happened to the photos app, when the editing features were destroyed in the name of simplicity).

I guess to each their own.

I like both Win 7 and Win 8.1, not 10.... cos most of the time forced Windows Update borks something or other, and I'm not talking about those piddling MS apps of little to no consequence... apps which I never use so either disabled or uninstalled them 

No, I'm talking about driver and software updates that mess with network adapters, keyboards and etc... which is why I also disabled automatic updates.  And now, after getting a reprieve for a couple of months, MS again started delivering the unwanted/unnecessary updates via Scheduled Maintenance, a process I have yet to find a way to stop.

Thanks, starkers for delivering a simple answer, I felt too tired to engage. This is essentially it. One reason I slightly prefer Windows 7 over Windows 8.1 is because Win 7 lacks the Automatic Maintenance service.

I could write an essay about what's wrong with Windows 10, but most things have already been said and I don't want to be a negative person.

Those users accustomed to Android, iOS and Chromebooks might see nothing wrong with Windows 10. Those users should be happy, because the future belongs to them.

I just want the Win32 runtime and support for hardware/drivers. I would be happy with a simple Windows shell like Windows 95. If you want more bling than that, then there are plenty of third party options like Stardock, Winstep and a ton of other options.

To be honest, I feel slightly depressed. Computers were my main hobby for many years. Now I don't see anything interesting on the horizon. Virtual reality, personal assistants, augmented reality don't excite me.

I always found Google products boring (same goes for Apple) and Microsoft is heading in that direction. What Microsoft was good at was building a stable platform with long term support. This meant third party developers had a viable platform to target and it was third party who brought awesomeness to the platform.

Look no further than Linux to see what happens when developers make constant changes to OS internals, userspace toolkits/frameworks and desktop environments. It's the perfect recipe for disaster. And it hasn't stopped yet. More craziness is coming to Linux. I have accepted that the Linux desktop is a developer playground.

What is more concerning is when Microsoft takes the world's biggest production platform and turns it into their own developer playground. I am not only worried about Windows. I am worried about the future of this world.

Shaky software, shaky world, that's how I see it.

I think, that all will be OK with Ryzen and Win 7/8. If I am correct, things like PCI-E, USB, SATA, etc. usually work with any OS.

Also, Ryzen have not got integrated GPU, so no worries about video driver.

That is totally my feeling in a nutshell.

-- Ace --

Yep, me too!  MS is trying to be everything to all users, and it's simply not practical.  MS is also trying to be Apple, with its own version of a walled garden  That doesn't work for many millions, either... including me.  MS always produced an open OS, to which 3rd party devs could apply their programs... programs being the key word.  Now it's going the way of everything being those damned confounded apps from the store.  The day will be upon us when system 32 programs are no longer available, leaving us with apps that are just a shell of once was with the full version.

It won't be long before Win 10 is no longer recognisable.