Current recommendations for *basic* desktop machine

[YeOldeStonecat]

If your rig is like Jim's you're already missing several monthly update rollups.

I'll see if I can compare 'em.....but I seem to get the monthly ones. She's updating regularly...but yeah I'll look at the history and compare against a list.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

So for yucks, since I'm still on insider preview, we get OS release updates. One came out yesterday,

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22478

UPDATE 10/15: We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 22478.1012 (KB5007328). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel. ----------------------

blogs.windows.com

 

[SAFCasper]

For that to occur a significant change in the structure of windows would need to occur. Which really hasn't been changed since Windows 8.

Conveniently enough I can provide an example from today which goes against this theory. Nvidia have dropped game-ready driver support for Windows 7, 8 and 8.1

Windows 8.1 has 15 months before EoL and, as pointed out by yourself, is similar in structure to Windows 10.

NVIDIA ends Game Ready drivers support for Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and Kepler-based GPUs

Your old PC may no longer receive NVIDIA Game Ready drivers.

www.windowscentral.com

PS.
I know standard drivers will still work and receive security updates. The point is you miss out on features due to running Windows 8.1. Will your clients be happy in ~2 years time missing out on features due to running Windows 10? It can and almost certainly will happen at some stage.

 

[Sky-Knight]

Windows 8 uses a very different driver model than Windows 10. Windows 10 can use some Windows 8 drivers, but never the inverse.

Windows 7 is NT 6.1
Windows 8 is NT 6.2
Windows 8.1 is NT 6.3

Windows 10 is NT 10.0! Windows 10 at launch was the first full number release of the NT kernel since Windows Vista, which was NT 6.0.

Vista, 7, 8, and 8.1 all used basically the same drivers. Windows 10, doesn't.

P.S. Windows 11 is still reporting itself as NT 10.0... You can find this by running

wmic os get version

in a cmd.exe or powershell.

P.P.S How nice of nVidia to cut my son's GTX660 out of support while I cannot purchase a replacement... Wonderful company they are...

 

[mikeroq]

P.P.S How nice of nVidia to cut my son's GTX660 out of support while I cannot purchase a replacement... Wonderful company they are...

I can't really blame them for dropping support for an almost decade old model.