Is Windows 11 worth installing over 10?

No, install linux

OP, thanks for being the sacrificial lamb here. Now I know never to ask a question about Windows if I don't want to hear irrelevant opinions from Linux snobs. Sorry you didn't get a lot of real answers.

In short, no.

In detail, nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

In my opinion, it is not. Even though the UI of W11 is great, the ux is terrible, full of distractions and shit you don't need.

If you don't want to fight against your system just use Windows 10 LTSC and run https://christitus.com/windows-tool/, https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10 and https://rentry.co/properedgeuninstalling

Also remember to use a firewall, I personally recommend safing.io

Another option for a debloated, lighter windows 10/11 is ameliorated.io, but don't bother with it if you're not tech-savy/willing to learn stuff

Windows 11 is fine. It looks less ugly than Windows 10 and has some nice things like a properly organized settings menu (finally).

I have Windows 11 on my notebook and Windows 10 on my gaming PC.

Please, for the love of god (or your precious sanity), use Windows 10. :D

Honestly if you're ok with a little tinkering you can use Linux for gaming nowadays.

I fully switched about a week ago using NixOS, so far it's been pretty smooth sailing, and generally better performance than when it ran windows

Have run overwatch, diablo, modded Minecraft (with shaders) and a bunch of steam games so far.

Have yet to run epic games on it but I've heard it's pretty seamless with a launcher called heroic (which imo works better than epic's own one anyway)

Only games I've found that don't work are because of deliberate effort on the devs' part (Halo MCC, Roblox and dragon ball breakers)

It's such a subjective question. As a result, the answers you get will confuse you even more. It really depends on what type of user you are, and what software and hardware you have. Most basic users will notice some graphical changes, but not much else. I am not one of these people and use my desktop for everything from gaming, writing, music, and drawing. I am perfectly happy with 11 over 10. Yes, it has little annoyances, but then every version of Windows does. Those saying version X was great, are simply wearing those rose-tinted glasses. The perfect operating system does not exist, simply because us users are such a varied bunch. So catering to us all at once will create friction and issues.

The simple answer is, if you're going to stick with Windows rather than move to Linux, then upgrade. You will have to do it at some point. So long as you don't do it within the first six months of the new version of Windows being released. Then you will be fine. The later you leave it, the less time you have to become comfortable with it before you ask this question again about the next upgraded version of Windows.

I like windows 11 better than 10. The UI is better (besides the basic start menu all apps thing) but, I'm just about done with microsoft I think... For the same reason I left reddit, I don't want to be a commodity. With all the telemetry that is undoubtedly being sent from my windows OS (even when disabling everything I can) it makes me uncomfortable (even with my pihole on my network).. Getting more and more comfortable with linux as a daily driver. For years, linux was always just those work computers I've dealt with but the more I want to get away from being a product. The more I realize linux is what I need.

Just throwing out there that nowadays the only games that don't work on Linux are multiplayer ones with intrusive unsupported anti-cheat (for support see areweanticheatyet.com) and Gamepass games (and others from the Microsoft store). And VR is finicky.

If you don't play those you could also go Linux on your gaming PC. Or wait until Windows 10 support runs out and look at the situation then.

The main difference will be if you have an Intel processor generation 10 or higher. The whole reason windows 11 was created is because Intel released their asymmetrical core architecture in the 10th generation processors.

One of the core parts of an operating system is the CPU scheduler. This is what juggles all the different things that are happening in the fore and background in order to make the computer work properly. On the surface the CPU scheduler is a rather simple function as far as reading and understanding the code, but it is the kind of thing that a tiny change can have massive repercussions in unexpected ways. It is designed to have a delicate balance that is very easy to screw up.

One of the fundamental aspects of the CPU scheduler used in W10 is that it assumes all of cores your computer has are the same. Rewriting the CPU scheduler required a whole new rewrite of Windows to accommodate a much more complex architecture with some faster and some slower cores and a different spin up rate to go from idle to max speed on the two types, along with some differences in speed even on cores with adjacent threads. It also required changes to cache management strategies. This still isn't fully publicly documented for W11. I just know the way the scheduler changed in Linux and watched a conference with John Brown, the main Intel open source developer who mentioned that the 10th gen asymmetry was the main trigger for W11.

No <-- The actual post Honestly have experienced quite a bit issues with Windows rather than Windows 10, not to mention the design wise they went with Windows 11... its terrible not to mention several issues that has happened (couple of them not fixed as of yet)

11 is better in my experience, I like that they added tabs to explorer and terminal

Well the gaming on Linux scene is quite big. Most triple AAA games without anticheat work. The anticheat systems are changing to allow Linux. Check out ProtonDB or Lutris.

Honestly, there's not much of a difference. Microsoft will eventually force everyone up upgrade, so you might as well, if you have the time.

For me it was a nice improvement. I liked the new window snapping feature that allows to you quickly snap an application to half or a quarter of your screen. But honestly there aren’t that many differences compared to my work laptop on Windows 10, I never regretted updating though.

I also used Linux for gaming, most of the time you will be able to get things to work. But sometimes you will have small issues in games and way worse support from the developers.

personally I like a windows 11 for my main gaming focused desktop and arch linux with KDE for my laptop windows 10 just feels like a less finished windows 11 to me now

Looks cleaner. I like it

On a super recent Intel CPU with BIG.little architecture, I believe 11 has better scheduling. One day when games start to make use for it, 11 has DirectStorage and I believe 10 doesn't?

If you have an ultrawide display, you might appreciate the start button in the middle.

And that's about all the pros of Windows 11. Now for the cons: They've greatly dumbed down the context menu, so now you have to click the "more options" or whatever button nearly every time. Also it's possible that they fixed it a already but when I tried 11 near launch, the context menu took about 2 seconds to appear. Zen 2 CPU, 32 GB of decent DDR4 and an NVMe boot drive so it should be snappy And it's Windows. I right click on EVERYTHING because I'm not used to the weird-ass non-unix console. Gimme right click -> 7-zip -> extract to (subfolder), not right click -> wait 2 seconds -> show more options -> 7-zip -> extract to (subfolder)

But overall, Windows 11 isn't all that different. There are some UI changes, but it's surviveable.

You know what, I am going to let you figure that one out for yourself. A lot of us already pointed out Linux, but if you're asking that question, then you're probably reaching the point that you are considering the switch already. Everyone has their own breaking point with Windows, Microsoft will NEVER reduce their ads/telemetries on Windows going forward, it only going to get worse.

Good luck! And we'll see you on Linux in a few years.

Install Linux instead lmao

Windows 11 is supported longer and will receive patches for longer than Windows 10. In fact, I believe Windows 10 is only supported for a few more years. To ensure that you do not have an unpatched (therefore insecure) operating system on the internet, you will either migrate to a newer version of Windows or to a different operating system eventually.

That all being said, Windows 11 was commonly referred to as being faster than Windows 10 on the same hardware. The largest gripes are that Windows 11 has very strict system requirements (therefore not officially working on most computers) and that Windows 11 has a different user interface (taking away some things people like). Windows 10 or 11 are operating systems which basically need to be installed on an SSD so be sure to consider upgrading to that if you have not done so already.

I'm pretty sure that an upgrade to Windows 11 can be reverted and you can go back to Windows 10 if necessary. Still, I would back up any valuable data before experimenting.

On the Linux side of the world, Steam can be installed on Linux and devices such as the Steam Deck exist. Depending on what games you play on your gaming PC, Linux could be an option.

The differences between Windows 10 and Linux are greater than the differences between Windows 10 and Windows 11. In other words, Windows 11 may be a bit better or worse (depending on your opinion) but it isn't majorly better or worse.

Gaming on Linux has gotten much better in the recent years. Honestly with the exception of games that use anit-cheat software, most games play just fine on Linux systems. I've abandoned windows, but my PC at work has windows 11 on it. I feels snappier and definitely looks better than windows 10. I'd say upgrade, but that's going to be your preference (I'd go Linux unless you play mostly fps or competitive games)

Yeah, the main thing I hate the most is that they took the words away from the right click menu. So if you want to rename something, you have to click an icon and half the time I am wondering if I am about to delete it or rename it.

No, absolutely not.

Eventually, Microsoft will stop supporting Windows 10. Sure, it will be around for a while, but I just assume upgrade and keep up with the latest version.

That being said, I do mainly use Linux. I just use Windows for gaming. I know Linux has improved a lot lately for running games, I just haven't tried it out for that purpose yet.

I've been running 11 since the first leak and haven't looked back. I actually really dislike using 10 in comparison.

Every Windows iteration has been worse than the last with the possible exceptions of 7 & 10, but that's only because Vista & 8 epically bad.

I switched to Linux back when Vista came out. Haven't looked back since. For gaming, things are very different these days. As others have said, Linux is now excellent for gaming, partly thanks to efforts by Valve.

Personally it was not. I did not like the UI changes in explorer and nor did i see any performance jumps. Hence, i rolled back to the w10

Perhaps you can take a call on if you want the new UI (i personally like the older one a lot more as I'm used to it), and can switch based on that

Haven't had any issues personally, and haven't noticed any massive changes from 10.

Gaming under Linux is really good nowadays. You'll only have compatibility issues on a few of the most popular multiplayer games due to poor anticheat. It's a small price to pay in order to be able to run Linux, which gets better every year (increasingly so in recent years).

Windows tears itself apart every year or so anyway - back up your stuff, throw Linux Mint/Fedora/Garuda Linux on it, and try gaming with it for a bit. If you're just not feeling it, install Windows 11 after that. No reason to give up early.

It's honestly just ten but better. Easier on your system, less superfluous animations, and it's organized a bit better. Most windows 10 apps are compatible out of the box as well.

I run Linux too and know that both 10 and 11 run the same couple games exactly as well, but Windows 11 won’t install unless you have a TPM module set up properly on your motherboard. Just because of that I use 10 because of less hassle.

No. It's strictly worse than Windows 10.

Not really, unless you're a fan of the UI/UX changes.

As long as you don't mind the task bar being glued to the bottom of your screen, I think Windows 11 is a net improvement over 10. The new features in WSL are particularly cool.

At the moment no, is trash, the taskbar is broken and unusable.

In September looks like they're adding back basic functionality to the taskbar so it can be considered an upgrade

I don't know how it took so much time to fix that taskbar... Incompetence? Everyone with more than 1 year of experience left the team?

W11 has more efficient power usage and task management. Outside of that, there's rounded UI and... uh... yea just rounded UI. If this is a new PC install or just like a fresh install, just upgrade to Windows 11. W10 is eventually going to be discontinued sooner and the changes aren't that drastic to warrant staying downgraded. I also recommend something like Open Shell to fix a lot of the gripes power users have with the UI, like the limited right-click context menus. Personally, I use StartAllBack. WinAeroTweaker is a great software to disable some telemetry, add important options to context menus, etc.

You can still game on Linux now with Proton.

Not worth it. For everyday use you won't see a difference. For some games, and if you happen to run Unreal Engine or some software that needs DirectX - you may find compatibility and stability issues.

I hate the new start bar, and that you no longer can group icons. I've installed startisback to get the win 10 bar.

imo if you have a compatible machine (& prefer the taskbar at the bottom of the screen), then yes. it's essentially just 10 with some kernel/core updates & a new ui that's much better.

Last time I used 11 it had a few things which are deal breakers for me.

1. All windows of same application are grouped. In 10, you can have it group them never or only when task bar is full. On 11 you have no option. It takes an extra click every time you want to cycle to a specific window.
2. Seconds on the clock are gone. I use that on 10 occasionally and want it back.
3. Context menu in explorer was changed and is way more frustrating to use. My biggest gripe is the keyboard shortcuts were changed for no reason.
4. The ribbon menu is going away for nested menu system. Ribbon is objectively better for repeating multiple commands.
5. Gaming performance is worse, specifically VR.
6. UI/UX changes, some are good, some are bad. It’s not a polished OS with inconsistencies everywhere. In 10 at least they tried to make each level of the UI consistent with itself. 11 is just a hodgepodge of useless shit.

Windows 10 feels like a better Operating System, with Win11 being a beta program for features.