I keep hearing about support for XP ending, so I'm thinking about finally upgrading. But what should I get? They have Windows 8.1 for 69.99 w/ student discount, but I've heard so many people complain about it. Any suggestions? I don't want to have trouble playing all my favorite games on a new operating system.

Is there anywhere I can still find it? I don't need a new computer, just the operating system.

I'd second the suggestion for Win7. However, it you're going to be installing it on your old PC and you have 4GB RAM or less,, I would suggest installing the 32-bit version of Win7 so that you at least have some degree of compatibility with 16-bit applications.

Personally I think it would be best to go with 8.1. There are benifits in terms of improvments to the underlying OS and.if you don't like the Start Screen (which many people don't) you can get start menu replcements which will give you an almost 7 like experience.

Thank you, but.. are those really safe?
I read about a lot of scams with copied software or cracked keys.

Just MAKE SURE YOU'RE GETTING A LEGIT VERSION.

There are tons of bootleg copies on eBay. TONS. Avoid big sellers, try to go with small sellers (like, normal people) who might be selling off their old computer parts.

Personally i dont think that its best for everyone option, but i succesfully moved from Windows XP to Xubuntu...games is little problem, sure, but things gettin gradually better.

If it is about OS options I'd say do try Linux before paying money for a new Windows version. Even if you don't like it, in the end (which is fine) it won't hurt. It's free, easily downloadable, and I am sure folks here will be happy to walk you through initial stages. If you are happy using wine quite a good number of games actually work - and you could still install XP on a dual boot or in a virtual environment - as long as you don't connect to the internet with that XP installation it wouldn't matter much if support is dropped.

Otherwise - Windows 7 would be my vote, too - have a copy that I run through virtualisation. You can get it a tad bit cheaper through ebay, at times, if you hunt a little [where I got my copy] - but I doubt you'd get it for as little as the $70 offer you have for Windows 8. So take your finances into consideration, too.

There are options like , [url=http://www.retroui.com/]retroUI and several others (Wikipedia list) that undo many of the more annoying changes in Windows eight.

That's one thing, but don't 64-bit processors have better security features? I didn't think that 32bit Windows versions supported the NX-bit and a few other features that are used to keep the system secured.

I would suggest to go with Windows 8.1 (64bit). Good, fast and stable system and still being improved and worked on by MS. One of the main reasons to go with Windows 8.1 is though that the mainstream support for Windows 7 ends January 2015. So if you choose Windows 7 now, chances might be that you will have to live with security updates in barely a year from now. New Features, like the recently announced DirectX12, might only be available for Windows 8 and certainly Windows 9 later in 2015.

I have no problems with Windows 8.1 on my computers so far. The new Startscreen takes getting used to for sure, but I like it better than the Startmenu from Windows 7. Everything else is the same or better in Windows 8 than in Windows 7. Best Startmenu was in Windows 98!