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Since the release of Windows 11, there has always been one question: Should I dare the (usually free) upgrade or should I rather stay with Windows 10/8/7?
After all, we Germans are considered the prime example of creatures of habit. What’s working, that’s working, you shouldn’t change anything about it!
Or does it? I started my brain.exe, turned off the inner Cortana directly and thought about the upgrade question undisturbed. The result was three good reasons for and three arguments against – oh yes, and there’s also a tie.
- These 3 reasons speak for an upgrade to Windows 11
- More consistent interface
- Better file explorer
- Helpful snap layouts
- These 3 reasons speak against upgrading to Windows 11
- Taskbar and Start Menu
- online coercion
- High hardware requirements
These 3 reasons speak for an upgrade to Windows 11
More consistent interface
First of all: Yes, Windows 11 is still a sometimes wild mix of all previous versions and by no means looks as tidy and spruced up as MacOS (which I recently came into contact with for the first time in my life) or various Linux derivatives. But Microsoft has obviously tried
to put things in order, at least at first glance.
Many (context) menus, dialog windows and buttons are much more consistent since the recently released 22H2 update. This not only spoils the eye, but also ensures that you feel like you are in the year 2022 while using the PC – well, at least until you are catapulted back to Windows 95 times after one mouse click too many will.
Better file explorer
A pro argument that has only existed since the big 22H2 update, but now fully has its raison d’être. Finally, the Explorer becomes more practical! Because he gets tabs, as you already know them from your Internet browser. This means that juggling with a large number of open windows is finally a thing of the past and you have a better overview when handling your files and folders.
Incidentally, the tree structure shown on the left is displayed separately for each tab. It’s just a pity that you can’t drag tabs from one Explorer window to another yet. But hey, let’s content ourselves with the status quo for the time being and are satisfied. This innovation could definitely be a reason for switching to Windows 11.
Windows 11 is finally getting tabs in Explorer, this is how you use them
Helpful snap layouts
I’m that weird, dying breed of PC user who only has a screen but loves to plaster windows over it. For this reason, I’ve been using the snap function a lot since the days of Windows 8. You know what I mean: If you drag an open window to the edge of the screen, it will automatically be arranged in a certain layout.
And Windows 11 offers me a larger selection of snap layouts than Windows 10. Where I could only arrange the windows half-half side by side with the predecessor, Windows 11 offers me a whole range of additional grids when I drag them to the top of the screen: three Programs vertically next to each other, four quarters, one large program on the left and two smaller ones on the right, etc.
The snap function can be pimped even further thanks to the powerful Microsoft Power Toys :
Without those tools, Windows isn’t half as good to me
So much for the three pro arguments. But why might an upgrade to Windows 11 not be right for you?
These 3 reasons speak against upgrading to Windows 11
Taskbar and Start menu
No, Windows 11 isn’t progress in every way. Especially with the functionality of the taskbar and the start menu, I shake my head almost daily to this day. The control center at the front of the user is as rigid and inflexible as rarely before. You can no longer display the taskbar vertically, there is a yawning emptiness left and right in the central representation of the icons, which cannot be meaningfully filled with user-defined functions, and these two points are just the tip of my frustration iceberg.
The Start menu also wastes a lot of space for nothing. The icons are far apart, the layout can not really be adjusted and the list of recommended apps and files is almost penetrating. No, in my opinion, Microsoft still urgently needs to improve in this area and give users more creative freedom.
Online coercion
Since Windows 8, more and more Windows functions have been outsourced to the Internet in order to make the Microsoft account palatable to users. Windows 11 continues to turn off the feature tap for local users. Installing apps from the Microsoft Store? Syncing your passwords and other data across multiple devices? You can remove all this as an offline user.
High hardware requirements
Windows 11 requires relatively up-to-date hardware, especially for the processors, although the official system requirements call a CPU with just 1 GHz clock frequency as a minimum. Nevertheless, Microsoft restricts the circle of supported candidates so much that only Intel processors will meet the conditions from mid-2017.
At AMD, things look even a little darker. Here you must have already installed a Ryzen CPU of the generation Zen+ (2018) in your PC, otherwise you will not even be offered the free upgrade despite a valid Windows 10 license. Too bad, because Windows 11 controls itself on older computers noticeably tougher, but is therefore by no means unusable.
In addition, your motherboard must have a built-in TPM 2.0 chip (Trusted Module Platform
), whose functionality must of course be switched on. Evil tongues claimed even then at the launch that Microsoft wanted to boost the stagnating sales of PC manufacturers with this step. Of course, this is not proven!
And the draw?
Let’s get to the last point, and that’s gaming, of all things. Stupid, because we are here at the GameStar and you should be interested in the upgrade question to Windows 11 probably above all in where your games run better.
Here, too, we assess the situation according to today’s status. At that time, Windows 11 was often even a bit slower than the 10 edition due to a lack of adapted drivers. Today, Windows 11 is at least equal, if not a little faster, in most games. But we’re usually talking about a few FPS, not a really big difference.
Even a look at the other gaming features of the operating systems does not allow a clear result. Microsoft advertises Windows 11 as the ultimate OS for gamers, but cites things like the Xbox Game Bar as the main reason – and they are also available on Windows 10.
What remains is the so-called Direct Storage
API. This should noticeably accelerate loading processes in games even under Windows PCs with NVMe SSDs, similar to the Xbox Series X/S. Theoretical benchmarks do indeed prove a big improvement, but in practice the CPU often turns out to be a bottleneck, which is why only a small amount of the big effect reaches you.
The result: If you have installed current hardware in your PC and stick to Windows 10, you do not have to fear any major performance losses in games. Features such as the Game Bar are better integrated in Windows 11, and the latest Microsoft OS with Auto HDR
has an exclusive feature, but only a few monitor owners should benefit from it. That is why there is no clear winner or loser here.
Result
The conclusion to such an article can only be for me: Make your own decision. This may sound lame, but it is really recommended in this case. Because reasons that speak for and against Windows 11 are and remain as subjective as ever. What is a no-go for me may hardly be worth a shrug of the shoulders for some of you.
The bad news is that the free upgrade to Windows 11 may soon slip through your fingers. There is no official deadline on the part of Microsoft. At the same time, however, the Group expressly reserves the right to terminate the free offer. According to the current status, this will be the case from 5 October 2022 at the earliest. However, it is unlikely that anything will happen in this regard on this date.
What about you? Have you already taken the plunge to Windows 11 and if so, what is your experience with the operating system? Do you regret the change or are you completely satisfied? Feel free to write us your opinion on this topic in the comments!
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