Would it make sense buying laptop now before Win8 is out?

[taylormah]

Windows 8 would be very touch oriented, and would require some hardware changes to make full use of its new gained abilities. BIOS will be replaced by UEFI, but I dont know if it requires a new hardware support/change or not. I saw a Synaptics concept touchpad video specially designed for windows 8. So given the new capabilties of Win8, do you think today's notebooks would be 100% compatible with it?

[huai]

First of all UEFI is not a windows 8 feature, it's a completely independent development. Second, I doubt that win 8 will force laptop manufacturers to use touch screens all of a sudden.

So if you want a touch screen, get a tablet, if you don't get a notebook. You can always update your notebook to win 8. MS has promised to keep minimum hardware requirements the same as Win 7.

[taylormah]

I know that UEFI is separate from windows 8, but Win8 is bringing support for it, so it is likely that now notebook manufacturers would start using it on bigger scale in their notebook products. What I want to know is that does it need a specific hardware, or can my three year old notebook also be made to use UEFI once I upgrade to Win8.

I also know that current Win7 notebooks will be upgradable, but since Win 8 is bringing Metro UI, there is bound to be some added hardware features in the notebooks, like the synaptics pad I linked above, to better interact with the new UI. That is what is making me play the wait game a little longer, in addition to ivy bridge, to see what kind of hardware change comes about with newer version of Win OS.

[2.0™]

Certainly if you can wait, wait. But you'll be waiting for almost a year.

If your current notebook is feeling a bit sluggish, there are a number of hardware upgrades you can do to speed things up. SSD, new CPU, more RAM if you're rollin' with 2GB.

What notebook do you have?

[taylormah]

Its a dv6700, 3gb ram, and t7500 prosessor. Its working fine with its current configuration, other than some power issue its facing, so its time it gets replaced. But I would try to go another 5 months, mainly to save big $$$$ to spend on a $1300+ notebook. Other than the reason I don't have that kind of cash saved up to spend on a notebook right now, Ivy Bridge CPU's supposedly run even more cool and more power efficient than current offerings, two things that I have grown to appreciate more than the muscle of the CPU itself. Last news I heard of IB CPU's was that they would be out in March '12. Has there been any speculation about when would HP update its notebooks with IB?

[Indrek]

I know that UEFI is separate from windows 8, but Win8 is bringing support for it, so it is likely that now notebook manufacturers would start using it on bigger scale in their notebook products. What I want to know is that does it need a specific hardware, or can my three year old notebook also be made to use UEFI once I upgrade to Win8.

I think you're confusing UEFI in general, and the specific UEFI Secure Boot feature. The latter is what Windows 8 is adding support for, and has been a subject for a lot of FUD lately. UEFI in general, though, has been supported in Windows since Vista SP1, and in notebooks for several years now.

Though whether or not your particular model supports UEFI, I don't know.

[taylormah]

I think you're confusing UEFI in general, and the specific UEFI Secure Boot feature. The latter is what Windows 8 is adding support for, and has been a subject for a lot of FUD lately. UEFI in general, though, has been supported in Windows since Vista SP1, and in notebooks for several years now.

Though whether or not your particular model supports UEFI, I don't know.

That definitely clears few things up about UEFI in my head. However, if Windows supports it since Vista days, why aren't there many laptops who use it instead of BIOS?

[Indrek]

That definitely clears few things up about UEFI in my head. However, if Windows supports it since Vista days, why aren't there many laptops who use it instead of BIOS?

I suspect quite a lot of systems support it, but simply ship with the BIOS compatibility mode enabled for the sake of older operating systems like XP that don't support UEFI. Since the Windows 8 Logo program (not the OS itself, mind) will require a specific UEFI feature, though, you can probably expect most new systems after Win8 is released to ship with UEFI enabled by default.

[Izagaia]

Don't we always play this "should I wait..." game with new tech?

In my opinion, Windows 7 itself is a great OS. Microsoft certainly has no plans of ending support, much less development, for it anytime soon and most of the hardware out there now running it, is leaps beyond that old HP dv6700. I wouldn't necessarily buy-in to the whole "newer is better" ideology. I personally, would make your decision more about what your current needs are than anything else. But by all means, if you think you can afford to wait - go right ahead. It doesn't matter, IMO, what you buy or when you decide to buy it - three months down the road, the next "latest, greatest" thing will be out to replace it anyway. Especially in the tech world.

[MrSeaBass]

Windows 8 is still a LONG ways away. Yes, it is compatible with current hardware.