Voyager 8

[Empirical]

Hi there,

I was thinking of getting this for my dad:

http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/form-view/voyager-8/Voyager-8/

But im confused because it says the storage device is 16gb. The required space for windows 8.1 is 16gb (or 20gb 64bit). So does that mean there would be no space at all for any additional software?

Is it a special cut down version of windows perhaps?

 

[steaky360]

Yes windows 8.1 with bing is basically a version of windows designed for tablets etc.

Pretty good description here: http://www.howtogeek.com/195934/what-exactly-is-windows-8.1-with-bing-do-i-have-to-use-bing/

 

[Empirical]

Thanks, but It says that there is no difference at all (except that Bing is set as default search engine, at its free to manufacturers).

 

[steaky360]

You're right enough, I was being lazy and didn't fully read the article! So it's just a free version of 8.1 with bing as default search engine. I'm guessing it does fit on the storage drive though or it wouldn't be offered?

 

[Empirical]

I would guess so too, the problem is how much space is left over especially as Windows tends to grow with updates etc. He doesn't need much but if further applications cannot be installed then its no good. Perhaps I should email PCS, test out their customer service before buying from them.

 

[mdwh]

Windows 8 has got better at the "grow with updates" thing (IIRC, backups of the previous DLLs etc are only kept for 30 days now).

I think it would be worth asking PCS how much space is leftover on a fresh install - I imagine it isn't much, but presumably Windows must fit on there somehow!

A recent article http://www.umpcportal.com/2014/11/budget-windows-8-tablets-work-well-in-rt-mode/ claims that such devices work well as tablets in "RT mode" (i.e., using Modern UI with Windows Store apps).

The tablet has a microSD slot for storing extra files, though Windows Store apps must be installed on internal storage.

 

[Empirical]

Thank you, thats really helpful as I need to run win32 applications in what they call 'desktop mode' so that is no good at all. Will have to move up to the 10.1 instead. Ta!

 

[mdwh]

Yes, the 10.1" version also has the option for 64GB which is plenty.

Even if you go for the 32GB option - I have an Asus T100 with 32GB + 64GB microSD, and manage okay with it. Even with Office 2013 and several GBs of Visual Studio 2012 installed on the main drive, I tend to run between 5-7GBs free on the main drive (and the number seems to fluctuate up and down, rather than continually going down). A bit of care is needed (e.g., installing applications on the microSD if possible, and CCleaner is useful for cleaning up space), but it's manageable. If you can afford the 64GB version, then that takes care of the worries altogether.

 

[mdwh]

Learnt something new - apparently there is now WIMBoot which is being used on these 16GB tablets. This article explains it: http://www.howtogeek.com/196416/wimboot-explained-how-windows-can-now-fit-on-a-tiny-16-gb-drive/

It'd still be worth checking with PCS whether it's using WIMBoot and how much space is free on the drive. But it may well be that the assumption that there'd be hardly any space on a 16GB Windows tablet is wrong.

 

[Empirical]

Thanks so much for all this help and research, Ill definitely be asking PCS to see whats what!