The Windows 10 Creators Update Arrives
by Brett Howse on April 25, 2017 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Software
- Operating Systems
- Windows
- Microsoft
- Windows 10
Gaming
According to the Steam Hardware & Software Survey, Windows 10 is now on over 50% of computers running Steam, so it looks like gamers are making the switch. Features like DirectX 12 certainly help with the appeal, but Microsoft has been slowly adding more gaming features to Windows 10 over time.
Gaming settings now have their own home in the Settings panel. This is a nice bonus, since some of these settings were tucked away before and not as easy to get to. With the new Game settings panel, you can configure the Game Bar, Game DVR, Game Mode, and Broadcasting, all from one location. You can set shortcuts to tasks like taking an in-game screenshot, turning a microphone off and on, and starting a game clip recording. They all have their own default shortcuts, but maybe you want to set them to just a certain key while gaming.
There are two new features here though, in Game Mode and Broadcasting. Game Mode was first announced in January as an upcoming feature for the Creators Update, and it basically changes the CPU and GPU priorities when gaming to ensure that the game gets the maximum resources it can. This is enabled for all games by default, but can be turned off per-game if needed. Although it will be unlikely to impact maximum frame rates, it should help with minimum frame rates especially when the computer is busy doing other things. Hopefully we’ll have a chance to dig into this a bit more in the future.
The second big addition is broadcasting support. In August 2016, Microsoft acquired the game broadcasting company Beam. That purchase has quickly found its way into their core products, with Windows 10 and Xbox both adding support for Beam with the Creators Update. Rather than having to install software and configure an account, you can just broadcast right from the game bar, using your Xbox Live account information. Game broadcasting has become a huge industry, so it’s great to see a solution built-in to Windows that is so easy to use. And it is very simple to use. In a game, you just open the Game Bar (Default Windows + G) and click on the broadcast icon. In seconds, your broadcast will be set up. There is no doubt that there is stiff competition in this space, but Beam seems to be a solid offering, and having it included by default is a nice benefit.
Security Center
After working hard to move all of the settings into the settings pane in Windows 10, to the point where you rarely need to access the legacy control panel, it’s perhaps a bit odd that they broke some of them out of settings and put them in their own grouping, but it is nice to see a one-stop shop for Security.
The new Windows Defender Security Center app combines virus protection of Windows Defender, with firewall settings, device health information, app control, and family options. None of these features are new, but combining them into one app should make them a bit more accessible.
In fact, the one that seems to be missing is file backup, since that would fit into this theme of keeping your computer and data safe, and it would be nice to have File History added here, or perhaps a more comprehensive backup solution.
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leexgx - Wednesday, April 26, 2017 - link
""Consumers want more features, and sooner, but business needs to test everything before rolling it out.""interesting most people don't give a damn what new version of windows 10 offers, all they are interested in is that what ever browser works so they can do email and other stuff
for most a feature upgrade, this list is a follows
1 application PC settings are reset (browser and associations like PDF and pictures)
2 it uninstalls software without permission that was perfectly working fine (and still works perfectly fine when you reinstall it)
3 can't use there PC for about 2-8 hours when it does the upgrade (slow CPU/RAM/HDD vs SSD)
4 or better a non booting PC (or black screen as some may encounter as they broke the Video WDDM for some old video drivers and it sets the output to 0x0 resolution)
the Fix is use LTSB version if MS wount offer a legitimate LTSB single user licence then how are people supposed to buy it
jabber - Tuesday, April 25, 2017 - link
Just be aware that if you have a mix of Office products say 2010 and 13/16 it will still delete off the latest versions if you do an upgrade. Well done MS, still not fixed that one.Gich - Tuesday, April 25, 2017 - link
it didn't happen to me...I got Office 2007 and 16.
jabber - Tuesday, April 25, 2017 - link
The disappointment for me is that MS is concentrating on adding fluff, bling and bloat I have zero use for but not concentrating on making it more secure, robust and faster. I'd also like a return of the custom install option so I can choose to install that fluff or not.Dave Null - Tuesday, April 25, 2017 - link
Indeed. I finally bit the bullet and installed the LTSB version. This is the lightweight version of Windows I've been looking for.lord_anselhelm - Tuesday, April 25, 2017 - link
Agreed. I also wish they'd focus on fixing bugs they've introduced as a result of updates. For example, Anniversary Update broke centre-alignment of folder/filenames in certain folder views and caused Libraries to start ignoring custom folder views. Both issues still exist in the Creators Update!Gasaraki88 - Tuesday, April 25, 2017 - link
"secure, robust and faster"What does that even mean? How do you even quantify that enough to be worth an update. Do you want them to list that inthe change logs?
herbc - Wednesday, April 26, 2017 - link
Yup , a grossly overbloated OS from the start continues to get worse , my God the idiocy of MS is mind boggling.MutualCore - Sunday, April 30, 2017 - link
Your comment has no substance.fm13 - Tuesday, April 25, 2017 - link
I still can't install this thing - Windows Update seems busted and standalone installer stays stuck on 99% for days.Although Win10 is a nice OS, some things in it seem broken - things that worked flawlessly for years. For example, virus definitions on my system can't update themselves anymore - I have to download and install them manually.
How the hell do you break something like that?