An excellent OS for gaming. Switching from Windows 7 I was skeptical of course, but I don't regret it. I used a program to revive the start menu, and I simply ignore the Metro screen. I get genuinely uncomfortable thinking of it. Watch out for drivers, though. Some devices (such as certain wireless cards) don't have drivers for Win 8.1, which is a simple fix however. Other problems include the charms bar and options menus that slide in (network interface) or others that pop up, (volume controls) creating an inconsistent experience.
Got it for Direct X 11.5. But will probably get a touchscreen monitor for the one feature that everybody doesn't even use. Yeah, I bet some of you didn't even know that you can ping with the touchscreen, huh? Try it. You'll like that feature.