When comparing Windows 8.1 vs openSUSE Tumbleweed, the Slant community recommends openSUSE Tumbleweed for most people. In the question“What are the best operating systems for a Home Theatre PC?” openSUSE Tumbleweed is ranked 11th while Windows 8.1 is ranked 18th. The most important reason people chose openSUSE Tumbleweed is:
Tumbleweed is stable enough to use every day. Updates are OpenQA tested to ensure stability before being released for Tumbleweed. Bleeding edge untested software can be tried using OpenSUSE factory.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Hardware Compatibility
Windows has excellent x86-based compatibility, and has recently announced ARM compatibility as well.
Pro Familiar Windows Interface
As opposed to unfamiliar and purpose-built Linux distros, Windows still reigns supreme for sheer usability and ease of use.
Pro Customizable UI
There are many that can be used to customize the MetroTile screen and add custom tiles. Then, by adding custom tiles you can configure them to open any application or web page that you need. For example: Netflix, HBOGo or Steam.
Pro Stable
Tumbleweed is stable enough to use every day. Updates are OpenQA tested to ensure stability before being released for Tumbleweed. Bleeding edge untested software can be tried using OpenSUSE factory.
Pro Easy installation and cutting edge apps
Pro A large amount of software
Pro Tumbleweed + OpenSUSE Build Service
Pro Good selection of preinstalled applications
Pro User friendly + Good support
Active and friendly user community, updates come fast
Cons
Con Expensive
You will need to purchase a Windows license.
Con Resource Intensive
In contrast to many dedicated solutions which can run on nearly anything, running a full Windows install requires decent hardware. This is not a lightweight solution.
Con Little / no third-party support
Like it or not, most third parties don't want to deal with less-popular distros. So most of them only support Ubuntu LTS and those versions of RHEL/CentOS that are still supported.