Windows 8 is a little faster, yes; it is less resource heavy. It should not be a driver issue since Acer officially supplies the driver. The problem is that they have two Bluetooth drivers; one for Broadcom devices and one for Atheros devices. Maybe you downloaded the wrong one?
Atheros (32-bit):
Driver download
Broadcom (32-bit):
Driver download
Atheros (64-bit):
Driver download
Broadcom (64-bit):
Driver download
Atheros (64-bit, Windows 8 non-upgrade):
Driver download
Make sure Bluetooth is enabled/airplane mode disabled before installing the driver, as well. Otherwise the utility won't pick it up.