Microsis

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116762

How does that version differ from the regular Windows 7 Ultimate?

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BC2 > MW2

Futan

Just found this out recently. The System Builders(OEM) version you're not supposed to install on any motherboard besides the one you original installed it on. It's against the EULA to do so. Where as the regular version you can install on any number of motherboards.

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TwoCables

OEM is intended for pre-installation on a new personal computer for resale. Here is the full Disclaimer as found on this Newegg Product Page:
OEM is supposed to be married to the first motherboard it is activated on. That means that we are not supposed to be allowed to retire that system only to replace it with a new one and also install that same OEM copy of Windows on the new system. It can be done, but we're not supposed to. You can even tell the Microsoft activation representative what you're doing, and they will even allow it, but again: they're not supposed to. It's against the EULA.

So, for that reason, I purchased the Retail version. I mean, I don't know if Microsoft will put their foot down on this and say "No more. From now on, our phone representatives will deny all activation requests for OEM if it looks like you are trying to activate it on a different system other than the one it was first activated on".

However, I was recently told by somebody on here that you can technically switch motherboards 3 times from the beginning, and you shouldn't have to call. But that 4th time, you will have to call. You can also re-install it just as freely on the same system the first 3 times without having to call, but that 4th time you will have to call. But calling is really painless.

So anyway, why Ultimate? If you're not 100% sure, then please see these comparison charts:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows...mparison_chart
• http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/0...n-the-editions
• http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...-editions.html

Thanks to these charts, I confidently purchased Home Premium. And thanks to being taught that I can do a full, 100% clean installation (even after a full format) with the Upgrade media, I also chose the Upgrade media. To my slight surprise, the full install worked as though it were the Full version.

Oh, and regarding the difference of Retail vs. OEM: with Retail, we are free to go from one system to another as much as we want. In other words, if I had the money, then I could install and Activate my retail copy on one system, retire it, then put it on the new one, and then repeat this process over and over and there's nothing the EULA says that will stop me. However, regardless of whether it's OEM or Retail: it is always 1 Product Key on one system at a time; never 1 Product Key on 2 or more systems at the same time. So, I cannot simultaneously activate an OEM or Retail copy on 2-3 different systems at the same time. But with the Retail version, I could activate one after another, as long as the previous is being retired/replaced by the new one.

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Microsis

I was just using it as an example (came across that Newegg link through email). I realize the difference between the 3 versions is pretty minimal and will end up probably going with Home.

Thanks for the reply, cleared things up for me nicely!

__________________
FOR SALE: | Modded CM690 | OCZ 700W PSU | WD 36GB Raptor | Tuniq Tower 120 *Lapped*

The 750i FTW Overclock Thread
The 55nm GTX 260 216 Overclock Thread

BC2 > MW2

TwoCables

Oh cool.

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cornholio157

only other difrence between OEM and retail besides whats been said already is OEM only has 1 version 32 bit or 64 bit and retail comes with both disks hence retails higher price