Quote:
Originally Posted by
GymJunkie
I will be buying Win10 Pro and it will be going on a brand new system. I've always liked having the ability to completely wipe the drive and fully reinstall the OS whenever I need but I can't tell if that is possible with the OEM version or not. It looks like the OEM is the only one with a disc, I can get the retail version as a digital download or USB flash drive only.
What do you recommend?
OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer. Resellers like Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc.
If you are building your own custom rig, buy retail. It will link the key to either your motherboard or Microsoft account but will allow you to transfer to a new system.
Here is some more info right from Microsoft support:
Full version (Retail):
- Includes transfer rights to another computer.
- Doesn't require a previous qualifying version of Windows.
- Expensive
OEM :
OEM versions of Windows are identical to Full License Retail versions except for the following:
- OEM versions do not offer any free Microsoft direct support from Microsoft support personnel
- OEM licenses are tied to the very first computer you install and activate it on
- OEM versions allow all hardware upgrades except for an upgrade to a different model motherboard
- OEM versions cannot be used to directly upgrade from an older Windows operating system