OEM or retail?

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?

Retail 100%

I had a legitimate copy of Win10 OEM & Microsoft decided to make my software key no longer valid one day. And I had never reinstalled the OS or changed hardware. Contacting MS customer support was a futile effort & waste of time.

Also, are you into weight lifting or cardio type stuff? Just curious haha. We don't have any weight training members here that I know of besides myself.

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

If you have a Windows 7 or 8 key you can activate windows 10 for free, no purchase necessary.

No need to purchase installation media as you can download it to any usb drive, and during set up you match the version of the key you have to the version you want to install (home, pro, enterprise).
Select you dont have a key during initial setup, and once you are in windows and have all updates and drivers installed, go activate windows and put in your key and you're good to go.

Get windows 10 here https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/soft...load/windows10

I bought several Windows 10 keys from Kinguin and G2A in the past and have had zero issues with them. Can get them even cheaper on eBay.

If you want a more legitimate way to get a key then sign up for a local community college and you'll get access to a Microsoft Azure account where you can get free Education keys (W10 Education = W10 Enterprise).

Depends on how much classes cost in your area though, but a single 3 credit online class costs $60 in my state.

Thank you very much, I appreciate you adding this. Looks like it will definitely be Retail version.

Unfortunately the version of Windows 7 Ultimate I bought turned out to be "stolen" so the key was marked as incorrect by the time I was installing it.

That just extra steps that I don't have time for lol. Not a bad idea though, thanks for sharing. Not going to lie though that $23.10 price looks really good compared to the $189 on Newegg.

I would consider getting it from eBay or Kinguin but with my past bad experience doing this I'd rather not go through the headache again.


Thank you everyone

Hi,
I've used ebay keys they work just fine and yes only 20.us oem install as much as you want too on the same mother board.
eBay has good support so if one goes out just report it and get another a refund will follow.

retail.

MS will nuke an OEM key if its used too many times.

get a physical key you can type in. no MS account nonsense.

So if I buy just a key, can I download Windows 10 Pro from Microsoft website for free then? Would it be better to install it onto a USB or blank disc?

yes

the ISOs are always free from MS. the license determines the version. Spend the extra dollars on enterprise, imo. spending a little for a few less services.