Cheapest Windows 10?

Luke_Bowman

Luke_Bowman

Luke_Bowman

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So I want to get Windows 10 and I'm trying to find the cheapest option of doing so which I assume will involve obtaining Windows 7 and getting the free upgrade.

The cheapest Windows 7 option I have found is a 'Genuine OEM Windows 7 Home Premium License Product Key' from a broken laptop harddrive on the bay.


Does this seem legal and safe to buy? Really don't wanna spend £100 on Win10
 
as its a OEM key this will be tied to the mobo of the system it was installed on and activated on.

list of W10 costs below.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 32/64-Bit - USB Pen Drive - Retail (FQC-08789) £164.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-Bit DVD - OEM (MS-FQC-08929) £116.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 10 32/64-Bit - USB Pen Drive - Retail (KW9-00017) £85.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 10 64-Bit DVD - OEM (MS-KW9-00139) £79.99
Total : £457.56 (includes shipping : £8.00 Ex.VAT).



do you upgrade your PC frequently or is this something you don't bother with unless it breaks?

other option is to try and find a cheap retail key as this will allow you to move the key about if you change mobo etc.

if you don't upgrade your PC then a new OEM key should be fine and there is some sites out there that sell cheap 8.1 keys
 
ED209 said:
As its a OEM key this will be tied to the mobo of the system it was installed on and activated on.

do you upgrade your PC frequently or is this something you don't bother with unless it breaks?

other option is to try and find a cheap retail key as this will allow you to move the key about if you change mobo etc.

if you don't upgrade your PC then a new OEM key should be fine and there is some sites out there that sell cheap 8.1 keys
Click to expand...


Upgrade pretty frequently when funds allow. Didn't realise the key would be tied to the mobo. Just looking for the cheapest legal option.
 
yeah, OEM keys are tied to the mobo of the first machine they are installed on which is why the OEM versions of W10 are cheaper that the USB versions (retail)

if you upgrade your mobo\cpu often then your best bet might be retail W10.

reason being is you maybe able to get a cheap retail 8.1 or 7 key but if you change your mobo your W10 will no longer be activated as the free upgrade is to OEM W10 and not retail.

you would need to re install 8.1 or 7 again and then upgrade to W10 each time you change your mobo and this is only possible for the first year as the free upgrade stops after this July 2016) and you will need to buy a new W10 key either retail or OEM.

so to save all the hassle you may as well get a W10 retail key unless your ok doing a clean install of a previous OS then upgrading to W10 each time
 
Luke_Bowman said:
If I bought a retail Win7 key now and upgraded to Win10 would I be okay to re-use the Win10 key in future if I changed my rig/did a fresh install?
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No, if you change the motherboard you should buy a new W10 license.

If you upgrade from Windows 7, you can then do a clean install of 10 without a key, that's not a problem.

If your motherboard were to break and you had to replace it, I'm sure they would activate it over the phone for you.
 
Luke_Bowman said:
If I bought a retail Win7 key now and upgraded to Win10 would I be okay to re-use the Win10 key in future if I changed my rig/did a fresh install?
Click to expand...

W7 retail will be upgraded to W10 OEM.

if you change your mobo W10 will become deactivated due to the mobo change. so the only way to get it re activated again would be to install W7 and upgrade to W10 which then tags your new mobo to work with W10 and after that you can do a clean install if you choose too. you don't get a W10 Key as it goes by your hardware ID which is tagged for W10 use once you have done a upgrade from a previous OS and then activates W10

the upgrade is only for the life of the device, a motherboard upgrade to Microsoft is classed as a new PC and will require a new key to activate or the hassle of re installing W7 retail and doing another upgrade to W10 but as said this will only work for the first year as after this W10 is no longer free.

not too sure how phone activation works with W10 but this maybe a option as well.
 
Last edited:
it says here: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...32d-08a5-4273-a941-c353e43a5056?page=4&auth=1

What happens if I change my motherboard?

As it pertains the OEM licenses this will invalidate the Windows 10 upgrade license because it will no longer have a previous based qualifying license which is required for the free upgrade. You will then have to purchase a full retail Windows 10 license. If the base qualifying license (Windows 7 or Windows 8.1) was a full retail version, then yes, you can transfer it.
Click to expand...
So whats the right answer?
 
Luke_Bowman said:
You really have to buy a new key every time you change your motherboard?
Click to expand...

There's license legal, and then there's paying what you consider fair (ie, not torrenting) and abusing the fact that they'll happily activate you over the phone when you upgrade your mobo.

Frankly, I fall into the 2nd camp. I paid for an OEM license (via some student promo when I was doing nightschool) and got a legit win7.

As people here often do, I've changed hardware a few times, but only ever had one PC. I've used the phone activation to re-use the same OEM copy ever since.

And frankly I don't feel bad about it. I still paid for an OEM copy, after all.

Also frankly, I wouldn't pay £165 for Win10. If they weren't giving it away, I'd still be on win7.
 
I bought a Windows 8.1 Pro x64 key from G2A and upgraded to Windows 10 Pro x64 without any hassles. The key was from a high ranked seller and cost £17. You can get Windows 7 licenses for closer to £12 but I wanted the 8.1 Pro key in case I didn't like 10 and could use the 8.1 license instead (8.1 runs lighter/faster than 7).

As it happens I didn't like 10's data mining policies and currently OpenVPN TAP adapters aren't working very well, so I'm currently running a clean install of 8.1 Pro x64 instead. :p
 
Got fed up with this key crap and decided to buy it instead so that I have key to use when I want. Got my retail pro key from Microsoft for £132. Used the USA website said my shipping was in a state with no sales tax and paid with PayPal. Had my key and popped it into the change key box on my UK installed 10 Pro and it activated instantly. That was a week ago.
 
I used my windows 7 and 8 OEM dvd with different mobo and hard ware and been fine. All you do is phone up free number to MS and insert that long number and then its activated no problem.
 
Radeon123 said:
Got fed up with this key crap and decided to buy it instead so that I have key to use when I want. Got my retail pro key from Microsoft for £132. Used the USA website said my shipping was in a state with no sales tax and paid with PayPal. Had my key and popped it into the change key box on my UK installed 10 Pro and it activated instantly. That was a week ago.
Click to expand...

World's first recorded sale of W10? :D ;)
 
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