W8 vs W8 Pro

mattie · 15 Nov 2013 at 23:30

Hi all

I've just put together a new machine but my old W7 key isn't working (think it might bne from some old university site licence), so probably a good time to upgrade to W8.1

I was planning on an OEM version of W8.1, is it worth considering 8.1 Pro? I've not used W8 so not sure on capabilities.

It's just for a home desktop, although I will be hopefully using homegroups to store files on a Windows Home Server 2011 machine - assume the bog-standard W8.1 will do this?

Also, any issues with OEM editions for a new build?

Cheers

Jasseh · 16 Nov 2013 at 00:06

Feature comparisons:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_8_editions#Comparison_chart

I have Pro but haven't used any of the extra features yet. I plan to try out Hyper-V at some point though.

If I were buying Windows 8 (I got mine free) then I would probably not bother with Pro.

There shouldn't be any issues with OEM edition re-installs.

Amleto · 16 Nov 2013 at 00:07

if you want to rdp to that machine then you need pro: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/compare

linktoinsanity · 18 Nov 2013 at 11:58

I use the Pro version on my laptop, because I use RDP. Most users however will be fine with standard.

There's not a huge amount of price difference is there?

jlwood92 · 18 Nov 2013 at 13:48

Windows 8.1 Pro

I'd opt for the Pro version just for the boot from VHD feature