Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows XP Professional?

[Elite-Landmine]

Hello, I was thinking of rebuilding my pc and was wondering what operating system should i get (Vista Home Premium x64 or Windows XP Professional) and should i get an OEM or retail version? what i want to do with the operating system is install it on this pc i have now then sell this pc (but keep the hard drive) and if my new pc doesnt work with the hard drive i will reformat it and do a clean install so would i still be able to use my activation key and other stuff for Vista/XP

 

[swinnie]

If you are going to be moving the licence from one computer to another (different motherboards) you will need a Retail licence of Windows.

I would personally recommend Vista Home Premium. Vista is a fantastic OS, with SP1 installed it is a dream and absolutely flies! And I only have a 1.8Ghz Dual Core with 2GB RAM and Integrated graphics (this is a laptop) and I think it is faster than XP on the same hardware.

 

[metamorphpwner]

vista home premiuim, just for the fact that it's newer and microsoft are not going to be supporting XP forever

 

[stoofa]

First choice is easy - Vista.
It's the current OS, you wouldn't go and buy a MAC with a 2yr old OS installed, so don't do the same with a Windows environment.

As for OEM Vs Retail.
From what you've described then a Retail license is what you require.
The retail license allows unlimited transfers between "devices" for the lifetime of the product (you define the lifetime, not MS).
So you can install it on one machine now, move it to another in a few months, upgrade that a few months later and although you might occasionally need to re-activate over the phone you will remain license legal.

An OEM license is good only on the machine you install it on.
As soon as you replace your motherboard it is deemed another device and the license is no longer any good - as OEM licenses cannot be transfered.

So work out the cost of OEM and Retail.
If Retail is twice as much and you plan on two or more "upgrades" or machine swaps during the life of Vista then retail works out best.
If you plan on building a PC, not replacing the motherboard then OEM would be the cheapest option.

 

[Clarkey]

Vista, no good reason not to really. XP will be obsolete soon anyway.

 

[Mav]

just wondered about this Retail/Oem thing ..

what happens if ya HD dies or ya M/Board where do u stand with a OEM OS ??

do u need to buy XP/Vista again all because .. lets say ya HD died ?? ..

 

[Snograt]

Not for a dead HD, no. For a dead mobo - yes.

 

[Lethal`]

Not for a dead HD, no. For a dead mobo - yes.

Do you? I thought if your motherboard had to be returned / developed a fault and a new one was needed. Then you could just call MS, explain the situation and they would sort it out. Correct me if I'm wrong

 

[Mav]

so if u are the kinda person who says upgrades there M/board / cpu / ram every 12-18 months u need to buy a new copy of XP/Vista aswell ??? if u have a OEM disk ??

an if u have retail versions of XP/Vista u`ll be ok no matter how many times u upgrade ??

because i have a XP pro disk thats Oem an just bought the retail Vista 32/64 ulitimate ..

but i`ve updated my MB an changed HD`s an had numerous reinstalls of XP due to hardware/lost currupt files/ an xp just being a pain .. an all i did was reinstall an validate XP online an away i went np ! i`ve only had to ring the h/desk once an told `em my install went t*ts up an wouldn`t work so i reinstalled , they gave me a number to use np ...

this is so confusing ... from a legal stand point .

i always thought when u bought a legit version be Oem "minus packaging an manuls" or retail "everything in the box" .

it was only to be installed on any 1 computer u own only !

 

[RJC]

If your motherboard is repaired or replaced under warranty then you can continue using the orginal license.
You can upgrade CPU, memory & GPU without worrying, you might need to reactivate but your not breaking the EULA.

Change the motherboard other than warranty then you will need a new license.

Retail you change / upgrade belongs your only running instance.

 

[meem]

Vista

 

[stoofa]

just wondered about this Retail/Oem thing ..

what happens if ya HD dies or ya M/Board where do u stand with a OEM OS ??

do u need to buy XP/Vista again all because .. lets say ya HD died ?? ..

The OEM license allows for "Hardware Failure".
So if your HD failed, you get it replaced under warranty and no worries.
Even if your motherbaord fails, so long as you get it replaced udner warranty then your license is still good.
If however your motherboard failed and you decided to buy a new one - that is classed as an upgrade and the license is no longer legal.

 

[ticktock]

My mate replaced his Motherboard with a newer one and was still able to activate Vista oem? He had no problems at all!

 

[Dicehunter]

vista 64 home premium all the way

 

[mmj_uk]

If you are going to be moving the licence from one computer to another (different motherboards) you will need a Retail licence of Windows.

Actually, I just recently re-activated my OEM copy on a different computer, I just had to phone MS and go through the automated process.

But your best bet is to just not activate it and use it as a 30-day trial whilst it's on the temporary machine.

 

[Reality|Bites]

Why would you buy the OEM version of Vista home premium when you can get the retail upgrade version for cheaper?

 

[swinnie]

Actually, I just recently re-activated my OEM copy on a different computer, I just had to phone MS and go through the automated process.

But your best bet is to just not activate it and use it as a 30-day trial whilst it's on the temporary machine.

Doing that means you are not legally licensed to use Windows.

Why would you buy the OEM version of Vista home premium when you can get the retail upgrade version for cheaper?

I have just looked in the OcUK Shop, and I can't find what you are referring to. If it is from a competitor, please could you email me? Email in trust.

 

[Elite-Landmine]

thankyou for all your posts, i have decided to go for windows vista 32 bit version, how much ram can it take?

 

[Mav]

windows vista 32 bit version, how much ram can it take?

any 32bit OS be it XP or Vista will only see 3.25 - 3.5 gig of ram depending on ya VGA card ..

so if u install say 4 gig of ram thats all ya OS will see .

if u have a 64bit OS be it XP64 or Vista64 it will see what ever u`re M/B supports up to , i think up to 128 Gig of ram ?

 

[Reality|Bites]

4GB max