Hey i am building a PC and was wondering if anyone knew why there is such a big differance between the full package and the OEM. What does the package have and the OEM doesn't? Is it sensible getting the OEM or not? Thank you in advance for your help!
oem is what microsoft give to people like alienware and mesh to put on ready made pc's, the only thing youll be missing out on is a box and a booklet, and its much cheeper.
If you buy OEM, once activated, it can only ever be re-activated on that specific CPU ID thereafter.
The poster above has no clue - it is not just a difference of "no box or manuals", it is designed for system builders so that they can provide a cheap "only for use with this computer" copy of Windows.
Retail Vista can be installed on as many subsequent computers that you own.
If you plan to build your own computer in the future and want to re-install Vista on that - do *not* get OEM.
The system builder handles the support for the OEM version. If you change certain parts it will deactivate your license so if you upgrade you might end up having to call Microsoft. The retail version is so cheap that I don't see the point of buying OEM. All you need is the upgrade version.
People can purchase the OEM version if when they are purchasing hardware as well; it's not just retailers who can get it. By purchasing and opening the OEM package you are accepting the Microsoft OEM License Agreement.
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