Massively inconsisent pricing

The OEM version was originally sold to PC vendors to be used when they sold a new system and is tied to the PC it is first installed on. You can repair the PC with new parts as long as it matches the original equipment and it will be fine, but you cant upgrade to a newer motherboard.

That's exactly what I keep complaining about for years. With those strange constructs people practically get driven into obtaining a new OS from (let's call it) questionable sources....losing even more money in the end because sooner or later you'll get that famous black screen and all the "Help, my wallpaper just turned black" threads.
You just bought a new system. Any bulk deals between Microsoft and your supplier (OEM) shouldn't be affecting you.
Now if you're SOL already because, say a lightning storm fries your motherboard, why do they feel the need to fork you over a second time by saying: you just lost your windows license on top of it. It's not like the good money I paid came with any strings attached.

OK, sorry for ranting..the whole situation is simply one of my bigger pet peeves.
-DG

twinbee said:

Read the last line. It states it is Anytime Upgrade.

Like LiquidSnak, it doesn't for me either. Maybe it's because I'm in the UK and the site adjusts itself accordingly - I dunno.

I'm tempted to get the £70 ($120) one just below - does that say 'anytime upgrade' for you as well? This is a bit confusing.

Thanks all anyway. I've got a decision to make now. Everything hinges on whether I want to risk getting a version which locks itself to the motherboard. It's a new motherboard (Asus P5QL Pro), but it could break (unlikely), or I might find that 16 GB RAM (its max) isn't enough in the future as I do some heavy graphics work. In theory though it should take the new Fermi GPU I hope also to get in the future.

Be leary of 'too good to be true pricing', from Amazon (who I consider to be a reputable seller) Marketplace sellers. I had a friend who bought CS3 for a 'good price' from an Amazon Marketplace seller only to find out that Adobe had no record of the serial#. They didn't make him stop using the product, but he was not eligible for any upgrade pricing.

By the time he found out, the seller had long been kicked out of Amazon MP and Amazon would accept no responsibility.

By the way, the 'fine print' at the bottom of the 40 GBP version does indeed state Anytime Upgrade.

The 'too good to be true' pricing is generally universal.

James

SledgeDG said:

The OEM version was originally sold to PC vendors to be used when they sold a new system and is tied to the PC it is first installed on. You can repair the PC with new parts as long as it matches the original equipment and it will be fine, but you cant upgrade to a newer motherboard.

That's exactly what I keep complaining about for years. With those strange constructs people practically get driven into obtaining a new OS from (let's call it) questionable sources....losing even more money in the end because sooner or later you'll get that famous black screen and all the "Help, my wallpaper just turned black" threads.
You just bought a new system. Any bulk deals between Microsoft and your supplier (OEM) shouldn't be affecting you.
Now if you're SOL already because, say a lightning storm fries your motherboard, why do they feel the need to fork you over a second time by saying: you just lost your windows license on top of it. It's not like the good money I paid came with any strings attached.

OK, sorry for ranting..the whole situation is simply one of my bigger pet peeves.
-DG

Thats the price the genuine folks pay for the non-genuine ones.

I suppose, you're right, Bill. I do understand the need to cover ones losses.It still doesn't mean I have to like it.
I really should STFU...Those double standards are really bad for my blood pressure

-DG

SledgeDG, I very much sympathize. Recently, I purchased a non-DRM game, and it was lovely to be able to install it to another computer without worrying about finding passwords and thinking that the server might be down and thus unable to install properly.

I can of course see the other side of the coin - it's just like you say, a shame.

Be leary of 'too good to be true pricing'

That's okay as far as it goes, but then often you get borderline cases which can be trickier to decide.

If you are a student, I believe they are still doing deals - don't have the link to hand , but they were doing Premium or Pro for £50 for students.

Anybody got that link ?


FYI - price is a marketing tool - there is no connection

Thats the price the genuine folks pay for the non-genuine ones.

I know I've said I wanted the full version to do a completely fresh install, but after an hour of searching I've just found the old XP installation CD ("Reinstallation CD" from Dell) and key, so I think I may be able to get away with the upgrade edition after all?

However, my old hard drive is broken, so I can't do an 'inplace upgrade' on that. It still needs to be a fresh install from XP Home SP2 to Win 7 Pro (64 bit) onto my new SSD. I presume this is possible - a fresh install of the upgrade edition?

It also says "only use this CD to reinstall the OS on a Dell computer". That shouldn't be a problem should it?

If any of the above might cause trouble, I'll probably plump with the Win 7 Pro full, but otherwise I may be able to save a few more quid. Sorry for the slight change of topic, but I've learnt quite a bit anyway.

Okay, I've bit the bullet and purchased a Full Retail version of Win 7 Pro new for £100. That's £60 below the default Amazon price, and maybe around £100 below RRP or some more expensive versions. The seller is apparently reputable, so we'll see.

Thanks all again.

Sure. He confirmed it had both 32 and 64 bit DVDs and is definitely the Retail version btw.