Pro vs Home Premium - worth cost? And OEM?

Hi all, from a newbie. This looks like an excellent site! Firstly, I hope I'm posting in the correct forum. If I need to move my thread to another one, please tell me gently and I shall.


I need to reformat and install a new copy of 7. And because of prevailing circumstances, I may well qualify for the WGA discount pricing for victims. I won't say any more about my victimization, per forum rules.


I think their discount price for 7 Pro is $40 or $50 more than Home Premium. I'm a simple home user, and I don't do any networking. I may need to use the XP compatibility which comes with Pro, or I may never use it, but it seems good to have. Anyway, is Pro any more secure or stable than Home? I'm all about security. I'd pay more for security if Pro would give me a LOT more security (and system stability).


Also, if I decide to instead purchase from Newegg or another reputable seller, would I be allowed as a home user to purchase OEM Windows 7? I read on their site that it is only for system builders who *intend the computer for resale.* I wouldn't be selling it, and I didn't build the machine. But I'd be perfectly fine with never putting it on more than one computer, as specified.


Thank you so much in advance. My system specs are in my profile, to the best of my knowledge.

Pro is no more stable. It's unlikely a standard home user would need any of Pro's features, but people buy Ultimate when they don't need it, so..............................

You may want retail rather than OEM so that you can install on a rebuilt computer in the future.

Here is what Professional has that is not available in Home Premium:

Domain join, Remote Desktop host, location aware printing, EFS, Mobility Center, Presentation Mode, Offline Folders, Group Policy (GP) controls, advanced backup, XP Mode.

Thank you very much for the info on Pro being no more secure. That's my main concern, since I won't be doing any type of networking which Pro offers.

BUT, I'd like to save money by going OEM. I'm just a home user, not a builder, so I'd never be installing it on any other computer. And I don't mind not having any MS support. Could I truly, legally use OEM in my case, just a simple home user? (All of that is if WGA changes their mind and does not give me the victim discount on retail.)

Yes, you can use OEM---but if you have parts failures in the future and replace those parts, you may have trouble re-activating after you replace the failed parts. If you buy retail, you aren't likely to have those issues. Take your pick. You may have parts failures or you may not. And you may or may not be willing to buy another OEM license when needed.

Gotcha. I'm glad graphics was mentioned, because the onboard graphics with this shop-build are not too good. I may indeed one day before that long get a card, or within a couple years upgrade from 4GB of RAM. Thanks for the word of caution. I would have thought just clone the hard drive as soon as I installed 7, and use the clone in the same computer if the first hard drive ever failed. I didn't think about the OS and the hardware being intertwined.

Sounds like I should go with Home Premium retail from the WGA victim people instead of buying OEM Pro, if everybody is sure that Pro is no more secure or stable, and it sounds indeed like Home is just fine. Thanks a lot. I'm very glad to have found this forum!

PS - If I should start a different thread for this, please let me know, but when I do my new install, will I need to get drivers for my MOBO, etc? Thanks very much.

You should go to the mothererboard manufacturer's web site and download whatever drivers you might need.

Those drivers may be newer than any you may have on a disc that came with the motherboard.

If you have an Intel processor, install the Intel chipset drivers immediately after Windows and before other drivers.

Yes, you should probably start another thread with additional questions, now or later.

Thanks a lot. I'll start a new thread. I'm so upset over being victimized that I'm kinda not real together right now. All your wisdom is much appreciated!