Win 7 OEM or Upgrade Disk

bigmck

bigmck

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I am currently running XP 32-bit OEM. I had intended to buy the Win 7 OEM, but understand that the Upgrade Disk can be used to do a clean install also. Is there any advantage to buying one over the other? If the OEM is more straight forward in the install, that would be the deciding factor for me. I have not seen any discussion on here comparing the two. This leads me to believe that the Upgrade is the way to go. Help me out on this please.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Build
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 32-Bit - Build 7600 SP1
CPU
Intel Core i3-2120 3.30Ghz
Motherboard
Asus P8Z68-V LX Intel Z68 Socket H2 ATX
Memory
Kingston 4 GB DDR3 1333 mhz
Graphics Card(s)
AMD Radeon HD6670
Sound Card
Sound Blaster Audigy SE 24-Bit
Monitor(s) Displays
Asus VE228
Screen Resolution
1440 X 900
Hard Drives
OCZ Vertex 3 120 GB Sata 3 SSD ==
Kingston SH103/S3 120 G Hyper X 120 GB SSD ==
Western Digital 500 GB Caviar Green 7200 RPM ==
PSU
Corsair CX600M == 600 Watt
Case
NZXT Apollo - Silver with Clear Side Panel
Cooling
Three 120 mm Fans
Keyboard
Microsoft Natural 4000
Mouse
Microsoft Custom Optical 3000
Internet Speed
AT&T Fiber Optic Wireless Network
Antivirus
Microsoft Security Essentials
Browser
Chrome
Other Info
120 mm Blue LED Fan -- Three Blue LED Lazer Light Sticks
The upgrade still requires an activated, qualifying OS to be installed on the computer already, before allowing you to do the clean install. The OEM, does not, but then you are subjected to the OEM licensing restrictions, which are getting foggier and foggier all the time.

http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/oem.asp
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1
CPU
Intel Core i7-2600
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD3P-B3
Memory
12 GB Patriot Extreme DDR3-1333
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia GTX 470
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell UltraSharp 2209WA
Hard Drives
OCZ Agility3 240 GB, WD5001AALS, WD7501AALS
PSU
OCZ ModStream 700W
Case
CoolerMaster HAF 912 Advanced
Cooling
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Plus
DeaconFrost said:
The upgrade still requires an activated, qualifying OS to be installed on the computer already, before allowing you to do the clean install. The OEM, does not, but then you are subjected to the OEM licensing restrictions, which are getting foggier and foggier all the time.

http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/oem.asp
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link on that article. It is a good one. I believe I will go withs the upgrade just to keep the MS Cops away from my door :D
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Build
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 32-Bit - Build 7600 SP1
CPU
Intel Core i3-2120 3.30Ghz
Motherboard
Asus P8Z68-V LX Intel Z68 Socket H2 ATX
Memory
Kingston 4 GB DDR3 1333 mhz
Graphics Card(s)
AMD Radeon HD6670
Sound Card
Sound Blaster Audigy SE 24-Bit
Monitor(s) Displays
Asus VE228
Screen Resolution
1440 X 900
Hard Drives
OCZ Vertex 3 120 GB Sata 3 SSD ==
Kingston SH103/S3 120 G Hyper X 120 GB SSD ==
Western Digital 500 GB Caviar Green 7200 RPM ==
PSU
Corsair CX600M == 600 Watt
Case
NZXT Apollo - Silver with Clear Side Panel
Cooling
Three 120 mm Fans
Keyboard
Microsoft Natural 4000
Mouse
Microsoft Custom Optical 3000
Internet Speed
AT&T Fiber Optic Wireless Network
Antivirus
Microsoft Security Essentials
Browser
Chrome
Other Info
120 mm Blue LED Fan -- Three Blue LED Lazer Light Sticks
I'd probably go the route of the OEM disc, just for the sake of doing simple clean installs, but to each his own. As far as the legality....if places like Newegg will still sell it, then I'm going to consider it legit.
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1
CPU
Intel Core i7-2600
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD3P-B3
Memory
12 GB Patriot Extreme DDR3-1333
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia GTX 470
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell UltraSharp 2209WA
Hard Drives
OCZ Agility3 240 GB, WD5001AALS, WD7501AALS
PSU
OCZ ModStream 700W
Case
CoolerMaster HAF 912 Advanced
Cooling
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Plus
DeaconFrost said:
I'd probably go the route of the OEM disc, just for the sake of doing simple clean installs, but to each his own. As far as the legality....if places like Newegg will still sell it, then I'm going to consider it legit.
Click to expand...

Is the actual process a bit more straight forward with the OEM? From what I understand with the Upgrade there are a couple more hoops to jump through to get the clean install, is that correct?
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Build
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 32-Bit - Build 7600 SP1
CPU
Intel Core i3-2120 3.30Ghz
Motherboard
Asus P8Z68-V LX Intel Z68 Socket H2 ATX
Memory
Kingston 4 GB DDR3 1333 mhz
Graphics Card(s)
AMD Radeon HD6670
Sound Card
Sound Blaster Audigy SE 24-Bit
Monitor(s) Displays
Asus VE228
Screen Resolution
1440 X 900
Hard Drives
OCZ Vertex 3 120 GB Sata 3 SSD ==
Kingston SH103/S3 120 G Hyper X 120 GB SSD ==
Western Digital 500 GB Caviar Green 7200 RPM ==
PSU
Corsair CX600M == 600 Watt
Case
NZXT Apollo - Silver with Clear Side Panel
Cooling
Three 120 mm Fans
Keyboard
Microsoft Natural 4000
Mouse
Microsoft Custom Optical 3000
Internet Speed
AT&T Fiber Optic Wireless Network
Antivirus
Microsoft Security Essentials
Browser
Chrome
Other Info
120 mm Blue LED Fan -- Three Blue LED Lazer Light Sticks
The OEM is locked to your hardware, while the Upgrade can migrate and isn't tracked except to make sure it isn't on more than one computer.
 
I wanted a clean install so I done the checkdisk and formated the C: drive . Poped in the Win 7 64 bit upgrade wnet to to repair option picked the partion and am now running Win 7. Duker
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Gateway GM 5066E
OS
win 7 pro 64 bit
CPU
Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 2.80GHz, 2799 Mhz, 2 Cores
Memory
4.5
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