buying windows 7. for brand new computer build..What is OEM and what is Retail?

B

Btf18

New Member
Hi there, I'm building a new computer, and i'm buying windows 7 home premium for it, and i can get it (OEM) for $145 New Zealand dollars, or (Retail) for $300 New Zealand Dollars. Now why would i buy retail and what is the difference? What is OEM? What is retail? I do not have an operating system. Thanks :-)
 
The difference is OEM doesn't come with any manuals or support, YOU provide the support. The retail OS has support from microsoft and its possible to install on more than one system but NOT at the same time, it must be uninstalled from previous machine before it can be installed on new machine. The OEM once installed is attached to the mobo its installed on. So say the motherboard blows up and you can't purchase the same one, you might have a problem getting the oem reactivated as to where the retail you won't.
 
Additionally the OEM version is supposed to be purchased with hardware but the definition of hardware is rather vague and many sellers don't insist that you buy both (even though they should).
 
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