Need Help Purchasing Windows 7
Hey guys,
I've had an iMac for about a year now. Absolutely love it, but unfortunately many game developers choose to ignore the mac market which I understand because most Mac gamers use bootcamp + windows.
Anyways, with all the awesome games coming out this holiday season I figured its finally time to buy windows 7. I've been looking around and it seems most retailers sell Windows 7 Home Edition for 199.99.
On e-bay there are many sales for ~ $90, but i'm not sure if thats a rip off. Also whats the difference between OEM and non? I understand that the cheaper upgrade versions are if you are upgrading from a previous windows operating system.
Ultimately, I really want to know where to get Windows 7 for the best price. (64bit i believe)
I've had an iMac for about a year now. Absolutely love it, but unfortunately many game developers choose to ignore the mac market which I understand because most Mac gamers use bootcamp + windows.
Anyways, with all the awesome games coming out this holiday season I figured its finally time to buy windows 7. I've been looking around and it seems most retailers sell Windows 7 Home Edition for 199.99.
On e-bay there are many sales for ~ $90, but i'm not sure if thats a rip off. Also whats the difference between OEM and non? I understand that the cheaper upgrade versions are if you are upgrading from a previous windows operating system.
Ultimately, I really want to know where to get Windows 7 for the best price. (64bit i believe)
Comments
Also whats the difference between OEM and non? I understand that the cheaper upgrade versions are if you are upgrading from a previous windows operating system.
Ultimately, I really want to know where to get Windows 7 for the best price. (64bit i believe)
OEM versions are supposed to be shipped along with a computer kind of like the version of OS X that used to ship with the machine. With OS X, the version that shipped with the machine was tied to that model of computer. With Windows, the version is tied to the machine it's installed on so you're only supposed to use it once and can't (in theory) use it on any machine you buy in future. Those discs can be bought for under $100:
http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Premiu...pr_product_top
Because of the nature of computers though, there are occasions when you need a logic board change or whatever and apparently you can phone Redmond to get another code without buying another copy. It would just be a bit of a nuisance if you wanted to install it on a virtual machine like Parallels or VMWare or possibly even try to run Bootcamp using one of those apps as it will detect a hardware change.
If it's just for games and you don't plan on upgrading often or using the install disc a lot, the cheaper OEM should be ok.