I need to buy a new OS . Given that Vista is still in beta, I have decided to buy XP Professional. Buying OEM is certainly the cheaper route to go, but then do I give anything up? What would motivate me to spend the extra money on retail?

Thanks for the help.

bg04

You will not give up anything buying an XP Pro OEM. OEM OS's are made available to PC builders at a lower cost to help raise the profit margin for the builders.

Did you see this?

An Explanation of OEM, Upgrade, Academic, & Full Versions of Software

Thanks for the replies. I was in my local computer shop and I asked the guy about it. My real issue is that I have a laptop and a desktop that I want to reformat. He told me that I would have to buy 2 copies of XP, so that each would work properly with regards to updates and such. Is this the case? I mean, that's a real way for Microsoft to put the screws to consumers if it is!


Thanks
bg04

Yep. M$ has it set so that your computer will be recognized along with your copy of XP, if you transfer this to another computer M$ it will not recognize it and won't allow updates.

You should be able to puchase a corpoate version of Windows Xp that only requires one key to install and be legit. the question is is it going to be worth it. i couldnt find any info on XP Corporate so i dont know

i am thinking you want to upgrade to vista from my assumptions in your first post...so i say go for OEM and then get vista after..you save more money