Building a new comuter, having a major OS Dilemma!!

[rocknje]

Hello everybody,

I am having a delema here that I need to figure out if the Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders w/ Tech Guarantee - OEM for $109.99, includes a free Windows 7 upgrade coupon . http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116677

Reason why I purchased this, even though Win7 is coming out in a little over two months, is because I am building a brand new computer and since I am currently using Windows XP Professional 32bit SP3, I would need to upgrade to a 64bit to take advantage of all 6GB of RAM that I purchased.

Does this really come with the Windows 7 Upgrade coupon when it comes out in the Fall? Has anybody ordered this that can give me some feedback?

Do you guys think I should stick with this? If not, I can still get my money back, because I have all my computer components being sent to a UPS Center for pick up and since it is being delivered by another carrier they will not accept the package and will be sent back to newegg. So, I can still get my refund. If you think I should, I will attempt to get it redelivered.

Here is a disclaimer I found on another website. Is this accurate?

Disclaimer: This OEM software is intended for system builders and cannot be transferred to another PC once it is installed. This software is for New and/or Fresh Installation and is NOT Retail nor Upgrade product. The purchaser of this software is required to comply with the terms of the System Builder license, including the responsibility of providing all end user support for the software

I am not sure if I am misunderstanding or not, but does this mean I can't upgrade to another version or does this mean that this is a full version and this cd is not used as an upgrade?


Here is a few options I am thinking about right now.

A. Win 7 RC 64 bit, but then pay full price for the Home Premium full version $199
B. Win 7 RC 64 bit, but then reinstall my XP Professional and then pay upgrade price for the Home Premium $119
C. Purchase full or upgradeable XP Professional 64 bit
D. Stick with Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders w/ Tech Guarantee - OEM $109 and if comes with coupon then upgrade to win7 for free when comes out.


Since I have XP Professional, if I wanted to upgrade from XP Professional, do I have to stick with, lets say, Windows 7 Professional or can I upgrade from XP Pro with any version like Window 7 Home Premium?


Final one here. How has Windows 7 RC been? Any problems? Does, most software work on it with any problems? What about older software, any problems with Win 7 RC?

Thank you very much for your help.

 

[hunter315]

The RC has been pretty good to me so far, only issues i have encountered are a couple of ancient games that wanted DX9, other than that no driver issues or anything of the sort everything is quite stable. I would suggest getting the RC and then buying home premium because even if vista comes with a coupon it will cost you more to buy vista then upgrade than to just buy home premium.

 

[rocknje]

Here is a link http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2009/02/05/windows_xp_7_vista_upgrade/ that tells about upgrading from XP. Let me know what you guys think abou this.

 

[rocknje]

The RC has been pretty good to me so far, only issues i have encountered are a couple of ancient games that wanted DX9, other than that no driver issues or anything of the sort everything is quite stable. I would suggest getting the RC and then buying home premium because even if vista comes with a coupon it will cost you more to buy vista then upgrade than to just buy home premium.

Thank you for your reply. Good to hear about Win 7 RC. Which home premium, full or upgrade?

Now if that article is true from what I linked above, then I think it would be better to get the upgrade Home premium or Professional depending on if I can upgrade from XP Professional to Windows 7 Home Premium.

If I were to get that coupon, how will it cost me more if I am spending $109 plus free upgrade and the upgrade to Windows 7 is $120?

 

[hunter315]

If it comes with the free upgrade then you are all set and i would hang onto that, if its just a coupon that reduces the price of the upgrade then it may not be worth it. But if the upgrade is going to be free keep the vista.

 

[rocknje]

If it comes with the free upgrade then you are all set and i would hang onto that, if its just a coupon that reduces the price of the upgrade then it may not be worth it. But if the upgrade is going to be free keep the vista.

Thank you for your answer, but I am still leaning on getting the RC version now. Paying an extra 11 dollars is not a big deal and you never know the software might have an introductory sale when it comes out.

Will see what replies I get. Not a final decision.

 

[rocknje]

Maybe you can answer this one. The promotion price that was held for bit where the Home Premium was for $49.99 and the Professional was for $99 etc and you had to July 11th to purchase it. This is kind of an interesting situation.

From Amazon.com, before the promotion expired, I put a copy of the Professional version into the shopping cart and didn't purchase yet. I wasn't sure if I was going to buy or not. When I finally decided to get it not realizing the time, stupid me, It was about 12:15am the 12th. Newegg and everywhere else stopped the promotion. I happened to go back to Amazon.com and I saw that I had the Professional still in the cart at the same price of $99 and then purchased it. The reciept I received from the pre-order says $99.99. Also, in my account information it shows that I purchased it as well for $99. When I sent an email to the customer service seeing if I can downgrade to the Home Premium they said this:

Your order didn't meet all of the qualifications for receiving this promotional offer. Specifically, the orders had to be placed between June 26, 2009 to July 11, 2009 for the Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade

The order in question was placed on Jul 12, 2009 for the Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Upgrade.

Restrictions for promotional offers vary, so I recommend reading the "fine print" details.

I hope this helps. We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Since I purchased this pre-order at $99 can they switch the price on me or is this a done deal for the price I got? I would think this is a done deal since I clicked the order button and I have an offical receipt that I bought it for $99.

If I can still get it at this price then this will help in my decision process

 

[brendano257]

D, There is no reason not to. Windows 7 has great driver coverage already, 64-bit has very few to no compatibility issues, and has worked great on anything I've seen it run on so far. If it says you get a free copy, you get a free copy, I think you've over thought this wayyy too much. OEM means your not permitted to resell it to anyone without the proper hardware/system accompanying it. If your building your own system OEM is the way to go, hands down.

 

[DataCabbitKSW]

Well first of all, the upgrade version of Windows 7 will work with Windows 2000, XP or Vista. However, only with Vista are you able to do an "In-Place" upgrade where you keep all your settings and program installs. The other versions need to do either an "assisted upgrade" (where it helps you back up and restore backups on top of Windows 7 once you upgrade), or a clean install. The upgrade version just requires an activated version of the previously mentioned OS. Recently they allowed for using the RC also, but upgrading that way won't work in the future (should you need to reinstall).Really the place you want to go if you want the straight scoop is either reading the post on General Availability and pricing on the Windows Team Blog: http://tinyurl.com/ldnwcy , or try asking over on Microsoft's official Windows 7 RC Support Forum located here http://tinyurl.com/9fhdl5 .