xp oem vs xp retail

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koldapu

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im building a new machine and was wondering whether i should buy the windows xp OEM or xp RETAIL (home edition)

i know oem doesnt come with manuals, ms tech support (like thats any good), and doesnt come in a fancy case like the retail, but when longhorn or win 2006 or whatever they call it comes out, will i be able to upgrade?

also, whats included in the retail box that they dont include in OEM? are there any important programs that they don't include that can't be downloaded?

lastly, it also matters when longhorn will be coming out . . . first they said 2005, then '06, now i hear '07 . . .






haha, just a couple of pics i found while surfing the net . . .

to save you 56k'ers, i'll just give the link

http://www.macminute.com/2004/06/27/tigerbanners
 
Get the OEM version. It is cheaper, and its exactly the same OS as the retail version except it doesn't have things like the manual and MS tech-support, etc. You should have no problem upgrading to Longhorn.
 
ive heard that theres 'oem' and then 'oem dsp'

is there a difference between the 2?
 
Hi,

OEM DSP stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer - Delivery Service Partner....

One thing you need to be aware of with OEM OS discs is that some, like Dell's, are BIOS locked and will only work on Dell machines. That makes the DSPs a bit more desirable in my opinion.

Check this article on the differences between the 2 OEM versions:

http://www.tek-tips.com/gfaqs.cfm/pid/779/fid/4004

Daf
 
haha, its been more than a month and a half . . . and i reread that article . . . on the bottom it says "2. You cannot upgrade the FULL OEM DSP version. When longhorn or whatever appears this will not be a qualifying license."

so, if i get a copy of xp home from newegg or zipzoomfly or whatever, i won't be able to upgrade to longhorn?
 
oh also, is there some sort of "education" discount? not for upgrades, but an oem or full version of xp home/pro for a newly built comp?
 
also, is there a good guesstimate on the esitmated release date of longhorn, because if its more than 18 months, then i'd go for xp pro
 
There is an academic version of XP, but I don't remember what it costs. Most of what I've seen is only an upgrade OEM though.
 
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