best way to get win 8.1

threebills11

Distinguished
Dec 7, 2014
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ok,so heres my story...i am currently upgrading my comp,doing some visuals like a new case and getting an asus strix 980 ti(which im very happy about!)i currently have 16 gigs of ram and got another 16...i installed and the comp sees it,but says only 16 usable.I researched and found out that its because i have win 7 home premium(64bit) and it only supports 16 gigs.So i have to get a PRO version to support the full 32.So i figure if i have to go pro ill get win 8.1.Heres the thing,i can get win 8 upgrade for 80 buks on amazon,i see 8.1 pro for $140 other places.Amazon states you can upgrade to 8.1 from 8 for free after i have it.
So in ending the big question is should i spend the extra 60 buks to be safe? or can i get away with getting the win 8 version for $80 buks and upgrading to 8.1 for free?I thank you very much for your time and comments,if any curious i have the build below.

intel 4790k
corsair h80i water cooler
asus z97-ar mobo
kingston hyper-x fury blue- 8gigx4 1600 mhz
samsung 850 pro 128 gig(running OS)
samsung 840 pro 256 gig(x2)--(games)
western digital hdd 500 gig (system back up/pics/music)
asus strix 980 ti
corsair cx750m psu
nzxt switch 810 case (white)
corsair af 120 red led fans and logisys red cathode lights for fun! :)
 
Solution
You have: Win 7 Home 64bit
You have: 32GB RAM

You want to use the totality of your RAM. Win 8 and later can use 128GB RAM.
Yes, you can upgrade from 7 to 8, then to 8.1. Your system will remain 64bit and you can use all of your RAM.

However....your future reinstall path will be a mess. If in future you have to reinstall for whatever reason, you'd have to do that all over again
Install 7, then upgrade to 8 with whatever you buy from Amazon, then upgrade to 8.1.

Spend the little bit extra, and just buy 8.1 (or Win 10) and do a full clean install.
Next time, you won't have to go through that whole chain of brain ache.
aNY OS you get as a upgrade will only upgrade you to 32 bit you need a full copy of a 64 bit os Even if you went out and bought a 64 bit win 7 disk if you can find it you would have to format your drive and start over and install the 64 bit os then you could upgrade to win 10 later if you like. Example windows 8 home 64 bit upgrade to windows 10 home 64 bit not pro..... So you need a pro version of windows 8 or 8,1 also the win 7 pro wont work in your case I was using it as a example as a upgrade path...
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
You have: Win 7 Home 64bit
You have: 32GB RAM

You want to use the totality of your RAM. Win 8 and later can use 128GB RAM.
Yes, you can upgrade from 7 to 8, then to 8.1. Your system will remain 64bit and you can use all of your RAM.

However....your future reinstall path will be a mess. If in future you have to reinstall for whatever reason, you'd have to do that all over again
Install 7, then upgrade to 8 with whatever you buy from Amazon, then upgrade to 8.1.

Spend the little bit extra, and just buy 8.1 (or Win 10) and do a full clean install.
Next time, you won't have to go through that whole chain of brain ache.
 
Solution

threebills11

Distinguished
Dec 7, 2014
282
3
18,785
ok,i gotcha usafret,i see what youre saying,and ya that would be a big sukfart having to do all that,might be right and just spend the extra 60 buks and do a clean install.....thank you guys for the speedy responses
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator


No, you can't get Win 10 for free.
You have to either Upgrade (for free) from an existing, valid, Win 7 or 8.1 install, or buy Win 10.

Either way, it costs about the same.
It ain't 'free' on its own.