Windows Vista Home Premium OEM Questions

[london_prophet]

I'm using Windows XP OEM at the moment (I actively bought it to upgrade ME many years back).

Now I would plan to buy WVHP OEM because it's a damnsite cheaper than retail. I know I don't get microsoft warranty and support with an OEM version - I'll never use it, I use the internet to solve issues.

I plan to use it on a single system which I upgrade over the years (I'm about to dump a new mobo/ram/C2D in the next few days). On XP OEM I've never had issues with upgrading, I've just done the online registration process thing whenever I performed major hardware upgrades, will this be the same?

Aside from upgr ades will I be able to do clean installs ocasionally (I have a tendency to reformat my HDD's about once per year)?

I'm a gamer primarily, using Core2Duo CPU, do I need x32 or x64?

Anything else I should know about OEM version? (It's only £70)

Cheers

 

[insightdriver]

A gamer, as I have been lead to understand, should go with 32 bit. There are less drivers for 64 bit and gamers tend to want the bleeding edge hardware, so it would suck to get the latest and greatest video card and not be able to use it because the 64 bit driver isn't out yet.

I would go with OEM. It's cheaper and can be a clean install or upgrade over XP. It works similar to XP in making a hardware hash and going through a voting system when you chang out parts. If you end up having to call to activate you simply answer honestly that this is being used on only one computer and they will give you the activation code just like they do now for XP.

Go for it, man, it is what you want if you want Vista. Since XP has a good 5 more years of support and every game out there will still run on XP, I'd stay with it until I buy a new box with Vista already on it, if I ever go that route again.

 

[tech4808]

I wouldn't give up on the 64 bit just yet... I have it installed and running and have not had a problem finding drivers for 64 bit (software may be another issue), but since I mostly game and watch T.V. on my system, if a program doesn't support x64 then I don't really need it.

I think more and more companies are going to start getting more and more into x64 as it is the next logical step!

 

[insightdriver]

Yes, while this is true, any program written for 64 bits windows will run on 32 bit windows as well. It will only be programs written and optimized for 64 bit windows that will have any performance benefit. I have looked at the pros and cons on a lot of gamer sites and the vast majority say to stick with 32 bit windows for now. Until at least a large minority of programs are optimized for an 64 bit OS, I see no compelling reason to switch at this point.

 

[tech4808]

It is true... if you want less hassel, stick with the X86 version... less searching for support, drivers etc...

 

[insightdriver]

Let me put it this way: I can use search as easily as the next guy to find drivers. If my system has mainstream hardware in it, then likely I will be able to find drivers for the system with one caveat. If the manufacturer has not yet written a 64 bit driver for their hardware then you have no recourse at that point but to use the 32 bit driver if you can.

The bottom line is it behooves anyone contemplating whether to go to 64 or not, the driving reason would be that all the hardware in their system is supported by their manufacturers who have stable and released 64 bit drivers for them. I see no other reason, frankly for at this time, there is no performance advantage for me who is primarily an Office user, web surfer and gamer.