Windows 7 OEM vs Retail

[ThrottleJunkie]

I've had my Macbook for a couple years now and I absolutely love it. Only drawback is that I need Outlook and obviously don't have it, so I'm stuck with the old bucket of bolts downstairs in the office.

Instead of buying Microsoft Office for OSX, I've been kicking around the idea of installing Windows 7 via bootcamp. Newegg has their normal retail versions which are ridiculously overpriced (considering what we had to go through with Vista) They also sell the "OEM" versions for $100 (about $170 cheaper) which I really don't know much about.

Can someone please enlighten me and if anyone knows where to get a copy of Windows 7 for a good price please post a link.

 

[ryan97cobra]

OEM = no manual and no support from Microsoft and can only be installed on one computer.

Retail = has manual, box, and support and can be installed on another computer once it has been uninstalled from the current machine.

 

[txyaloo]

Do you have access to a .edu email address? That's the cheapest way to get a legitimate copy. Buying an OEM copy from Newegg is probably the next cheapest. They're basically the same as the retail copy other than some changes in the EULA.

 

[Sap]

I did exactly what you are proposing.

Bought OEM Windows 7 from Amazon and loaded it in bootcamp and run only windows 7 on my Macbook. No sense buying a retail copy if you don't have to, however you should affix the license sticker to the machine to make it legal, not that it really matters that much, just a requirement OEM's have.

The only issue is you should upgrade to the latest mac os so you get the latest bootcamp and thus the latest drivers for Windows 7. Its kinda a hassle to find the right driver packages if you don't.

Good luck.

 

[L8APEX]

retail has more packaging and costs more, but contains the x86 and x64 disks.
OEM copies are x86 or &64, have less packaging and are much cheaper.

Get a x64 OEM and call it a day.

 

[ThrottleJunkie]

I did exactly what you are proposing.

Bought OEM Windows 7 from Amazon and loaded it in bootcamp and run only windows 7 on my Macbook. No sense buying a retail copy if you don't have to, however you should affix the license sticker to the machine to make it legal, not that it really matters that much, just a requirement OEM's have.

The only issue is you should upgrade to the latest mac os so you get the latest bootcamp and thus the latest drivers for Windows 7. Its kinda a hassle to find the right driver packages if you don't.

Good luck.

I have Snow Leopard so I believe I'm up to date. Looks like I'm gonna order a copy from newegg soon. How much of your hard drive are you guys partitioning for Windows 7? Obviously it varies depending on which OS gets used more. I have plenty free but not sure how much to throw at it.

 

[CobraBob]

I usually buy OEM software whenever possible. I've saved a lot of money over the years doing so.

 

[hunterp]

The downside you could run into is re-activating if you ever need to re-install it because it thinks you're "moving" the software to a different machine.

 

[txyaloo]

The downside you could run into is re-activating if you ever need to re-install it because it thinks you're "moving" the software to a different machine.

If it won't activate over the internet, all you have to do is call Microsoft and have them activate it over the phone. It takes less than 2 minutes to do normally.