Hey folks, Well I'm still running Windows 7 on my gaming PC, still going strong since I downloaded the release candidate back in 2009. I'm familiar with Windows 10 as I've been using it at work for years now, and on other devices. I'm about to pull the trigger on Windows 10 and £120 is very reasonable for Home edition. Is it really worth shelling out an extra £100 for the Pro edition? It seems a lot of extra money for features that I don't think I'll use... but I'm not sure. Would value any input.
isnt it still free to upgrade with the media creation tool? worth a punt, you can always roll back if not. Personally I run pro on all my machines... but home is fine for most people. Whatever you do, dont go W10S!
I guess you don't have your windows 7 key otherwise you could upgrade for free. Not sure but thought you could download and install for free, it was activation that required the key. In either case grey market keys can be found on auction sites for pence or more "reputable" resellers like G2A for a lot less than the usual single licence cost.
My wife got an educational version of Windows 7 (I think it was called "N" or something) which I've been using since 2010. I doubt I'd be able to upgrade, but the cost is pretty small anyways considering how long I'll likely be using the OS. I suppose if it's possible to get a cheaper activation then I may as well get Pro... and I'll steer clear of Windows 10 S.
I think Windows N is the version without Media Player. I always prefer the Pro version for the Group Policy Editor. You used to be able to get a standalone version of GPE that worked in Windows 7 Home but it doesn't work with Windows 10. I know you can do most of the things GPE does in the Registry but GPE makes it easy.
That's how much it is direct from Microsoft? Sure it can be had cheaper elsewhere but that is a legitimate price. You could also have been slightly more helpful than just dropping a LOL, like finding a link to a cheaper reputable source? On topic, I would recommend trying the upgrade path, you'll likely end up with it working and not having to shell out the money.
Also that's the price for the retail version... OEM is considerably cheaper, but obviously has drawbacks. I will see if I can upgrade from Windows 7 Ultimate N, as that would be ideal. If that doesn't work, I'll consider going down the OEM route. I just bought a 500GB M.2 SSD for the new windows install, so it should be pretty straightforward.
I got a 'grey' key off ebay for my Dad's pc which cost about £5 and it has never complained about it. I honestly think Microsoft have given up caring about enthusiasts getting cheap/free licenses as its so little revenue compared to what Dell, HP etc pay them.
To quote Bill Gates: "It’s easier for our software to compete with Linux when there’s piracy than when there’s not. Are you kidding? You can get the real thing, and you get the same price."
Update: I just installed Windows 7 Ultimate N on the new SSD, and then upgraded to Windows 10 Pro N, which has automatically activated via digital licence. I'm not sure if there are any significant drawbacks to using the "N" version of Windows 10 Pro, but I don't see any that can't be rectified with simple downloads. Thanks again for the upgrade suggestion as I'd have never considered it myself, and was about to drop lots of £££ on a retail product. All's well that ends well!
