Hardware Question

Having the OS installation software on a thumb drive is actually very convenient and data transfer is fast. MS almost always has two license types for of every variant of Windows, OEM and retail. The difference is in the number of installations you can perform. OEM licenses will end up serialized to the motherboard of the computer in which it is installed. Something happens to the motherboard and you have to replace it, you may end up purchasing Windows again. The retail license does not have this limitation, it is serialized to the owner. Only one retail license/installation is allowed at any given time, but should you have to replace the motherboard, you can install and register it again with MS. Other than that, there is no difference between OEM and retail.
 
stansdds said:
Something happens to the motherboard and you have to replace it, you may end up purchasing Windows again.
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That's one thing that both Dell has going for it. Every MoBo has a license burned in, so the only thing you need to worry about is if you have encryption activated. If you have Pro or better, BitLocker can be suspended prior to replacing the board, but with Home, you have to fully decrypt the drive or you'll be going online for the 48 digit recovery key. Of course, commercial users (read: your corporate IT department) would just toss it into the reimage pile if it booted into the BitLocker recovery screen. The only tricky part is on the first boot - there's a screen that prompts you to input the "Service Tag" (serial # to the rest of the world), and you only have one shot to get it right. Get it wrong, and you're ordering another MoBo! :banghead:
 
Even with the retail version, I ran into Windows 7 licensing issues in the past when updating the hardware on my older computers. I could only reinstall so many times before MS charged you for a new serial number. Recovery from a HD crash counted as a reinstall. My original XP 7 install goes back to 2009 so a lot has happened along the way.

Tommy
 
I would steer clear of HP, Dell and Alienware as they use mostly proprietary parts, meaning you can't buy off the shelf components to upgrade. You're pretty much locked into their system. Plus they really aren't put together very well. If you want a pre-built unit this might be one to consider:

https://maingear.com/vybe/
Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VVC1NOgqeg

Or

https://www.amazon.com/Skytech-Chro...3265570&sprefix=skytech+c,aps,206&sr=8-4&th=1
Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYyBeYW4FX4
 
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