OEM Vista?

[Xarath]

I'm building my gaming PC, and I was trying to make up my mind about an operating system. I've decided that Vista is the way to go, so now I need to decide whether or not to pick up the OEM version or not. I'm only a little familiar with OEM versions of Vista. If I understand correctly, they don't come with any support or warranties, they only come in either 32 bit or 64 bit, and they are linked to the motherboard they are installed on.

I don't have very much money to spend on my OS, so I'm probably going to have to buy the OEM version if possible. What do you guys suggest? Also, I have a few questions:

1. 32 or 64 bit? I'm using my PC as a gaming PC, but I've heard 64 bit isn't really necessary at all and is probably not worth it for at least a few more years.

2. What other disadvantages are there to OEM Vista? Should I just shell out for the normal consumer edition, or not?

[Force Flow]

The retal versions are the ones that technically can't be transferred. OEM versions can.

Right, OEM comes with no support and without a pretty box.

32 bit has the 3.5 GB RAM limitation.

It would not be wise to try to upgrade from 32 bit to 64 bit if you wanted to do so later. A fresh install would be better.

[Petef56]

Originally Posted by Xarath 2. What other disadvantages are there to OEM Vista? Should I just shell out for the normal consumer edition, or not?

I say go with the retail/consumer edition becasue it has re-sale value or you can use it on another one of your own PCs in the future.

Also know that certain repairs to corrupted registry files will not work on the OEM version.

---pete---

[not important]

Originally Posted by Petef56 Also know that certain repairs to corrupted registry files will not work on the OEM version. ---pete---

I would have to question that statement. To the best of my knowledge, the OEM version is the same as the retail version other than the packaging.

[shadowpr]

OEM is the way to go in my opinion.

As for 32 or 64, I personally went with 64 cause I went with 4gb of ram. Just make sure your hardware has 64bit drivers available, and that the programs you want to use (if older) will work.

[Force Flow]

Originally Posted by Petef56 Also know that certain repairs to corrupted registry files will not work on the OEM version.

First I've ever heard of this.

If you've trashed you registry with a 3rd party app, sure, you may be up the creek no matter what version you used.

A Windows repair will work on any version, so long as you have a disc that matches your version and service pack.

[amdalex]

Get the OEM version, its cheaper. There is not any difference in the operating system between OEM and retail only packaging. I would get 64 bit because you can have more than 3.5gb of RAM.

[Petef56]

Originally Posted by Force Flow First I've ever heard of this.

I'm speaking about recovery of the 5 registry hive files. The article below is a reference to WinXP, but since Vista still uses the same basic registry files, I'm assuming the same applies to Vista. ---pete---


Source:
How to recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from starting
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=307545

Excerpt:
Warning Do not use the procedure that is described in this article if your computer has an OEM-installed operating system. The system hive on OEM installations creates passwords and user accounts that did not exist previously. If you use the procedure that is described in this article, you may not be able to log back into the recovery console to restore the original registry hives.