WIN 7 PRO or HOME

[Thomas Roell]

I am running Win7 PRO, my wife Win7 Home Premium. The only real difference I could see was the XP Mode via the Virtual Machine. I needed that a few times for ancient games my younger kiddos like to play. Other than this I have not really found a difference worth a cent.

[Stephen Mann]

Home Premium is really all you need. The main difference is enterprise networking options that the home or small-office user would never need. You can add the XP simulation to any version (except starter) with a download from Microsoft:

https://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx

Steve Mann
MannMade Digital Video
http://www.mmdv.com

[Ted Snow]

Thanks Thomas. It was my understanding with XP that the PRO edition had more features aimed at online / server stuff. And was just curious if this was similar with WIN 7. Having stuff you don’t need sometimes can hinder more than help.

Since this will be primarily for editing only I would rather not have anything that will hinder the machine. More is not always better.

Thanks again.

[Ted Snow]

Thanks Stephen…you guys have answered my question.

[John Rofrano]

The really big difference is that Microsoft artificially limits the amount of memory you can use in the various versions. The limits are:

Windows 7 Ultimate / Enterprise / Professional = 192 GB
Windows 7 Home Premium = 16 GB
Windows 7 Home Basic = 8 GB
Windows 7 Starter = 2 GB

Since you are building a PC with 16GB of memory, if you choose Windows 7 Home Premium that is all the memory you can ever have. If you want to move to 24GB, for example, you’ll need to upgrade to at least Windows 7 Professional.

It’s also important to note that Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate allow for two physical processors. Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, and Home Premium will recognize only one physical processor. This is regardless of the amount of cores the processor has. Since you only have one physical processor these is no concern right now. It you moved to a new motherboard in the future with dual processors you would need to upgrade to at least Windows 7 Professional.

Just something to consider.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[Jeff Schroeder]

I would personally prefer a board with triple channel memory and I would load it up with at least 24 GB. With todays prices on memory it’s not really that big of a big price increase. This would force you into Win7Pro at a minimum. Again not a big leap. But you have chosen a really nice processor, an unlocked Sandy bridge. So give it some room to run.

Jeff

http://www.narrowroadmedia.com

[Al Bergstein]

You guys all missed the best reason to upgrade to PRO. There is no support for RAID in HOME versions. I know, because I just dealt with this TODAY. I installed an OWC dual drive enclosure and it would not allow me to create a RAID 1 on it. I did a lot of checking on the Net, and yes, it’s true. You need PRO or Ultimate to get support for RAID. I upgraded the system, and it allowed me to create a RAID.

So buy the PRO version, you’ll need it sooner or later.

I now have a very quiet and fast RAID 1 array, and am presently moving all raw footage onto it. Windows 7 is great. Now if we can only get Vegas to adopt the Mercury engine, I’ll have no reason to move to Premier.

Alf

[Ted Snow]

Thanks John…this is stuff I did not know. Although I feel that I am building a very stable workhorse (by today’s standards) we all know very well how fast this stuff gets outdated and obsolete. So all things considered, looks like it might well be worth going with at least PRO.

I suppose it also makes sense to go ahead and get the full retail version. From what I’ve read, the OEM version will only allow one installation (even if your computer crashes and is no longer usable). To me that would be kind of a rip off…buying an OS and not being able to re-use it even after a fatal crash. I read this on a software retailer’s description of the different versions…Full Retail, OEM, DVD+key, etc.

Thanks for everyone’s input.

[John Rofrano]

[Al Bergstein] “There is no support for RAID in HOME versions. I know, because I just dealt with this TODAY. I installed an OWC dual drive enclosure and it would not allow me to create a RAID 1 on it. I did a lot of checking on the Net, and yes, it’s true. You need PRO or Ultimate to get support for RAID. I upgraded the system, and it allowed me to create a RAID.”

I would never use the OS to create a RAID because it is specific to that OS. If you need to dual boot with XP or use Linux or have a crash and need to use a 3rd party boot disk to recover your PC, the RAID will not be seen because it is seen in Windows only.

I use Windows 7 Home Premium and I have a RAID 0 which I defined in my RAID controller so that every OS on my PC sees the RAID and can use the RAID. So IMHO, RAID is not a reason to buy Pro. You don’t need Pro to use RAID.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[John Rofrano]

[Ted Snow] “To me that would be kind of a rip off…buying an OS and not being able to re-use it even after a fatal crash.. I read this on a software retailer’s description of the different versions…Full Retail, OEM, DVD+key, etc.”

That’s not entirely true. I have never bought anything but the OEM version. As an OEM you are allowed to create a recover disc for your customers to re-install the OS in case of a crash so I would not be afraid to buy the OEM version. You can continue using it as you upgrade the PC. You just need to buy a new license if you build a new PC and keep using the old one, but that’s the same as the retail version. So don’t be afraid to buy the OEM version. If you are the system builder, you can use the OEM version for your system.

What OEM really means is you can’t call Microsoft for support. You are the support as the OEM. If you call Microsoft, as soon as you give them the license key and they see it’s an OEM key they tell you to call the OEM (which is you). I have never had Microsoft solve a problem for me so I have no need for their “support”. That’s the real difference. If you want to be able to call Microsoft for help, then you should buy the retail version.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com