I am half way to assembly my new computer, I did not by any operating system jet. Could anyone tell me, what desadvantage I have to face if I purchase VISTA OEM rather than the Retail one! I mean is there any shortage on hardware support or such? Furthermore what is the different between 32bit or 64bit version!! Thanks in advance!
OEM lives and dies with the machine, you can't transfer it to a new computer at a later date without jumping through a lot of hoops. Vista's lifespan is looking like a new computer might outlive it (fast becoming Windows ME II), so OEM is probably a better idea if you want to limp through until the next version. I think virtualization is a no-no as well if you were at all considering it. Unless you are doing a lot of things that rely heavily on complex math (such as audio/video conversions) and have the programs specifically compiled to take full advantage of it, you probably won't notice much of a difference. You might in fact find driver support lagging on 64 bit if anything. Have you ever played around with Linux? You might be pleasantly surprised at how far it has evolved the last few years, and save yourself a fair few bucks if you weren't going to use it as a gaming rig.
