Is Operating System Important?

These are the components im getting for my laptop so far.

Hard Drive
500GB SATAII 7,200RPM

Memory
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz

LCD Panel
15.6-inch WideFHD 1920x1080 (1080p) WLED

Video Card
1GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260M

Processor
Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Quad Core Processor 1.6GHz (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)

Internal Optical Drive
Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)

These are the choices for the operating systems.

Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English [Included in Price]

Genuine Windows® 7 Professional, 64bit, English [Add $130.00 or $4.00/month1]

Genuine Windows® 7 Ultimate, 64bit, English [Add $150.00 or $5.00/month1]
Alienware Recommended


All help greatly appreciated.

 

Stick with home premium. If you aren't sure or just have no clue if you will be using the "features" (and I use that term very loosely) of the other operating systems, you clearly don't need it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7_editions#Comparison_chart

 

Depends on what usage.
A business user would need the professional version cause it includes features that the home premium lacks.
The ultimate version is just the two versions combined.

For a regular user or gamer the home premium should be more than enough.

 

Home premium should be enough for a every-day user/gamer. Just make sure that you get the 64-bit!

 

Get what in 64 bit? Any Windows key can install both the 64 and 32 bit versions. The install you get when you order will come with bloatware anyway, so your an idiot not to reformat.

 

True, but they may only give the option of reinstalling the same one that was shipped with it. For example, my Dell only came with a 32-bit reinstall CD.

 

If money is not an option get the Ultimate, since it's cost is much reduced from what you'd pay if you bought it separately--Home Premium is geared for home users.

The others are business oriented, but Ultimate comes with encryption and online storage capabilities which anyone can find useful. Considering the cost, it's actually a good deal.

 

Business users don't use Ultimate, they use Enterprise (this is a joke btw)

Ok but in all seriousness, if you're asking about extra features, then already there that tells me that chances are you don't need them because if you did need them that much, you'd already know what features you'd need instead of asking about it.

The extras aren't things that will really make your life any smoother so much as they're specific extra features for specific uses.

 

I'm not so sure. I think that OP might have use for some features, maybe later in the future. I certainly have use for the features of Professional and upwards (Domain Join, Bitlocker, etc), and I'm only a fairly casual computer user.

 

I have Win7 Professional. If you're not interested in things like Remote Desktop, Bitlocker, etc, it's not worth the extra $130. You can always use the Windows Anytime Upgrade to upgrade your version later on if it really comes down to it, but for $130 I'd sooner upgrade the RAM or HDD or something.

 

I agree as well, that extra money can be invested in a more significative upgrade.

 

Watch your words. He must download 64-bit then. if he buy 32-bit version. I also know that key'll will work with both.

 

Having a use for it and genuinely needing it are 2 different things.

 

Get the ultimate on the safe side, you'll never know when you will ever going to need the function one day. People's needs change on a daily basis.

 

My sentiments exactly. It's generally a give that you will grow as you use your computer. And it's great to have those added abilities at your fingertips (rather than having to order or download them later--which may not be convenient or practicable at the time) when you do.

I think of a fixed level when I absolutely positively (or at least highly unlikely ) know it's something I'm never going to use. And what computer user would say he'll never use an encryption at some point?

 

Ultimate offers 3 things over Pro: Direct Access, Bitlocker and multi language packs.

Direct Access is most likely unneeded by most home users seeing as it's supposed to be MS' replacement to VPN connections.

Multi language pack would mostly be useful assuming you're going to end up using the OS in another language. For most users a single language is ok seeing as the actual language of input methods can be changed on the fly anyways.

Bitlocker isn't that great an encryption. Granted it's better than nothing, but if you're going to spend 520$ more over Professional(and over 150$ over HP according to the OP) solely for Bitlocker, you might as well put the money towards a more secure encryption security solution. A Goldkey for example is 30$ a key.

I suppose it's a matter of opinion, but I don't believe in maxing out stuff "just in case" otherwise my grandma would have an i7 980XM with an ATI HD5970 just to play solitaire.

 

On the other hand, a thirteen year old would come up on the limitations of a netbook in short order.

Due to this website (and a few other sources) I outgrew my current laptop's limitation in a matter of months. Before that, I was happy with my six year old hand-me-down Dell Inspiron. Who ever would have thought it?

 

It's entirely up to the person though which is the crux of the issue.

 

'Future proofing' is a pretty bad concept imo. Spending $150 on an 'upgraded' OS in the name of 'future proofing' is even worse. Spending $150 now when you think you might want to use some feature sometime in the future is dumb when you don't know when if ever you are going to use it and it is cheaper to buy the upgrade if ever the time comes when you actually do want to use it. Why spend more now on something there is a good chance you wont ever use? The only plus side to spending more money right now is in case at some point you are so desperate to have the feature that you can't wait three days for the disk to arrive in the mail and you can't be bothered to spend an hour upgrading your existing installation?

 

I take it you not taking about a warranty or insurance?

 

I think that way...but I have professional just because I use XP Mode but VirtualBox is actually better....but, whatever....

 

Why yes. How astute.

 

I completely agree.

I'm not sure if any of you have heard of Windows Anytime Upgrade, but it's really easy to just upgrade your OS without installing anything new.

 

Umm, because there are limitations no matter how old you are... You don't have to be a 13 year old gamer just to say "it's crappy".

 

Buying something "just because you may need it in the future" in regards to laptops is a bad idea. Prices in the industry consistently fall, and they fall by huge margins. What cost $1000 last year costs less than $500 today. By the time you realize you need it, it'll probably be cheaper to go out and buy it than it would have if you would have bought it in the past.

 

It most certainly is not a "bad" idea. People in the market do it all the time. However, it is a gamble--for all the reasons already mentioned.

Needless to say, sometimes your come out ahead, and sometimes you do not. My point was to give both sides of the coin and let the OP decide for himself.

 

While the issue of "future proofing" can be debated for hardware purchases, for software any arguments that are pro-"future proofing" are extremely weak due to the nature of software.

But in this case there is simply no way to come out ahead by purchasing the laptop with the OS preinstalled since the upgrade to Ultimate is painless and costs significantly less. So even if the OP planned and was even required to use features unique to Ultimate edition, he would still make out ahead by purchasing it separately.

 

Future-proofing for hardware is also generally a bad idea. Unless it's something that absolutely cannot be upgraded within 2-3 years, it's always going to be cheaper to upgrade later than to buy now.

 

Don't get me wrong, I totally agree.

 

When it comes to laptops I live by two rules:

1) Always buy the cheapest laptop with the most features you can get.

2) Never upgrade a laptop because they are appliances.

 

What?

 

This should be easy. Do you need to join a domain? Get pro/ultimate.

Otherwise get Home Premium.

 

What I meant by that is, laptop's IMO are throw away items when they break because they become outdated rather quickly. The typical life span of a laptop is between 2-3 years. That's why I live by rule # 1. I buy the lowest priced laptops with the most hardware available for that price.

When they finally break I just toss them out like I would a broken Microwave oven and get a new one, 85% of my laptops cost in the $500 range. It's another reason why I won't upgrade the HDD, CPU or GPU (if applicable). I'll take that money and spend it on a new laptop.

 

Well that was then. Nowadays, a laptop can easily reach into the several thousand dollars mark. When that is the case, I'd expect a lot more that 2 years of service. Heck, cell phones can get that. So even at $500, you should expect a bit more than you're settling for.

p.s. Since you mentioned it, my microwave is nearly 10 years old and still spins like a top! How's that for the longevity of a $130 appliance.