Technically Neweeg and others that sell OEM software are supposed to sell a piece of sofware with it(Even a cable counts). So this is why most brand names come with the OS already installed. Boutique and barebones companies sell the OS seperately for the user to install themselves sometimes or even without an OS. The difference between retail and OEM is OEM is tied to a motherboard nut microsft has been known to allow the transfer after a MB failure. Retail can be installed on multiple pcs but not used at the same time. Retail you get Micosoft support and OEM your on your own or if a manufacturer install you can get support from them.
Heres a good article
http://arstechnica.com/hardware/news/2007/01/8730.ars
I accidentally posted this on the hardware forum... twice. So please excuse me if it seems that I am spamming... I'm not =P.
So, I'm trying to build my own "rig". I've got all my components down... except for the OS. Now, I'm kinda deterred by the 200 dollar price tag... until I saw that Newegg has a preorder for an OEM version. Now, I'm really excited about this, except... it seems too good to be true. I was under the impression that OEM software usually had mandatory hardware that came along with it. Am I just blind and don't see something, or is that really Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit with no strings attached, just less than the retail copy?
So, could someone clear this up for me?

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