System Name | My PC |
---|---|
Processor | i7 4790k @4.4ghz |
Motherboard | Gigabyte z97m-d3h |
Cooling | Corsair H105 |
Memory | 4x4GB Corsair Dominator Platinum 2133-9-11-11-31-1T |
Video Card(s) | GTX970 Stric oc |
Storage | Samsung 840Pro 512GB |
Display(s) | Asus ROG SWIFT |
Case | Lian Li 359 |
Audio Device(s) | Denon DA-300USB / Denon AH-D5000 |
Power Supply | Corsair AX860 |
Mouse | Roccat Kone Pure Optical |
Keyboard | Corsair K70 |
Software | Win10 64-bit home |
Processor | Intel Core i7 10850K@5.2GHz |
---|---|
Motherboard | AsRock Z470 Taichi |
Cooling | Corsair H115i Pro w/ Noctua NF-A14 Fans |
Memory | 32GB DDR4-3600 |
Video Card(s) | RTX 2070 Super |
Storage | 500GB SX8200 Pro + 8TB with 1TB SSD Cache |
Display(s) | Acer Nitro VG280K 4K 28" |
Case | Fractal Design Define S |
Audio Device(s) | Onboard is good enough for me |
Power Supply | eVGA SuperNOVA 1000w G3 |
Software | Windows 10 Pro x64 |
Basically I am confused as to whether its ok to use an OEM version for my own personal use on my PC system or if I have to use a retail version. Read so many different things on the subject I am confused.
System Name | Rocinante |
---|---|
Processor | I9 14900KS |
Motherboard | EVGA z690 Dark KINGPIN (modded BIOS) |
Cooling | EK-AIO Elite 360 D-RGB |
Memory | 64GB Gskill Trident Z5 DDR5 6000 @6400 |
Video Card(s) | MSI SUPRIM Liquid X 4090 |
Storage | 1x 500GB 980 Pro | 1x 1TB 980 Pro | 1x 8TB Corsair MP400 |
Display(s) | Odyssey OLED G9 G95SC |
Case | Lian Li o11 Evo Dynamic White |
Audio Device(s) | Moondrop S8's on Schiit Hel 2e |
Power Supply | Bequiet! Power Pro 12 1500w |
Mouse | Lamzu Atlantis mini (White) |
Keyboard | Monsgeek M3 Lavender, Akko Crystal Blues |
VR HMD | Quest 3 |
Software | Windows 11 |
Benchmark Scores | I dont have time for that. |
It is perfectly fine to use the OEM version on your own personal computer. You just won't have any support for Microsoft, the OEM that install the software is supposed to support it. So if you install it, you become the OEM, and have to support it yourself. That that the lack of support is a big deal, these forums will have that covered probably better than Microsoft can.
Also, know that you can't transfer your OEM copy to another computer if you ever switch to a new computer, legally you're supposed to buy a new copy. The retail version can be transferred to a different computer.
System Name | Juliette // HTPC |
---|---|
Processor | Intel i7 9700K // AMD Ryzen 5 5600G |
Motherboard | ASUS Prime Z390X-A // ASRock B550 ITX-AC |
Cooling | Noctua NH-U12 Black // Stock |
Memory | Corsair DDR4 3600 32gb //G.SKILL Trident Z Royal Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 3600 |
Video Card(s) | ASUS RTX4070 OC// GTX 1650 |
Storage | Samsung 970 EVO NVMe 1Tb, Intel 665p Series M.2 2280 1TB // Samsung 1Tb SSD |
Display(s) | ASUS VP348QGL 34" Quad HD 3440 x 1440 // 55" LG 4K SK8000 Series |
Case | Seasonic SYNCRO Q7// Silverstone Granada GD05 |
Audio Device(s) | Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 // HDMI to Samsung HW-R650 sound bar |
Power Supply | Seasonic SYNCRO 750 W // CORSAIR Vengeance 650M |
Mouse | Cooler Master MM710 53G |
Keyboard | Logitech 920-009300 G512 SE |
Software | Windows 10 Pro // Windows 10 Pro |
but if i changed my mobo and accidentally tried activqating it on the "new" system their isnt any kind of hidden hardware lock in 8?
System Name | Black MC in Tokyo |
---|---|
Processor | Ryzen 5 5600 |
Motherboard | Asrock B450M-HDV |
Cooling | Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2 |
Memory | 2 x 16GB Kingston Fury 3400mhz |
Video Card(s) | XFX 6950XT Speedster MERC 319 |
Storage | Kingston A400 240GB | WD Black SN750 2TB |WD Blue 1TB x 2 | Toshiba P300 2TB | Seagate Expansion 8TB |
Display(s) | Samsung U32J590U 4K + BenQ GL2450HT 1080p |
Case | Fractal Design Define R4 |
Audio Device(s) | Line6 UX1 + some headphones, Nektar SE61 keyboard |
Power Supply | Corsair RM850x v3 |
Mouse | Logitech G602 |
Keyboard | Cherry MX Board 1.0 TKL Brown |
VR HMD | Acer Mixed Reality Headset |
Software | Windows 10 Pro |
Benchmark Scores | Rimworld 4K ready! |
Processor | Intel Core i7 10850K@5.2GHz |
---|---|
Motherboard | AsRock Z470 Taichi |
Cooling | Corsair H115i Pro w/ Noctua NF-A14 Fans |
Memory | 32GB DDR4-3600 |
Video Card(s) | RTX 2070 Super |
Storage | 500GB SX8200 Pro + 8TB with 1TB SSD Cache |
Display(s) | Acer Nitro VG280K 4K 28" |
Case | Fractal Design Define S |
Audio Device(s) | Onboard is good enough for me |
Power Supply | eVGA SuperNOVA 1000w G3 |
Software | Windows 10 Pro x64 |
but if i changed my mobo and accidentally tried activqating it on the "new" system their isnt any kind of hidden hardware lock in 8?
No, it will work. "Legally" you cant transfer but it will work. I have changed every part in my PC twice over and I have OEM. Activation always works without issue. OEM is the way to go. You just cant call MS for questions, you have to talk to yourself. Which I'm ok with
System Name | Quantumville™ |
---|---|
Processor | Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz |
Motherboard | Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 |
Cooling | Noctua NH-D14 |
Memory | 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz) |
Video Card(s) | MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio |
Storage | Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB |
Display(s) | ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible) |
Case | Cooler Master HAF 922 |
Audio Device(s) | Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe |
Power Supply | Corsair AX1600i |
Mouse | Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow |
Keyboard | Yes |
Software | Windows 10 Pro 64-bit |
System Name | Apollo |
---|---|
Processor | Intel Core i9 9880H |
Motherboard | Some proprietary Apple thing. |
Memory | 64GB DDR4-2667 |
Video Card(s) | AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, 8GB HBM2 |
Storage | 1TB Apple NVMe, 4TB External |
Display(s) | Laptop @ 3072x1920 + 2x LG 5k Ultrafine TB3 displays |
Case | MacBook Pro (16", 2019) |
Audio Device(s) | AirPods Pro, Sennheiser HD 380s w/ FIIO Alpen 2, or Logitech 2.1 Speakers |
Power Supply | 96w Power Adapter |
Mouse | Logitech MX Master 3 |
Keyboard | Logitech G915, GL Clicky |
Software | MacOS 12.1 |
Sort of, it might not activate via the online activation process, but you have to call to activate it.
I have had it not activate via the online method, but calling to activate usually works. Though I did finally exhaust one of my Win7 keys to the point that they blacklisted it and wouldn't even activate it over the phone.
System Name | Black MC in Tokyo |
---|---|
Processor | Ryzen 5 5600 |
Motherboard | Asrock B450M-HDV |
Cooling | Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2 |
Memory | 2 x 16GB Kingston Fury 3400mhz |
Video Card(s) | XFX 6950XT Speedster MERC 319 |
Storage | Kingston A400 240GB | WD Black SN750 2TB |WD Blue 1TB x 2 | Toshiba P300 2TB | Seagate Expansion 8TB |
Display(s) | Samsung U32J590U 4K + BenQ GL2450HT 1080p |
Case | Fractal Design Define R4 |
Audio Device(s) | Line6 UX1 + some headphones, Nektar SE61 keyboard |
Power Supply | Corsair RM850x v3 |
Mouse | Logitech G602 |
Keyboard | Cherry MX Board 1.0 TKL Brown |
VR HMD | Acer Mixed Reality Headset |
Software | Windows 10 Pro |
Benchmark Scores | Rimworld 4K ready! |
+1: I've known this process oh so well. More often than not you will need to talk to someone because the hardware is activated on different hardware. Occasionally you will get a key that will activate multiple times, but you have to remember that even though it works, M$ is watching the activations so if there are suddenly a lot of activations they'll invalidate the key.
System Name | Apollo |
---|---|
Processor | Intel Core i9 9880H |
Motherboard | Some proprietary Apple thing. |
Memory | 64GB DDR4-2667 |
Video Card(s) | AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, 8GB HBM2 |
Storage | 1TB Apple NVMe, 4TB External |
Display(s) | Laptop @ 3072x1920 + 2x LG 5k Ultrafine TB3 displays |
Case | MacBook Pro (16", 2019) |
Audio Device(s) | AirPods Pro, Sennheiser HD 380s w/ FIIO Alpen 2, or Logitech 2.1 Speakers |
Power Supply | 96w Power Adapter |
Mouse | Logitech MX Master 3 |
Keyboard | Logitech G915, GL Clicky |
Software | MacOS 12.1 |
And if they are doing their job they wouldnt help you.
System Name | Black MC in Tokyo |
---|---|
Processor | Ryzen 5 5600 |
Motherboard | Asrock B450M-HDV |
Cooling | Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2 |
Memory | 2 x 16GB Kingston Fury 3400mhz |
Video Card(s) | XFX 6950XT Speedster MERC 319 |
Storage | Kingston A400 240GB | WD Black SN750 2TB |WD Blue 1TB x 2 | Toshiba P300 2TB | Seagate Expansion 8TB |
Display(s) | Samsung U32J590U 4K + BenQ GL2450HT 1080p |
Case | Fractal Design Define R4 |
Audio Device(s) | Line6 UX1 + some headphones, Nektar SE61 keyboard |
Power Supply | Corsair RM850x v3 |
Mouse | Logitech G602 |
Keyboard | Cherry MX Board 1.0 TKL Brown |
VR HMD | Acer Mixed Reality Headset |
Software | Windows 10 Pro |
Benchmark Scores | Rimworld 4K ready! |
Sure, a lot of them fudge it, but I've had them reset it so it will activate on the new hardware. The catch is that it will stop working on the hardware that it was activated for. Back in the days of XP it was a lot more like that where they didn't care and just activated just about everything. IIRC M$'s EULA lets you transfer keys but not use them on multiple machines for both retail and oem keys.
System Name | Apollo |
---|---|
Processor | Intel Core i9 9880H |
Motherboard | Some proprietary Apple thing. |
Memory | 64GB DDR4-2667 |
Video Card(s) | AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, 8GB HBM2 |
Storage | 1TB Apple NVMe, 4TB External |
Display(s) | Laptop @ 3072x1920 + 2x LG 5k Ultrafine TB3 displays |
Case | MacBook Pro (16", 2019) |
Audio Device(s) | AirPods Pro, Sennheiser HD 380s w/ FIIO Alpen 2, or Logitech 2.1 Speakers |
Power Supply | 96w Power Adapter |
Mouse | Logitech MX Master 3 |
Keyboard | Logitech G915, GL Clicky |
Software | MacOS 12.1 |
And I still maintain using the term "M$" should be considered trolling.