What is the cheapest legitimate way to get Vista x64

[Hachoo]

Just curious. I currently have a licensed XP professional (albeit 32 bit) and am hoping I can get a Vista x64 upgrade and not have to get the full version. Where is the cheapest place/way to get it that isn't illegal? I have friends in college and stuff if there are sites that will sell it cheap to students, and whatnot. Is it possible to get an "upgrade" version of vista x64 from xp 32?

On a side note, has anyone used XP 64 and is it any good as well? Does it support/handle >4GB of memory like Vista 64 does? Is it buggy?

Since memory is so ridiculously cheap I'm thinking about just getting 4x2GB sticks of DDR2-800 which will work in my motherboard, but would need to upgrade to a 64 bit OS to use it. If getting a 64 bit OS (Windows OS) ends up being too expensive then I can't really do it. I haven't paid for an OS...well, ever, really, since I've always worked at a job where I could get a Windows OS free for whatever reason, but unfortunately thats not the case right now

Edit: A couple extra questions. Looks like Home Premium 64 would be a better buy than Ultimate 64 as I can't see myself using any of the ultimate features. Is there anything keyclone/WoW related specifically that Ultimate can do that Home Premium can't? Also, the "system builder" version is always cheaper than retail. Anyone know what the ACTUAL difference is between system builder and retail? Looks like system builder just doesn't include support and can't be transferred to a new system, both of which are fine with me as I will never call MS for support, though I would like to make sure if I upgrade my motherboard/CPU in the future and rebuild the system I'll be able to keep using the software. Advice would be appreciated as I am a Sr. Unix admin and not exposed to Windows much since XP first came out.

[Rin]

Your friends in college should be able to get it through their student bookstore or IT dept... At least, that's how it was when I attended. It should be like $14-30 depending on the school's licensing agreements with Microsoft. You have numerous other options though, one may be to try and find a MSDN version of the 64-bit Vista (gray area on the legal side though)...

Cheers :thumbup:

[entoptic]

if you know someone in the non profit sector or IT field you are in.

Microsoft sells their O/S's to non profits for like 10 bucks. If you know someone in the IT Field that has an MSDN subscription then they can download it for you.

[Gizmo3k]

Edit: I just read what the actual question was, not what I thought it was. Please ignore!

[blast3r]

Your friends in college should be able to get it through their student bookstore or IT dept... At least, that's how it was when I attended. It should be like $14-30 depending on the school's licensing agreements with Microsoft. You have numerous other options though, one may be to try and find a MSDN version of the 64-bit Vista (gray area on the legal side though)...

Cheers :thumbup:

He said 'legitimate' way. That would violate the agreement between Microsoft and the university.

[blast3r]

I don't know if you can do this with XP but with Vista you can get the 64 bit install media using your 32 bit license key.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvist...a/default.mspx

It might be worth contacting Microsoft to see if it is possible for XP.

[Halo]

I work at a state university (nonprofit, of course) and I checked our IT store. The cheapest x64 Vista would be an upgrade disk (70 bucks+ tax) which is actually x32 but you can use the key to send away for an x64 Vista DVD. Amazon has the same thing for 75 bucks (no tax, free shipping).

My hardware at least passes the test to run x64 (EVGA nforce 680i mobo, onboard soundcard, 2 x 8800GTS's in SLI running a DELL 3007, SATA RAID, 4GB PC3200 though I have 2GB more sitting around). However, I cringe at the thought of doing MS's upgrade path from XP32 -> Vista64 and finding everything broke, BSOD's what have you. My experience with installing OS's on top of other OS's (as opposed to just wiping the HD and going with a fresh install) has never been good. The thought of having to reinstall WoW (whether off an image or fresh+patches) also makes me cringe.

I'm actually less hesitant to try to go x32 XP to x64 XP because I 'heard' that it's easier to reverse that move should things go awry. (And by reverse, I don't mean "format C:/")

[Hachoo]

Oh I'm not planning on doing an actual upgrade.

From what I understand you can wipe the drive, install the Vista x64 upgrade and simply enter the XP professional key in when prompted during the install, effectively doing a from scratch install with an upgrade version.

[heffner]

I got an OEM version of Vista64 Home Premium for $150 CDN. Is that cheap? Didn't seem too bad to me.

My wife attends University and for some reason they didn't have academic licenses for any OS. Only Apps. Not that this is a typical scenario, just my experience.

[Starbuck_Jones]

One of the reasons the "system builder" is cheaper is that MS wont support it if you have problems unless you give them monies. OS support falls on the 'system builder' Basically OEM rules here.

Yes you can install a fresh copy using an update cd. During the install it will ask you to put in your old OS disk or product key to verify you are eligible for the upgrade path and thats it. As far as I know the vista dvd has all versions on it but you have to choose the one you have a product key for else you will be reinstalling again after the 30 day grace period is up.

The cheapest 'legal' way to get it, is going to buy either retail if you want MS to support it, or OEM if you support it yourself. Using the discounted software thats offered to students etc is against the EULA unless you are a student etc. Neither is getting an MSDN copy from someone else. If your looking to see what upgrade paths are available i would recomend searching MS website and it shouldnt be hard to find if you can go from x86 to x64 or not.