What is the difference between a UPGRADE Windows Vistaa and NON UPGRADE Windows Vistaa?

What's the difference: Microsoft Windows 8 Professional 32/64 bit and Microsoft Windows 8 Pro/Upgrade Pack 32/64 bit?

• I don't want any technical dissection of the two variants of Windows 8 mentioned above. I'm thinking about buying an Asus X550CA-XO702D Laptop, Specs: 3rd Gen Ci3 Processor, 2GB RAM, 500GB Hard Disk & DOS (so that requires me to install the software by myself.) Which one would be most suitable, best & compatible with the laptop mentioned above? Does Microsoft Office comes bundled with these operating systems?

• Answer:

  Upgrades are typically valid only if you have an existing windows installation. There's another option to consider, the OEM version of Windows 8. The catch, it's valid only on the first computer you install and activate it on and additionally comes with no support from Microsoft as the support is supposed to be provided by the OEM. OEM versions are lot less expensive than the retail version but perhaps the System Builder (non OEM version) is the best bet given some restrictions on OEM version licensing. Microsoft Office does not come bundled with any of these. You can use the free web only versions of the various programs by signing up for a Microsoft account (even using a non Microsoft email address). These are not as fully featured as the desktop versions but should be enough to get a lot of the routine things done. As an update, the OEM Version licensing details on the Microsoft site adds that you are supposed to sell this machine http://www.microsoft.com/oem/en/licensing/sblicensing/Pages/windows-licensing-for-personal-use.aspx#fbid=fF3iLCv0-nC. Thanks to Rohan Doon for pointing this out. There is a System Builder (non-OEM) version that you can use