I'm thinking about upgrading to Windows Vista, Home Premium 64-bit to be specific, mainly to be able to get the full potential of my 4GB of memory and my 8800GTX card. However, there's a few things I wonder about.First, is my Core 2 Duo E6600 capable of working in 64-bit mode? I'm 95 % certain it does, but I'd like to be 100 % certain... :)Second, the licensing options... Even for something as specific as Windows Vista 64-bit Home Premium, there seems to be 3 choices:1) Retail license - should be the safest bet, should even be able to move it between different computers (as long as there's only one copy installed at any one time, of course). Downside? The most expensive.2) Upgrade - Need a previous Windows version. I currently have Windows XP Home, but it's probably OEM. Will that suffice? And can I make a clean Vista install with this option, or do I need to install it over the XP?3) OEM - What the heck are the rules for this? If I understand things correctly, it can't be moved to another computer, ever. But what constitutes a specific computer? The motherboard? The processor? The mobo/processor combination? Ergo, might lead to issues when upgrading... Still, it is the cheapest option...So, please help me clarifying these issues...Thanks in advance!

Hello Lingfors,Ill just go through your questions top to bottom :)Yes your E6600 is a 64bit CPU, 100% safe.As to licensing, since you are a normal consumer, the license you probally want is the regular Retail one. Best not get the upgrade, too many people have had too many issues, just to keep your self on the safe side, stay away from upgrade versions.OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer.. meant for system builders.But there are exceptions too, what OEMs basicly are, are usually the same products that you will find in retail stores,only they are with no-frills packaging, reduced support, and sometimes lesser warranties.I'll include a link about OEM here for you, to help you decide.[a href=http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070130-8730.html]Whats OEM[/a]Hope this helps you on your way,Regards,

Thanks a bunch for your reply and the link you supplied, it answered my questions (plus a few I didn't knew I had, such as the fact that the retail license includes both the 32-bit and the 64-bit version). Since I seem to upgrade my hardware (including the motherboard) more often than my operating system (three since I started using Windows XP), I guess Retail aren't such a bad idea.Even if it is a tad pricey for a piece of software that should really only be there as an interface between user/software and software/hardware...

Hi Ling,Happy to hear that it helped you out, and yeah I'm like you, swapping out hardware ALOT more often than the OS. :)Have a good weekend,Regards,

>3) OEM - What the heck are the rules for this? If I understand>things correctly, it can't be moved to another computer, ever.>But what constitutes a specific computer? The motherboard? The>processor? The mobo/processor combination? Ergo, might lead to>issues when upgrading... Still, it is the cheapest option...>I called MS and asked about this and I was told that the mobo constitutes the computer. You can upgrade other components but if you replace the mobo you need a new license. There was however one exception. If your mobo breakes you are allowed to replace it.I got my OEM Win almost two years ago and my next upgrade will include a new Win license I think so I can have two systems. That would still be cheaper than if I had bought a retail license.