Home Gaming Buying Windows 10 won’t be cheap

Buying Windows 10 won’t be cheap

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Windows 10 is finally out at the end of next month, and everyone with a legitimate license for either Windows 8 or 7 will be able to jump ship for the low price of absolutely nothing. It’s a new strategy Microsoft is taking – ensuring that their near 75% strong consumer base in those two operating systems won’t have to fork out more for the update. The other 25%, however, will need to dig deep.

If you’re running a less-than-legal copy of Windows, have an OS older than 7 or just want to get kick started on the Microsoft side of life, you’re going to have to pay. Windows 10 will cost the same as Windows 8 at launch, with the Home and Pro versions costing $120 and $200 respectively. In a little bit of maths that doesn’t make sense, any existing Home owners will be able to upgrade to Pro for $100 – so a full $20 more than just going Pro from the start.

That’s a hefty fee for the Windows 10 buy in – and one you’ll have to pay if you don’t upgrade within the first year too. If you’re on Windows 8 or 7 you probably have been prompted to secure your Windows 10 code already. That code is only valid until July next year, so don’t sit on your hands for too long deciding whether to upgrade.

Windows 10 is a pretty exciting upgrade however, fixing a lot that was wrong with Windows 8. Apps can be separate windows, the Start Menu is back and the OS brings support for DirectX 12 – hopefully ushering in the next generation of PC gaming.

Will you be upgrading on day one, or wait a few months until the initial launch bugs have been squashed?

Last Updated: June 2, 2015

132 Comments

  1. Day 1 upgrade for me. I’m thinking of buying a new Hard Drive for the fresh install too.

    Reply

    • PoisonedBelial

      June 2, 2015 at 12:11

      Agreed.
      I have a 60GB SSD waiting at home for the virgin install.

      Reply

      • Tiaan Pat

        June 2, 2015 at 14:03

        Got a 500GB SSD, can’t wait to test a fresh install as I cloned my Win 7 OS

        Reply

  2. ReaperOfSquirrels

    June 2, 2015 at 12:07

    I shall wait a few months before doing this here upgrade. I wanna see how badly it crashes first.

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      June 2, 2015 at 12:08

      ^This, doing the same.

      Reply

    • PoisonedBelial

      June 2, 2015 at 12:13

      The previews which I have been testing are as stable as anything I have ever used.

      If they are anything to go by, Windows 10 is going to be sweeeeet.

      Reply

      • Pariah

        June 2, 2015 at 12:16

        This is the main reason I’m happy to upgrade on day 1. Most users are very happy with the OS in its current state, so the release version should be good to go from day 1. It’s easy enough to keep the OS updated.

        Reply

        • PoisonedBelial

          June 2, 2015 at 12:18

          I just really hope that I can get an ISO image like I did for Windows 8.
          If not, it’s going to take ages on my home PC. 🙁

          Reply

          • Mark Treloar

            June 2, 2015 at 12:23

            I manged to create a Windows install direct to 8.1 on a flash drive. Hope to do the same with 10.

          • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

            June 2, 2015 at 12:24

            I’m still on 7.
            8 irritates me to no end. Makes it feel like I’ve stumbled upon a kids “learning pc” whenever I use it.

          • Hammersteyn

            June 2, 2015 at 12:24

            Me too

          • PoisonedBelial

            June 2, 2015 at 12:24

            Windows 8 has never bothered me.
            Got used to the start screen tbh.

            I am looking forward to the good old Start menu again though.

          • Pariah

            June 2, 2015 at 12:24

            I hate 8. I use it at work. So glad I never upgraded from 7 at home.

          • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

            June 2, 2015 at 12:25

            Same here.

          • Thats_how_I_Troll

            June 2, 2015 at 12:44

            Can anyone say Pedantic?

          • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

            June 2, 2015 at 12:46

            I prefer fussy and full of sh!t 😉

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            June 2, 2015 at 12:48

            *shit

            …oh. Damn it!

          • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

            June 2, 2015 at 12:49

            XD

      • ReaperOfSquirrels

        June 2, 2015 at 12:19

        Yeah, I’ve heard the same… but I’m still going to wait.

        Reply

        • FoxOneZA

          June 2, 2015 at 13:33

          Totally agree. Wndows 8 was dodgy at launch.

          Reply

      • Neel Gupta

        June 3, 2015 at 17:37

        I am guessing, your UEFI hasn’t crashed / bricked yet.
        Well, once it does, welcome to the world of UEFI Secure Boot of Death !

        Reply

    • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

      June 2, 2015 at 12:16

      My general rule is to adopt after Service Pack 1…

      Reply

      • PoisonedBelial

        June 2, 2015 at 12:17

        Apparently there will be no such things as “Service Packs” anymore.

        *Cue massive wild hysteria*

        Reply

        • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

          June 2, 2015 at 12:19

          So you mean there will be constant live updates, with always on internet… My 3G service provider will love the K@K out of me….

          Reply

          • PoisonedBelial

            June 2, 2015 at 12:21

            Well, not per say.
            I doubt that you will have to always be connected, but they have said that they will be issuing patches more often instead of 1 big service pack.

            That said, a re-install (if it’s ever needed) is going to be a bitch… Maybe service packs do have their uses 🙁

          • Pariah

            June 2, 2015 at 12:22

            If it’s done like most MMO’s are – then the initial install will include all up-to-date files already, meaning you won’t need to patch after the initial install (when re-installing down the line)

          • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

            June 2, 2015 at 12:22

            My point exactly… Which means that if you don’t have an uncapped line, you will forever be in the poof of things if you ever do discover problems in your OS…Oh lovely…

          • Pariah

            June 2, 2015 at 12:24

            It’s a 20gb install. So if you don’t have ADSL you’re pretty much screwed anyway. And read my comment below – that install file won’t change much over time, but you won’t need to re-patch later on because the install will already include the patched files.

            If you keep a backup of the install files, then maybe. But even so, 3G isn’t great for gaming in general, which requires large downloads.

          • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

            June 2, 2015 at 12:28

            That’s true, but if you live in a secluded area, miles away from civilization, ADSL becomes an issue, especially with our friends at Telkom, but on the upside, I live a few meters away from a Cellphone tower, so maybe I should piggy back on it’s Optic fibre line…. After I’ve cut off this extra arm I’ve grown…

          • Pariah

            June 2, 2015 at 12:29

            That last sentence explains a lot. 😛

            *RUNS

          • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

            June 2, 2015 at 12:31

            You can’t run away! I keep tripping over this third foot!

          • Pariah

            June 2, 2015 at 12:32

            So in your case, two left feet is far more literal?

          • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

            June 2, 2015 at 12:33

            right feet though… and four ears and two peni…

          • Pariah

            June 2, 2015 at 12:36

            So um. Have you met Umar? The two (and a bit) of you should get along smashingly.

          • Cyberats

            June 2, 2015 at 23:52

            Hack, Hack, Hack, it was done with Cable TV…

          • FoxOneZA

            June 2, 2015 at 13:33

            20gb install but a 3gb download 😉

          • Cyberats

            June 2, 2015 at 23:54

            7x is a pretty low compression for a Zipped file.

          • Tiaan Pat

            June 2, 2015 at 14:07

            Ouch at the size 🙁

          • Corrie

            June 2, 2015 at 12:22

            All 3G service providers love us since we’re suckered into small caps at ridiculous prices prevent us from downloading even a game without breaking the bank

            Seriously we should be seeing 50GB pm at R999 or even 100GB

            Yet my favorite off all is Vodacoms R2 per MB

          • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

            June 2, 2015 at 12:25

            I’m currently on a CellC contract with 5 GB during the day and 15GB at night, on average I spend another 5GB of data on the contract, which roughly translates to about R400, I think…. Needless to say though, we are still being charged through our tightly clenched rear ends…

          • Corrie

            June 2, 2015 at 12:34

            I’m on a 5GB + 5GB night owl with vodacom at R269ish but yeah hardly much I can do except play a little online and with hardly anyone on GTA online.

            Nightowl was an okay idea but it’s becoming frustrating staying up late in order to download something instead of just clicking download when I want to

          • stfenix

            June 2, 2015 at 12:38

            Why not have a look at guys like sprintnet? Might be worth it if you have coverage?

          • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

            June 2, 2015 at 13:18

            I know how you feel man, I barely get to start downloads at night, not because I’m too tired, but I forget about it after a good session of a game and it sucks…Though an alternative is to use a network traffic monitor/limiter with a rule to allow full bandwidth traffic at night, say for steam or GOG galaxy, I’ve managed to use it a few times and it just helps a hell of a lot and because you limit the bandwidth used per application, it doesn’t cause mishaps with browsing etc. come night time and it pulls away like the Stig in a Nissan GT-R…

          • Corrie

            June 2, 2015 at 13:52

            I only ever use networx and the vodafone/huawei modem interface.

            But I’m looking at seeing whether the neotel wi max or if good adsl is viable by me, tired of seeing the data just running mad.

            One thing I’ve got a hold on is my system doesn’t start using my data for unwanted things such as Nvidia Backend/Geforce, windows updates etc, only ever steam updates and Rapport Management(banking)

    • Mark Treloar

      June 2, 2015 at 12:17

      Your reasoning is flawed.

      Reply

      • ReaperOfSquirrels

        June 2, 2015 at 12:20

        I was being sarcastic about the crashing part, so I’ve now put it in italics… is that better?

        Reply

        • Mark Treloar

          June 2, 2015 at 12:24

          Sarcasm: lost in translation to text.

          Reply

          • PoisonedBelial

            June 2, 2015 at 12:25

            *Lost in Textlation*

        • Hammersteyn

          June 2, 2015 at 12:26

          I didn’t see it like that, Previous versions of Windows has has issues at launch

          Reply

          • Mark Treloar

            June 2, 2015 at 12:29

            Never had a single issue with 8, so maybe i’m just lucky

          • Hammersteyn

            June 2, 2015 at 12:31

            “Versions” 😀
            But yeah. It seems they have it sorted. Since Win 7 anyways

          • ReaperOfSquirrels

            June 2, 2015 at 12:37

            There were, and still are, quite a few bugs in 8… but that’s true for any version of Windows.

          • ReaperOfSquirrels

            June 2, 2015 at 12:36

            Yeah… most (if not all) of the previous versions of Windows had some really bad bugs on launch, but those were mostly fixed with Service Packs, patches, and the like.

            But like I said, I’ll wait a few months before adopting 10.

    • Christian De La Espriella

      June 4, 2015 at 06:30

      It will not crash. I tested the release candidate and it never crashed on me. Now you could always go and get an Apple and then it will last 3 years before a firmware and OS update that will render it inoperable.

      Reply

  3. Tbone187

    June 2, 2015 at 12:14

    Fools rush in!

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      June 2, 2015 at 12:19

      yeth

      Reply

  4. Scruff304

    June 2, 2015 at 12:21

    Matt, any idea how you “secure” your windows 10 code? Got a 7 key, but currently running 8.1 on machine at home (legal) but haven’t had any comms bout this.

    Reply

  5. Captain JJ the_scarrrr

    June 2, 2015 at 12:22

    I’m thinking it’s going to be 100% free for those with 7 and 8. And then come the add-ons…..

    Reply

    • PoisonedBelial

      June 2, 2015 at 12:22

      DLC has made you so jaded… 😛

      Reply

      • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

        June 2, 2015 at 12:23

        Haha
        DLC has given Microsoft ideas.

        Reply

        • PoisonedBelial

          June 2, 2015 at 12:23

          Fuck

          Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          June 2, 2015 at 12:23

          It does come shipped with Candy Crush…

          Reply

          • PoisonedBelial

            June 2, 2015 at 12:25

            Which should be able to be uninstalled 😀

          • Hammersteyn

            June 2, 2015 at 12:27

            *Runs regedit.exe

          • PoisonedBelial

            June 2, 2015 at 12:29

            *Runs fdisk*

          • Hammersteyn

            June 2, 2015 at 12:32

            XD

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            June 2, 2015 at 12:41

            AW JIS, old school.

          • PoisonedBelial

            June 2, 2015 at 12:42

            *tries to remember how the fuck Fdisk*

        • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

          June 2, 2015 at 12:30

          Pay 50 dollars for our new internet browser, to download Google Chrome….

          Reply

          • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

            June 2, 2015 at 12:31

            XD

          • PoisonedBelial

            June 2, 2015 at 12:32

            Jesus…

          • Pariah

            June 2, 2015 at 12:32

            Yes?

          • PoisonedBelial

            June 2, 2015 at 12:34

            Got any cool party tricks?

          • Pariah

            June 2, 2015 at 12:35

            It’s been a while, but I think I can still walk on water or something. Not sure bro, I’m just like chilling here, stoned out of my mind laughing at humans. They’re all so silly. And cute and fluffy and pink. And they don’t have wings. Wtf is up with that? SILLY!

          • PoisonedBelial

            June 2, 2015 at 12:40

            Walking on water?

          • Greylingad[CNFRMD]

            June 2, 2015 at 12:39

            ^The new name for Chrome?

    • Hammersteyn

      June 2, 2015 at 12:23

      I’m still waiting to see what their angle is and I’m worried they only put their cards on the table after the one year period.

      Reply

  6. Daniel evans

    June 2, 2015 at 12:24

    i would really like to do a fresh install of this tbh but that might be hard as im guessing we dont get an ISO?
    the only thing im concerned about is what happens “if” we need to re-format at any ime through the first year. would i have to go through the trouble of installing windows 8 again, to then have to go through all those updates just to get to 8.1 and then go to windows 10 from there? if its like that then it could be a nightmare.

    i guess the safest thing to do would be to buy the OS so we can do things propperly but its something i will never buy (or at least for a very long time).

    Reply

    • Alessandro Barbosa

      June 2, 2015 at 12:25

      You can choose to upgrade through the OS or download an ISO. So it’s all good 🙂

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        June 2, 2015 at 12:27

        Nice!

        Reply

      • Daniel evans

        June 2, 2015 at 12:28

        well if thats truly the case then thats great to be honest. i wasnt expecting an ISO. i guess we cant go too wrong with that for free then.

        Reply

      • Tiaan Pat

        June 3, 2015 at 07:06

        I got the widows notification last night and on there it said that there is an initial 3GB download. Is that just to get started before the 20GB download? Do you perhaps know more about the process? I have not read anything about the first 3GB that needed to be downloaded first!

        Reply

    • PoisonedBelial

      June 2, 2015 at 12:26

      Pretty sure we will get an ISO.

      My Windows 8 downloaded and offered to create an ISO from which to install.
      I can see Windows 10 going the same way.

      Reply

  7. Witcher Bob

    June 2, 2015 at 12:24

    So what happens after 1 year and you need to reinstall Windows 10 for whatever reason? Does MS link the product to your account and give you a product key? After a year do you then need to purchase Windows 10 if you happen to need a reinstall?

    Reply

    • Pariah

      June 2, 2015 at 12:26

      You’ll be given a code to use – which will last until they make a new OS.

      Reply

      • Witcher Bob

        June 2, 2015 at 12:27

        Ok, I can live with that. Thanks.

        Reply

      • R1ker

        June 2, 2015 at 12:42

        The one thing I am also a bit unsure of – okay, you say I get a code. After a year I upgrade my pc and decide to do a fresh install. Do I install windows 7 first and then Windows 10 through Windows update?

        Reply

        • PoisonedBelial

          June 2, 2015 at 12:43

          Nope, you should be able to use the Windows 10 ISO that you download when the upgrade goes live.

          Reply

          • Pariah

            June 2, 2015 at 12:49

            Exactly this, yeah. 🙂

          • R1ker

            June 2, 2015 at 12:56

            Ok cool thanks. That should make things relative easy then

  8. Captain JJ the_scarrrr

    June 2, 2015 at 12:26

    8 works well on mobile devices. But on a pc… no thanks.

    Reply

  9. Captain JJ the_scarrrr

    June 2, 2015 at 12:29

    I wonder if Rants will ever let go of Windows 7
    Or if Windows 7 will ever let go of him.

    Reply

  10. Ghost In The Rift

    June 2, 2015 at 12:37

    Ill wait and see how all the games have issues on W10 and then upgrade.

    Reply

  11. Captain JJ the_scarrrr

    June 2, 2015 at 12:39

    I find it interesting how all of a sudden everything is now an app. Not a programme.

    Reply

    • Blood Emperor Trevor

      June 2, 2015 at 12:45

      Millennials can’t spell that word. Too much texting. App is easy.

      Reply

      • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

        June 2, 2015 at 12:47

        It probably makes the dummies of today confused if you say programme.

        Reply

    • PoisonedBelial

      June 2, 2015 at 12:45

      XD

      Reply

    • PoisonedBelial

      June 2, 2015 at 12:46

      Be honest, when you look at someone’s PC you say “Let’s see what apps you installed” 😛

      Reply

      • Captain JJ the_scarrrr

        June 2, 2015 at 12:49

        I’d be moer’d if I said that in my circles. They still have brains.

        Reply

        • Brady miaau

          June 3, 2015 at 23:23

          Why? App, application, programme, pogrom, all mostly the same thing.

          Reply

  12. Ottokie

    June 2, 2015 at 12:46

    I’m still a bit hesitant, I have no idea when DX12 will get adopted by game developers.

    Reply

    • doplerradar

      June 3, 2015 at 22:35

      Shortly during and after launch. Phil Spencer mentioned some games for the fall will work on it. Most likely even quicker if Windows 10 is well received.

      Reply

  13. WitWolfy

    June 2, 2015 at 13:06

    Buy getting it I take it most people here actually mean download from Kickasstorrents?

    Reply

    • Sgt. M

      June 2, 2015 at 13:07

      By buying

      Reply

      • WitWolfy

        June 2, 2015 at 13:10

        The buy was intentional, sounded better in my head.

        Reply

  14. Kromas,powered by windows 10.

    June 2, 2015 at 13:28

    Already using it technically. 😛

    But yeah everything I own will be upgraded for gratis!

    Reply

  15. Vertumnus

    June 2, 2015 at 13:38

    I’m going to bet this is going to be buggy just like every new windows release. I miss the simplicity of Windows XP.

    Reply

  16. Wraith

    June 2, 2015 at 13:56

    Will we be able to re-install windows (on an existing or new pc) after the one year free upgrade period has ended? I.E. Will I get a windows 10 cd-key that I can re-use after the year passes.

    Reply

    • Gustav Willem Diedericks

      June 2, 2015 at 14:18

      Good question. I regularly wipem and reinstall windows on my PC to keep it in good form and clean out junk. It will be for naught to upgrade free if I don’t get a permanent key that I can reuse later.

      Reply

      • Wraith

        June 2, 2015 at 14:36

        Yeah, I do the same. Also any major hardware change, like replacing the motherboard requires re-activating windows, so would hate to have to find out then that I’m forced to pay for a Windows 10 licence in order to re-install.

        Reply

      • coip

        June 2, 2015 at 15:55

        The days of needing to do clean installs to keep things fresh went out the door with Windows 8. It’s really not necessary to do that anymore, and Windows 8 (and therefore Windows 10) has a very solid ‘refresh your PC’ setting that does not require a clean install.

        Reply

        • Gustav Willem Diedericks

          June 3, 2015 at 08:14

          I’m finding that hard to believe. How does that clean up function get rid of rogue registry entries or useless dll files?

          Reply

          • coip

            June 3, 2015 at 15:24

            System Restore does that stuff, I believe. Not sure if Refresh does too, but that may be one of the reasons for the push towards Store apps–they’re a lot cleaner to install and uninstall. That said, there are a lot of useful desktop apps out there, including those solely designed to cleanup “rogue registry entries or useless DLL files”, meaning there hasn’t been a need for a very long time to clean install Windows every few years. If you want to do that, though, Windows 8 has a Reset mode (next to Refresh in the settings) that resets everything to factory settings. I’m sure Windows 10 will have the same.

          • Gustav Willem Diedericks

            June 3, 2015 at 15:35

            Ok, but neither the apps nor the Reset mode can clean up useless Dlls, files etc. I’ve tried many apps out there and none of them are capable of truly cleaning everything as nicely as a format and reinstall does. Also, I don’t think the Reset function in Windows 8 does any cleaning. AFAIK it just restores windows’ settings to factory default.

          • coip

            June 3, 2015 at 15:43

            Reset mode reinstalls Windows.

  17. Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

    June 2, 2015 at 14:01

    For the first time in my life, I’m actually excited for a Windows upgrade. I don’t know how or why it’s happened? Maybe, it’s glandular, maybe I’ve had a drop in testosterone? Maybe I have a brain tumour….?

    Yes, the banana is keen on Windows 10.

    Reply

  18. Jonah Cash

    June 2, 2015 at 16:26

    I have a lose laptop that needs a new install, so I am pretty much just waiting on this to happen so that I can test it!

    Reply

  19. Brady miaau

    June 2, 2015 at 20:23

    so pretty much what it costs now, for Windows 8.1 Pro?

    If Rand / Dollar can be trusted

    Reply

  20. MarryAnderson

    June 2, 2015 at 22:15

    ???? $88 per h0ur @mi12//

    ??? https://www.dailythoughts.com

    ???????????????

    Reply

  21. Cyberats

    June 2, 2015 at 23:49

    No, No, NO ! I am not going to “jump ship” because it’s free.
    An AI OS that does things out of control of the Administrator, ME, will never work right.
    Windows 7 is bad enough as is, last MS OS I will ever own, seeing the death of consoles and video games as a whole not getting better. Hello LINUX.

    Reply

  22. Marc O Polo

    June 3, 2015 at 07:21

    argh….

    Reply

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