# Advice on el cheapo gaming system **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 17, 2011, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986 "2011-03-17T00:59:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 64
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986/64 "2011-04-07T20:49:00Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > No, the retail version of windows is almost twice the price. > > And as for it being tied to your mobo, that’s sort of true. You’ll need to call microsoft if you upgrade your motherboard in the future in order to re-register your OEM copy. But I have done this twice now and have had no problems whatsoever. You just give them the info on the screen and let them know you onl have this copy installed on one PC. They’ll let you do it many more times than that; I’ve had my copy of XP for something like 9 years now, across 3 motherboards, and probably 5-6 installations of Windows. All I have to do is call them up and give them that code, and they give me an activation code or whatever it’s called. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-el-cheapo-gaming-system/574986)._