This is true for the operating system (i.e. Windows), but the OP purchased an OEM copy of Office. That won’t cause any driver issues. The only thing the OP will miss out on is tech support.
Buying an OEM copy as an end-user may be a minor license violation, but it’s never been enforced as far as I know.
FWIW, from Microsoft Licensing FAQ:
Q: Can I buy OEM Windows Vista software with a mouse?
A: No, OEM desktop software must be pre-installed on a fully assembled PC.
**Ximenean: **here’s a copy/paste from Office 2007 FAQ and closest I could find to ‘exact answer’ (not saying its only reference to subject at MS faq’s):
Q:
I have bought pre-installed (OEM) Office 2007 software. Can I install a second copy on my laptop PC?
A:
No, pre-installed Office software is tied to the original PC and does not have portable use rights. These are only available for boxed software (retail) or for software bought through a Volume Licensing agreement.
Certainly not arguing any with you here, but am wondering about something on the above ‘pre-installed’ mentioning. Perhaps you know the answer 
I use one of these OEM versions (after removing the “install MS Office” shortcuts/targets from OEM-associated machine) without problems on a totally different system, and it has always activated/auto-updated fine. I only installed Office (use OpenOffice as primary) to volunteer tech-support-by-phone for friends/family.
Is OEM stuff actually ‘pre-installed’ with nothing happening when attempts are made to use the ‘suites’ and pop-ups tell you “Insert disk to install Office” (emphasis mine)? No Office-looking folders seen in Explorer that would be there if ‘pre-installed’…unless buried in a ‘.cab’ files maybe. To me, that’s not a (pre)install but similar to having it merely ready to install/arrange newly-created folders workably. Am I splitting hairs on the ‘pre-installed’ terms? EULA may state things a bit more specifically, but I do not understand many ‘legal terms’ as used legally.
Is Office really pre-installed when its not usable at all until its ‘officially’ installed (creation of usable files/folder-structure??
Ionizer: The original question is not about moving OEM software to another computer. The question is really about how legit is it to buy an OEM version as a separate product when you’re not buying a computer. These copies have never been installed anywhere.
It’s definitely a gray area but Microsoft have allowed it openly for years from the same moderately mainstream sellers who are selling the retail box so it’s a puzzling situation from a company which is usually so strict on enforcing licensing. I think Ximenean might be right in that it’s a way to sell more software without officially lowering the price.
Alot of the hardware manufacturers these days are sending drivers to MS for inclusion in the Windows Updates downloads so as long as your machine will respond to a basic windows network driver you should be able to pull your drivers via just running updates. The challenge is when a manufacturer either does not or takes their own sweet time getting around to it [grumble]Dell[/grumble]
Well, how on earth do you enforce it? Microsoft might be able to tell when an OEM copy is activated, but beyond that there’s absolutely nothing to say that the computer is not a newly-built one.
Now, they have changed their license to explicitly say an OEM copy must be installed on a computer that is to be sold to a third party. You can’t be a System Builder for yourself; even if you’re creating a computer from scratch, they want you to buy the retail version. That might be a bit easier to prove, if they can get a receipt of sale from TigerDirect or NewEgg and compare it to the OS you’re using.
The question then becomes: why would they bother? As an individual, you’re “cheating” Microsoft out of a whole $150 at most. That’s not worth the effort of prosecuting, even if it’s a slam dunk. You’re still buying a copy of Windows rather than pirating it, too. I suspect they’ll only start caring about OEM when they’ve completely eliminated piracy, so…you’ll never have anything to worry about. 
When did they make that change? I bought the OEM version of XP Pro (service pack 2) at least two years ago.
Ah, sweet history…
15 years ago, I was building my own systems. I found a shop i liked. One reason was I could buy ant “hardware” and any OEM (which were full function, same as retail) software.
Result:
floppy cable .99
Photoshop 4.0 200.00 (whatever the price was, approx. 1/3 of the retail)
The last time I asked, they had gotten nastygrams from Microsoft, Adobe, et al and now required the purchase of a motherboard and cpu to qualify for the OEM version.
As they also custom-built systems, I can see where they could document that they DID install that OEM on one of the machines they built for a customer
Yeah, many of the online computer parts retailers assemble and sell custom-configured PCs, or sell barebone PCs, assemble-it-yourself kits, or simply enough hardware to build a PC. That might qualify Newegg and Tigerdirect and the like to purchase OEM licenses to Microsoft’s satisfaction.
And what does Microsoft have to lose by selling a copy for $100 to certain people that would rather pirate than pay $200? OEM pricing doesn’t eat into retail sales very much, since many people still walk into Walmart and buy retail software. Almost all business sales are done through specifically-negotiated volume licenses.
I’m not wondering about moving software from one system to another. An example: I have, right now, MS Office Small Business Edition still in wrapper (not opened ever) It has Dell part #'s on wrapper, and a shiny holographic Certificate of Authenticity. The Dell system it came with had shortcuts to all the apps of Office which gave a ‘target’ which resulted in a pop-up saying “Do you wish to install MS Office… at this time? Yes/No” or something like that. Is this (and maybe OP’s) disc-set considered pre-installed software? I don’t think it is, but is what I was wanting to clarify. And pre-installed seems to be a key-word in quoted FAQ answers. I’m just trying to make it as clear as possible. No moving of software from one system to another, so to speak. Maybe the manufacturer’s should’ve done all the install but just did not, but I have quite a few just like I describe.
I am not being snarky, honest, but I’m not seeing the part about moving software from one system to another being part of anything I was trying to clarify. Having gotten a written ‘death-threat’ tossed in my yard a few days ago, sleep has been elusive (probably a crazy kid, police are ‘on it’).
*A: No, OEM desktop software must be pre-installed on a fully assembled PC. *This is what’s confusing to me when not a month or two ago, I was given yet another copy of MS Office that came with a new system and system had nothing Office on it other than targets popping up that said ~“Install Office now?”. Hence me asking about ‘pre-installed’ -v- actually being on the hard-drive and ready-to-go. That’s all I mean - no prob
As far as I know, sometime in the last two years. Presumably sometime just before releasing Windows 7.