Put Windows 10 on or not ?

[PH4555]

I've got a brand new 3 yr old gaming PC that has never been out of the box and has no OS installed. It was going to be used for something else, but other stuff happened and then that didn't happen. I am going to be listing it for sale before it becomes worthless.

I don't have Windows 10 myself as I'm still using 8.1 on my main PC (with Classic Shell) and not had any need to upgrade to 10.

I'm guessing that it would sell for a higher price with a fresh install of 10 on it rather than selling as is. Would I need to buy 10 or could I install my 8.1 disk on it and then do the 10 upgrade through 8.1 (is that still a thing) ?

Just for clarity my 8.1 requires a quick click of KMSpico every year (put your pitchforks down).

[Oakey]

The free upgrade path is gone as far as I know

[snuffy]

Oakey said:

The free upgrade path is gone as far as I know

Yes and no:

https://www.zdnet.com/article/heres-how-you-can-st...

[Taita]

Get a windows 10 key from ebay and an ISO from Microsoft evaluation centre if your key doesn't come with a link to an ISO

Someone will be along to whinge about licences, EULAs soon but that will get you up and running and isn't illegal

[RVB]

Oakey said:

The free upgrade path is gone as far as I know

A couple of weeks ago I freshened up my wife's old Samsung laptop.
It was Windows 8.1 home edition.
Took out old HDD, put in new blank SSD, installed W10 from an ISO that I keep on a flash drive, and it works fine without complaining about licences etc.

[xeny]

RVB said:

Took out old HDD, put in new blank SSD, installed W10 from an ISO that I keep on a flash drive, and it works fine without complaining about licences etc.

That will have a Windows home licence burnt into the firmware/BIOS though. A gaming PC that shipped without a licence is unlikely to have such a thing.

[megaphone]

Just this weekend I installed Win 10 Pro on an old XP PC, core 2 duo. I had an ISO, was able to activate it via some help online. Runs surprisingly well for an old PC.

Edited by megaphone on Sunday 22 August 13:30

[RVB]

xeny said:

RVB said:

Took out old HDD, put in new blank SSD, installed W10 from an ISO that I keep on a flash drive, and it works fine without complaining about licences etc.

That will have a Windows home licence burnt into the firmware/BIOS though. A gaming PC that shipped without a licence is unlikely to have such a thing.

Yes, I agree, but it shows that a 'free' upgrade to Windows 10 is still possible.
In a few months time the upgraded old laptop will be used to try a free upgrade to Windows 11, but will probably need some kind of hack/mod to bypass TPM2.

[RVB]

megaphone said:

Just this weekend I installed Win 10 Pro on an old XP PC, core 2 duo. I had an ISO, was able to activate it via some help online. Runs surprisingly well for an old PC.

I run several 10+ year old Dual Core / Core2 Duo computers with HDD upgraded to SSD and 2/4GB RAM upgraded to 8GB and they're indistinguishable from a modern computer for everyday Windows 10 use.
On old computers, it seems that the main limiting factors for running Windows 10 are slow old mechanical hard drives and insufficient RAM.

[The_Jackal]

The OS wont add much to the value.
Sell it as is.
Anyone who knows their stuff will just want the spec and they will put their own stuff on it.
In this day and age no one knows what spy software you could have on there so they would wipe it anyway and reinstall, especially from a private seller.

At the moment, if it has a decent gfx card, you could probably get top dollar just for the card. People are paying silly money.

[monthou]

You can stick windows 10 on without an activation key and it will run fine - enough for someone to evaluate it. They can use their own key after purchase.
If it was me I'd stick a key on there.

[PH4555]

Interesting range of replies, thanks.

@Jackal, it's a GeForce GTX 1060 3GB graphics.with i5 7400 3 GHz. Obviously this was bought before all the shortages happened so no idea how "desirtable" that is today.

[cobra kid]

Brand new 3 yr old.

[Sebring440]

cobra kid said:

Brand new 3 yr old.

With you on that one. I can't get my head around it either.

[BritishBlitz87]

cobra kid said:

Brand new 3 yr old.

Brand New means it has never been used. It was purchased 3 years ago and has since sat in a box, unused. It is still in mint condition, as it came out of the factory except it is now 3 years old. Ergo, a 3 year old brand new PC

[Milkyway]

BritishBlitz87 said:

Brand New means it has never been used. It was purchased 3 years ago and has since sat in a box, unused. It is still in mint condition, as it came out of the factory except it is now 3 years old. Ergo, a 3 year old brand new PC

Is that like ‘ old, new stock’ in the motoring world.
( Been on the shelf for a few years... but never been used)

[Mr_Yogi]

monthou said:

You can stick windows 10 on without an activation key and it will run fine - enough for someone to evaluate it. They can use their own key after purchase.
If it was me I'd stick a key on there.

Do this.

[cobra kid]

BritishBlitz87 said:

Brand New means it has never been used. It was purchased 3 years ago and has since sat in a box, unused. It is still in mint condition, as it came out of the factory except it is now 3 years old. Ergo, a 3 year old brand new PC

Ah yes, so the 1984 Maestro in the museum with zero miles is brand new. I get it.

[sparkyhx]

win 11?

[CarCrazyDad]

Windows 8 was horrific.

Windows 10 is much better, faster, more secure, more stable.

Dunno why you wouldn't upgrade to it, at worst you can get a license key for a few quid on Ebay.