Windows 7 OEM Pricing Revealed

It's a lot cheaper than retail -- and that's why you've been holding off preordering, right?

Nearly all Windows 7 pricing news up to this point has been about retail SKUs, but most of you have been holding out for word of OEM prices.

OEM versions of Windows do not come without fancy boxes, manuals, packaging, or even tech support, but they do come with a lower sticker price.

Early prices from online retailer Newegg reveals that OEM copies of Windows 7 are substantially cheaper – in some cases it's less than half price of the retail version.

Newegg is selling Home Premium for $100, while the retail price is $200. Those looking for the Professional version can get an even greater break as the OEM is $135, compared to $300 for the retail.

Still not good enough? Then you can hand over $175 for the Ultimate SKU, which would cost $320 in stores.

Newegg isn't currently restricting that Windows 7 OEM versions be purchased with hardware, so this could be the cheapest way to grab a full-install version of the OS that launches in less than a month.