Marc wrote:

> "Kevin Wayne Williams" <nihongo@paxonet.kom> wrote in message
>>Marc wrote:
>>
>>>Anyone know what is the street price in Japan? I can purchase here in
> 
> the US
> 
>>>for about $330
>>
>>Why spend so much? Go to Fry's. Buy the cheapest motherboard or hard
>>drive you can buy. Get the OEM version of any Windows you want for $100
>>additional. Usually you can get away for about $139.
> 
> already built the computer -- what is "OEM" version?
> 
It's intended for computer manufacturers or people building a new system
from scratch. It installs on a clean disk, and won't upgrade or preserve
any existing software. I usually do it this way even when I am
upgrading, and use the new motherboard as a drink coaster or place mat.

KWW