Windows 10 Home vs Pro

SCCutler

SCCutler

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Spike Cutler
In my business, I buy exclusively the Pro version of the operating system for workstations and laptops, because it is necessary for both security and joining the domain at the office.

A friend is looking at buying a laptop computer, and is evaluating whether to get Windows 10 Home, or Windows 10 Pro.

It is my general understanding that the Pro version is more robust, and more configurable, and I know the difference in cost isn't that much at the OEM level, but I don't know more than that. For someone using a laptop for general use (let us assume that the user will not be using it as a computer in a domain-controlled work environment), is there a particular reason to favor one over the other?

And before you get started, save your Apple Macintosh comments for another thread. It is not in consideration.

Thanks in advance !

@wsuffa @RJM62 @denverpilot
 
I have a couple PC's at home with Win10 Home on them. One only gets used as a web browser in my shop and the other gets used for audio production. But so far I haven't run into anything they wouldn't do. You should probably start another thread through so that we can tell you how much better off your friend would be with a Mac. ;)
 
Doesn’t Pro have some of the enterprise level stuff in it, such as the networking, security and remote log in?
 
My recommendation is to go pro. Although neither are privacy icons, you can adjust some settings on pro that you can't on home (like how much data gets sent back to MS). It'll allow some deferrals of the automatic "upgrades" and a better ability to select when the major upgrades install. Security-wise, pro lets you use "bit locker" disk encryption. And if there's reason to allow remote desktop access, that's on pro.

For the small difference in cost, I'd recommend pro. YMMV, and others may view it differently.
 
If your friend likes to muck about with the OS, then Pro is a better bet. If they tend not to get under the hood, then Home might be a better bet. I've used both and prefer Pro because I tend to like having access to as much of the OS as possible (and when I really want to go deep, I'll boot up Linux).
 
For a laptop I would get Pro just for bitlocker encryption. Most laptops have a TPM chip that will unlock the drive for you so that you can enter a simple PIN/fingerprint when it boots. If the laptop is ever misplaced or stolen the risk of someone getting your data is much slimmer.

You can upgrade home to pro anytime but it usually costs less pre-installed.
 
JonH said:
Most laptops have a TPM chip
Click to expand...

Some of the 'consumer' lines don't have TPM chips. I don't remember exactly which ones, but I know recently I inquired at Dell and we had to move up from an Inspiron to a Latitude model. HP was similar, but I don't recall the model names. So just wanted to post this for clarification....If you require/desire TPM, be sure to double check.
 
Thanks, all, for your counsel!
 
Definitely go with Pro. It provides much more control over updates (including the ability to choose the business update paths [less buggy], schedule updates for more convenient times, and defer feature updates for up to a year), Group Policy Editor, Bitlocker, Hyper-V, and Remote Desktop, just to name a few features.

To me, the ability to manage and defer updates is reason enough to go Pro.

Rich
 
The responses in this thread remind me of why I was able to build a client base so easily when I did computer repair stuff. Back in the days when phone books existed you could open the yellow pages to the computer section and you'd see great big ads chock full of great big words. "Your one stop source for computer support, networking, IP security, data encryption solutions, server management, 802.11 implementation and configuration' yada yada yada and on and on.

Doing computer tech work was kind of like shooting fish in a barrel back then so I'm sure those businesses did great. But I was happy to focus on the residential segment of the market and the first thing I realized was if you knew what most of those big words meant, you probably didn't need me or my services. So my phonebook had no technical words in it at all. It was big block ad with lots of empty space and in the middle it said 'Sick PC? Call xxx-xxxx' My phone rang off the hook.

Its great that Win 10 lets you set group policy and manage when updates download and use bitlocker. But pretty much anyone that is going to want to do any of that is a person who does not need to ask anyone whether they should buy Windows 10 Home or Pro. They don't need to ask because they already know. Its been my experience that with rare exception, if you need to ask, Home edition is going to work just fine for you. Use the extra money to put in more memory or a bigger hard drive.
 
Juliet Hotel said:
The responses in this thread remind me of why I was able to build a client base so easily when I did computer repair stuff. Back in the days when phone books existed you could open the yellow pages to the computer section and you'd see great big ads chock full of great big words. "Your one stop source for computer support, networking, IP security, data encryption solutions, server management, 802.11 implementation and configuration' yada yada yada and on and on.

Doing computer tech work was kind of like shooting fish in a barrel back then so I'm sure those businesses did great. But I was happy to focus on the residential segment of the market and the first thing I realized was if you knew what most of those big words meant, you probably didn't need me or my services. So my phonebook had no technical words in it at all. It was big block ad with lots of empty space and in the middle it said 'Sick PC? Call xxx-xxxx' My phone rang off the hook.

Its great that Win 10 lets you set group policy and manage when updates download and use bitlocker. But pretty much anyone that is going to want to do any of that is a person who does not need to ask anyone whether they should buy Windows 10 Home or Pro. They don't need to ask because they already know. Its been my experience that with rare exception, if you need to ask, Home edition is going to work just fine for you. Use the extra money to put in more memory or a bigger hard drive.
Click to expand...

Except that the OP in this case is no newcomer to technology. He's actually better-qualified than half the computer techs I know. But that doesn't mean he's current in Win10. He's a lawyer. He probably uses WordPerfect on Win7.

Rich
 
Okay if he is a lawyer than he definitely needs something with TPM and encryption lol.

This conversation should start out with someone asking you what you intend to do with the laptop ;)
 
RJM62 said:
Except that the OP in this case is no newcomer to technology. He's actually better-qualified than half the computer techs I know. But that doesn't mean he's current in Win10. He's a lawyer. He probably uses WordPerfect on Win7.

Rich
Click to expand...
The OP isn't who will be using the computer. The OP is asking for a friend. The friend will be using the machine for general use not in commercial domain environment. I'll stick with my answer. If the friend was someone who is likely to want to manage updates or use bulletproof encryption, that friend would very likely be someone who would already know the answer to the question. Since they're asking the question, home edition will probably do everything they will ever want it to do.
 
Juliet Hotel said:
The OP isn't who will be using the computer. The OP is asking for a friend. The friend will be using the machine for general use not in commercial domain environment. I'll stick with my answer. If the friend was someone who is likely to want to manage updates or use bulletproof encryption, that friend would very likely be someone who would already know the answer to the question. Since they're asking the question, home edition will probably do everything they will ever want it to do.
Click to expand...

Okay, here's the situation as I see it.

I happen to know for a fact that Spike has a very solid technology background. Apparently, his friends know that, too, because they seek his advice on matters technical. I also know that Spike is a lawyer (and a good one, by all accounts), so there's at least a better-than-average chance that his friend is also a lawyer. But it's also possible that he's a ditch digger. I really don't know. Finally, I assume that since Spike went to the trouble of asking for advice on behalf of his friend, there's a good chance that he'd also be willing to help his friend set up his new laptop as best suited to his friend's needs.

In that situation, I think it appropriate to treat Spike as a peer by providing both an opinion and the specific reasons behind it, confident that he is knowledgeable enough to understand and consider the implications of those reasons as pertaining to his friend's needs; and then let Spike advise his friend accordingly.

I do agree with you that techies often go overboard in explaining things to clients. But some clients are smarter than others. Spike is one of them.

Rich
 
Pro.


It's cold out, and both the county jail and the Hampton Inn offer the feature 'roof over your head'. I'll pay for the Hampton.
 
There is no right or wrong here. I don't like spending other people's money needlessly. That's all it comes down to.
 
Juliet Hotel said:
That was covered in the first post.
Click to expand...

No it wasn't. He isn't joining a domain is the only piece of info given. Joining domains is one of the features, not all of them. The bitlocker encryption is worth $50 alone. Unless the laptop never leaves the house. But, we haven't discussed such things, have we?
 
JonH said:
No it wasn't. He isn't joining a domain is the only piece of info given. Joining domains is one of the features, not all of them. The bitlocker encryption is worth $50 alone. Unless the laptop never leaves the house. But, we haven't discussed such things, have we?
Click to expand...
What good is bitlocker to a user that doesn't use it?
 
I’m going to upgrade (?) from Win 7 Pro to some flavor of Windows 10. Either Pro or Home. The difference is about $20.00. I’m guessing at that delta Pro is a no brainer. What say you experts?
 
Make it Pro.
 
Crashnburn said:
I’m going to upgrade (?) from Win 7 Pro to some flavor of Windows 10. Either Pro or Home. The difference is about $20.00. I’m guessing at that delta Pro is a no brainer. What say you experts?
Click to expand...

For 20 yeah, no brainer..

If you can get the Facebook "I'm cheating on my IFR exam" blocker feature, it's probably worth it too.
 
The upcharge for Pro is worth it solely for the additional options to tell Windows Update to F off and not reboot my ish in the middle of a task.
 
The other important thing is that we’re now pushing up against hardware limits again.

You can get 256gb of memory for about $1000 but Windows 10 Home will only see 128GB of it.

Same with CPU’s - Windows Home only supports 64 logical CPU’s but a 3990X is a 128-way CPU.

Previously this used to be workstation-level hardware and you’d obviously buy Pro but nowadays this stuff is gaming-level.
 
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