upgrade win7 Home Prem to win7 pro or ult

[KsueQ]

I found what I think is a great config for the price(see below). As indicated it already has w7 home premium installed and I need to upgrade that to w7 Professional or Ultimate. I do not know whether any svc packs have been applied to the existing os till I receive the equipment at the end of the week.

Now to the question...what is the best way to get the os updated? While searching for the professional version software, I got confused about whether to purchase an upgrade version or a full version. In some cases the full version seemed to be cheaper than the upgrade. Where should I purchase? Can I be sure Amazon is offering legit software? Where can I get the cheapest legit pro or ultimate software either full or upgrade? I was looking for a downloadable copy so I could get up and running quickly but not sure that's the best way to go either?
Any advice would be appreciated.

Brand: Dell Type: Inspiron Model: N5110 Screen Size: 15.6 Processor Type: i7-2670QM Processor (6MB Cache, up to 3.1ghz) Processor Speed: 2.20 GHz Memory: 16 GB Hard Drive Capacity: 1 TB Graphics Processing Type: NVIDIAGeForce GT 525M - N12P-GE 1GB (Quad) Operating System: Geniune Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit DVD Release Year: 2012

 

[TrainableMan]

Since the computer comes with a legal copy of W7 Home Premium, the the easiest upgrade path is a Windows Anytime Upgrade; any other version, upgrade or full, will require you to do a custom reinstall of the OS. In most countries the anytime upgrade can be paid for online directly to Microsoft and done immediately.

As for whether to go to Professional or Ultimate, there are really only two major reasons to want ultimate, if you wish to use the computer in multiple languages or if you need the ability to encrypt your entire HD with Bitlocker. And the truth is, I never tried it but I have read you can install multiple languages in the lower versions with a little extra effort, and there is alternative software to Microsoft's Bitlocker which you could buy if you need that feature. Version comparison.

If you are willing to do the reinstall, the truth is you might be able to buy an OEM upgrade license from someplace like Newegg.com for about the same price as the anytime upgrade. New copies from Amazon should be safe and backed by them. Where you take a risk is if you buy from eBay or try to purchase "just a key" from anywhere but Microsoft. Also because it is a fresh install it has the advantage that then your machine won't have all the extra garbage, especially in the registry, computer manufacturers slip in for you to "try". Also in the rare case you would ever want to reinstall in the future (like you are infected with a virus), then with an anytime upgrade you have to install home premium and then enter your anytime key to upgrade to professional (or ultimate if that's what you buy), whereas an upgrade or full install you simply install the version you bought.