Need a laptop to use with Windows 10? Our build guides include all the hardware you’ll need, but there’s still the choice of operating system.
 
 

 

Windows 10 Pro vs Home: What’s the difference? | PC Gamer – How to Download Windows 10 or 11 For Free

 

We’ll explain everything for you here. The standard version of Windows 10 is actually Windows 10 Home, and it’s aimed at home users. If you’re running a business, you’re perhaps more likely to be interested in Windows 10 Pro.

A lot of features are shared between these two OSes, all the basics that you’re probably familiar with from previous versions of Windows. Both can work across desktops, laptops, and tablets, and both come with features like Cortana and Microsoft’s new browser, Microsoft Edge.

The smart login tech known as Windows Hello is included in both Home and Pro editions, as is the Xbox app for streaming games from your Xbox One. You don’t miss out on gaming features like DirectX 12 if you go for the Pro version of Windows In fact, if you booted up Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro side by side, you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference unless you really dig into the features. For the most part, both OSes work in exactly the same way. Upgrading from the Home version of Windows 10 to Windows 10 Pro is a fairly straightforward process — Microsoft has details here — but to go back the other way you need to do a full reinstall.

With all those similarities between the two versions of the OS, what exactly are the differences? The extras you get with Windows 10 Pro are all aimed at advanced users, and may not mean much to the average home user. Microsoft talked about the performance benefits and optimizations in Windows 11 in a YouTube video. Overall, the performance benefits in Windows 11 pretty much come down to the way the newer OS handles system processes that you usually see when you open Task Manager.

According to Microsoft, Windows 11 does a lot of work in memory management to favor the app windows you have open and running in the foreground. This should ensure that they get more CPU power over other system resources. Other performance changes in Windows 11 touch on the way your PC resumes from sleep and handles standby time.

In addition, since the Edge browser is the browser of choice in Windows 11, if you end up using it, you should see additional performance benefits over using the browser in Windows Microsoft has added performance improvements since launch, too.

In short, updating to Windows 11 means a more snappy experience where apps load faster and your PC wakes from sleep with ease. Windows 10 fast, but Windows 11 is just a bit faster. Windows 11 has seen its fair share of bugs, while the much older Windows 10 is more stable. Microsoft has been quick to fix issues with its latest OS, though. Windows users can always report new bugs in the Feedback Hub. However, you can still move it back to the left if you want. Starting with the Start Menu, in Windows 11, it is a bit more simplistic.

You only see a static list of apps, followed by your most frequented documents on the bottom. That might sound familiar, but it is important to note that Windows 11 drops out support for Live Tiles. If you really want to see information in your Start Menu at a glance, then Windows 10 is best.

As for the Taskbar, Microsoft has collapsed the search box into an icon and also removed the Cortana functions in Windows Even Windows Timeline is gone. The spot where Windows Timeline used to be is replaced by Virtual Desktops. The other big change also involves moving the weather in the Taskbar to the left side of the screen.

This was known as News and Interests in Windows 10, but in Windows 11, that gets replaced by Widgets read our roundup of the best Windows 11 widgets. But if you want to pin your Taskbar to the right or the left of the screen, then we have bad news. You can no longer do that natively, as in Windows 11, the Taskbar only stays on the bottom. Paid third-party apps like Start11 can change it if you want, however.

A lot of these changes are just visual. Some big changes are coming with Windows 11 22H2. This update is coming later in the year, and it will have changes for the Taskbar, Task Manager, File Explorer, and more. Because I had access to ‘free’ copies of the OS when I was a kid cutting my teeth on technology. It is what I grew up knowing, so it is what I am the most comfortable deploying. Kids today don’t have access to free copies of Windows.

Kids today are learning how to build hackintoshes or linux boxes because they are free and easy to build. When this gen of kids grows up and manages networks in years they wont care about deploying Windows on the corporate network, because they won’t know how to support it.

By not having a free or affordable version available now, they are loosing the enterprise market tomorrow. And the problem is much bigger than that. It is not Windows that is getting it’s name damaged this way. It is Microsoft itself. But if you don’t grow up in the MS world, then you don’t care about the MS services and products.

Refurbishers pay just a few dollars for a copy of Windows. I love MS They always talk about simplifying their licencing and pricing What do you expect?

They are software company first not hardware company first Apple or marketing company first Google. Software are their bread and butter. Being able to defer Windows Updates is also a nice Pro feature. It’s sort of like ransomware. Force something on the user that they don’t want, then make them pay to make it stop.

Um, no. Updating a computer is not a bad thing. I’ve had to “fix” countless machines that just needed updates installed. Everyone should have the defer ability, but the “active hours” should prevent the computer from restarting while you’re using it.

The answer is simple, if you have Windows 10 Pro at work, then you don’t need Windows 10 Pro at home, but you need Windows 10 Home at home to connect to your Windows 10 Pro at work to be secure. LogMeIn and other solutions are good if you work for a small company, but Fortune companies are not going to use that software. Sounds like a lot of overkill for most common users, then again I used XP pro and didn’t use half the features then.

Most home users don’t need those Pro features. However, if you run a small business at home, you may want consider it. It’s worth it just for RDP server and no, there is nothing similar in performance with RDP, not even teamviewer , group policy editor. Also for Hyper-V. Contrary to other comments here, Hyper-V it is the best option for virtualizing Linux servers with no GUI under windows.

I use Pro versions for all my machines since I have a domain and need to remote into them from time to time. So for me PRO is required edition. I prefer the Pro only because of Remote desktop. But if i can I rather have the functionality built into the OS.

However, I wouldn’t be paying extra just for it. If you’re building a PC from scratch, go with the Home version. I’m not following. You can remote desktop using Window 10 Home, there’s an Windows store app as well as the “desktop app” Remote desktop connection. Always too many SKUs. Make one version and adjust the price. Windows Central Newsletter. Get the best of Windows Central in in your inbox, every day!

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands. Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors.