Most consumers buying or building a Windows 10 PC will be coming across either the "Home" or "Pro" versions of the operating system. Many might not notice, nor care which they're on so long as it's Windows 10 and it does whatever they want it to do.
For some, however, Windows 10 Pro will be a must have, and if it doesn't come with the PC you buy you'll be looking to upgrade, at a cost.
So, is it worth it for you?
The first thing to consider is the price. Upgrading through Microsoft directly will cost $199.99, which isn't a small investment. For most average consumers, Windows 10 Home is everything you'll ever need and you shouldn't waste your money on a Pro upgrade.
Pro is marketed more towards the business crowd without being on the scale of a full enterprise rollout, or even for education in some instances. Some of the key features of Pro:
- Join your Domain: You can connect to your business or school Domain or Azure Active Directory to use network files, servers, printers, and more.
- Enhanced encryption: Get additional security with BitLocker to help protect your data with encryption and security management.
- Remote log-in: Windows 10 enables you to log in with Remote Desktop to sign in and use your Pro PC while at home or on the road.
- Virtual machines: Create and run virtual machines with Hyper-V so you can run more than one operating system at the same time on the same PC.
- Your apps in the Store: Windows 10 lets you create your own private app section in the Windows Store for convenient access to company applications.
You can find out more at Microsoft, but those are the headline features. You also have support for things like Remote Desktop built into Windows 10 Pro, which is essential for using with Microsoft's own Remote Desktop application. Trusted boot and support for up to 2TB (yes, 2TB) of RAM are also built into Pro, compared to the 'paltry' 128GB supported by Home.
Ultimately the decision is yours to make, but if remote desktop functionality, for example, is all you want, there are ways to achieve this without spending 200 bucks. Home PCs and laptops are going to be fine on Windows 10 Home for most of the people, most of the time. However, if you're running a small business or perhaps plan to develop software, then Windows 10 Pro would be a wise investment.
