Online retailer Newegg.com today unveiled prices for OEM editions of Windows 7, and as usual, they're significantly lower than the full and even upgrade retail versions. As you are probably aware, these licenses are intended for small-scale system builders, ban users from transferring the operating system from one PC to another, come with no support whatsoever, and only allows performing a clean installation.

If you don't mind those restrictions, however, there's nothing to prevent individual users from buying and installing an OEM version of Windows on their machines. So, if you missed the initial pre-order discount or don't qualify for the current student offer, going for an OEM copy of Microsoft's upcoming operating system may be the next best thing in terms of savings.

Specifically, Newegg priced the OEM edition of Windows 7 Home Premium at $110, nearly 50% off Microsoft's suggested list price of $200 for the full version and about 10% less than the $120 price of the same edition's upgrade. Other savings are available for Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate at $140 and $190, respectively, versus $300 and $320 for the full retail versions.

The online retailer is also offering pre-order prices that are $5 to $15 cheaper until October 20, which means a full copy of Windows 7 Home Premium OEM can be purchased for as little as $100.