Compare Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Ultimate to see their differences.
Compare Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Ultimate to see their differences.
AFAIK premium supports a much larger capacity, probably around 32 or 64 units.
Windows 7 editions overview comparison chart [1] [3] [4] [14] [19] [32] [33] [34] Key attributes Starter Home Basic Home Premium Professional Enterprise Ultimate Licensing model OEM distribution in developing regions Retail and OEM distribution in growing markets Retail, OEM and bulk licensing [35] Bulk licensing [35] Retail and OEM distribution options Maximum available RAM (32-bit) [36] 2 GB 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB Maximum available RAM (64-bit) [36] N/A 8 GB 16 GB 192 GB 192 GB Maximum supported CPUs [a] [37] 1 1 1 2 2 2 Integrated AVCHD functionality [38] Yes No Yes Yes Yes Multiple display options [39] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Internet-based printing Available [40] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Remote desktop support No No Yes Yes Yes Web printing via internet No [41] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 64-bit version available? No Yes but not in standard retail codes Yes Yes Yes Yes Windows Aero No Partial Yes Yes Yes Yes Network sharing available Yes Built-in DVD decoder (MPEG-2 & Dolby Digital) [42] No No Yes Yes Yes Multi-touch interface No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Operating system for mobile devices No No Yes Yes Yes Internet connection sharing Available Yes No Yes Yes Yes Built-in media player experience No No Yes [43] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Backup and restore center available [44] No No No Yes Yes Yes Remote desktop services host capability No No No Yes Yes Yes Encryption support File system protection No No No Yes Yes Yes Location-based printing Supported Yes Yes Yes Yes Internet connection sharing No No Yes Yes Yes Media player remote access available Yes Remote desktop features Yes Windows Media Center No No Yes Yes Yes Windows Media Player offers seamless media playback No No Yes [41] Yes [41] Premium titles included No No Yes Yes [c] Yes [c] Yes HomeGroup integration Available Only Create or join Join only Create or join Create or join Create or join Backup to network with Backup and Restore Center [43] No No No Yes Yes Yes Hosting environment for Remote Desktop Services No No No Yes Yes Yes Active Directory and lightweight directory services (AD LDS) [45] No No No Yes Yes Yes Print capabilities via internet No No No Yes Yes Yes Printer settings for various OS versions [46] No No No No Yes Yes Media player multimedia routing [47] No No No No Yes Yes Media player media redirection [47] No No No No Yes Yes Remote desktop connections for multiple displays [47] No No No No Yes Yes Enterprise search capabilities [48] No No No No Yes Yes BitLocker encryption support No No No Yes Yes Yes File system protection options Location-aware printing Enabled Yes Yes Yes Yes Internet sharing available No No Yes Yes Yes Display settings for group policies [45] No No No Yes Yes Yes Offline file and folder redirection Supported Yes Yes Yes [45] No No No Yes Yes Yes Server domain integration No No No Yes Yes Yes Windows XP configuration [d] No No No Yes Yes Yes Remote management tools Available Yes Yes No Yes Active Directory and lightweight directory services (AD LDS) [e] No No No Yes Yes Yes Application support for multiple languages [46] No No No No Yes Yes Media player multimedia features [47] No No No No Yes Yes Remote desktop connections for enterprise searches [48] No No No No Yes Yes Distributed caching solution [49] No No No No Yes Yes Language support for virtual desktops [51] [52] Yes [52] Features Starter
Windows 7 Professional and higher supports up to 192 GB. Premium costs $16, while Basic is around $8.
The built-in drive encryption is likely the most valuable addition. I missed out on W10 Pro due to the absence of native encryption support.
Windows 10 home supports up to 128GB, making it simple for users with more than 16GB on Windows 7 home to switch to free Windows 10 without cost. Alternatively, you could rely on open-source tools for similar needs. The question of encrypting your HDD seems unnecessary unless you truly value your data.
Unless you go for overly complicated setups with hundreds of cores, huge RAID configurations, or unusual networking solutions... Ultimate isn't necessary. I researched it during my build, and it seems unnecessary for most users.
I'm likely to invest in it when it comes to rebuilding my system. Since MS intends to focus only on updates moving forward, keeping Pro features permanently makes sense.