It depends on all the applications in the 2009 version and what you need.  In general, the versions that ship with new PC's do not have all the features and programs that the full retail versions have.   I don't know if that really answered your question but you will have to compare what the full 2009 version has vs what is included in the new PC version.

 

If you want a full retail version, take a look at Nero Ultra V8 (probably a V9 will be coming out soon) as it's an alternative to Roxio and what many "techies" use instead of Roxio.  I used to use Roxio and always bought the new retail version when it came out.  But, since Vista, I'm now only using Nero. 

 

 

Thanks for your suggestion.  I've used Roxio for quite a while, but it has gotten where it has a lot more options than I really use and the last version seemed to take a lot of resources.  I'll take a look at Nero.