cloning will work but a clean install is better.

one thing to note if you go for clean install route: since your laptop has a w8 basic, that means there is a w8 key stored in bios. this usually created a problem. if you just run the w10 install dvd (created from the stock w10 iso), which consists of home and pro editions, the installer will automatically pick up the w8 key in bios and proceed to install w10 home, instead of w10 pro.

the remedy is as follows. the easiest way to do this is to create a usb installer:

1. format a usb stick 8gb with fat32 (this is for uefi mode install, so make sure the bios settings is set to uefi, eg. secureboot enabled; csm disabled; you can also enable fastboot);
2. extract the contents of w10 iso directly into your usb stick (meaning open the iso file with 7zip or winrar, and then use the extract button and point the destination to your usb stick);
3. put the following into a .txt file (notepad) and rename it to ei.cfg (make sure the extension is .cfg instead of .txt);

4. navigate to your usb installer, and put ei.cfg into the 'sources' folder;
5. use the usb stick to boot and install w10 pro. you will be asked to choose which edition to install.

there will be 2 places that ask for keys. just skip them. once the installation is complete, connect your laptop to the internet, and it will be automatically activated.

all free and successful w10 upgrade from old os will get digital entitlement, meaning a unique hardware id of your laptop has been registered to ms server, and that id will be used to activate w10 on that particular device. that's why there is no need for a new product key with the w10 upgrade route. just make sure your laptop is connected to the internet after a clean install. the rest will be done automatically.

you know, a lot of things when we just look at them, they do look hard and complicated. it's when you do it that you can find out that it's simple. it's up to you that whether you wanna get past that mind hurdle or not. i can only share with you how i did it, the rest you decide.

i'm not sure if you can use w8 pro key to perform w10 pro upgrade from w10 home. all i know is that you can use the old key to install w10 1511, if your device hasn't gone through w10 free upgrade. (after successful upgrades, with w10 activated online, it's considered that you device has been given digital entitlement by ms. subsequent clean installs will not require key anymore)

This post has been edited by horns: Feb 19 2016, 11:39 AM

ram depends on usage. if you wanna have a better user experience, go for 8gb for today's common use.

the more significant upgrade is still ssd in place of hdd as os drive. even an entry-level ssd is good for overall system responsiveness. hdd is an apparent bottle neck for the same purpose.