retail vs. oem

[OCn00b]

I know I'll probably receive a verbal beating just for asking about this:) but what's the difference? I've always been told to stay away from oem but from a money perspective, oem's seem like a better choice. Thanks for the info.

[looktall]

well, AFAIK the only difference between the two is with OEM you don't get a HSF included and you get 1 year instead of 3 years warranty.

i'm not aware of there being any difference in their overclockability.

[beezee]

usually the hardware enthusiast (sp?) would want to go for the OEM version. Not only is it cheaper but the performance is usually the same when overclocking. I'm not going to say it's always the same because no two peices of hardware are the same. When buying all parts for a new comp OEM, you usually end up saving a lot. Retail version come with a lot of software and bs that you really don't need and which you pay big $$ for... (my own opinion)... So, if you like the software, hsf, etc that you are given with the retail version then go for it... if you don't have as much money and don't care about the bs software then get the OEM version! :)

[LoneWolfX1X]

OEM=Cheaper...no other difference...they're all the same dies

Retail=A little more expensive. Comes with an HSF you'll replace and a warranty you'll void. You do get a swank case sticker though :)

Just don't buy a retail thinking you can warranty it if you fry it oc'ing. This is treading on flame material but you really shouldnt rma oc'ed chips...if not for ethical reasons then for practical. You can bet RMA policies are going to change for the worse if everyone tries to replace their overvolted 1.6as :)

[batboy]

A couple years ago, the "word" was that retail CPUs overclocked better than OEM and indeed it seemed like that was the case in many situations. That was also during the time when you could buy a "pre-tested" CPU that was guaranteed to do a certain speed. What we finally decided was that "some" vendors were buying trays of OEM processors, then tested them and sold the good ones for a premium price and the ones that didn't overclock so good as regular OEM CPUs. To avoid getting the OEM "rejects" overclockers began buying sealed retail boxes.

Even back a few more years in history, back before Intel locked the multiplier, some dishonest con-artists were changing the printing on OEM processors, like marking P-120 chips as P-133 etc. So, the sealed retail box was a way to avoid a remarked processor.

Nowadays, hardly anyone pre-test CPUs anymore, so both retail and OEM should overclock about the same. The main advantage of retail is the better 3 year warranty. Some of the OEM CPUs only have a 30 day warranty (I think). The retail also comes with a factory heatsink and fan which most overclockers don't use anyway. But... you might be able to cut up the heatsink and make a cool vid card cooler out of it or something.

[OCn00b]

Thank you all for the information, it's been extremely helpful. My only debate now is buying retail and using the stock hsf or getting something else. I'll be buying two 1 Ghz P3's and from what i understand i'll be lucky to hit 1.2 Ghz so do you guys think the stock hsf's will be enough or should i save the money and go oem and put the rest into better cooling? Thanks.

[looktall]

i find the current intel hsf's to be very good at what they do.
when my 1.1A is running at 1.6 @ 1.70v using the intel hsf, the full load temp is still around 35C. i've never seen my cpu temp go above 40C. (when it get's up around that temp i turn my 120mm fan on @ 7v.)

[OCn00b]

Cool, after a little more looking, I'll save $42 by going the OEM route(does that sound about right?) The cpu's are $99 each, I still need to look around a little bit more though. Is $99 a pretty good price? Retail is $120 each. I've got room for 2 more case fans, any suggestions for a good one that won't cost too much? Thanks.

[DDR-PIII]

i like eggs :)

[jmsandrsn]

Originally posted by OCn00b
Cool, after a little more looking, I'll save $42 by going the OEM route(does that sound about right?) The cpu's are $99 each, I still need to look around a little bit more though. Is $99 a pretty good price? Retail is $120 each. I've got room for 2 more case fans, any suggestions for a good one that won't cost too much? Thanks.

What motherboard do you plan on using? What kind of FSB's were you wanting to OC to?

[OCn00b]

The board is an Acorp 6A815EPD and I only planned on getting the FSB up to maybe 140. That seems to be as high as it'll go and still be stable but 140 should be high enough for me right now.

[Brosken]

To looktall: Just for the record... The temps you have on your cpu seems way out of order. With the cooling, cpu-speed and voltage you have the cpu idle-temp should land at around 15-20 deg Celsius above case-temp. If your case-temp is around 20deg Celsius it seems about correct though... =)

[looktall]

i currently live in the south west of western australian. it is usually pretty cold down here in winter. (not cold by your standards though :p )

the room temp is usually around 18-20C. that's why my full load temp is so low.
i've actually had the full load temp down as low as 22C. (i had no wood for the fire so my room temp was only 12C) :D

my cpu (no matter which cpu's i've had) is always around 6-7C above case temp. i have very good cooling in my case.