OEM vs Retail

[DarkDraco]

I was talking to a member about what type of card to get and the subject of OEM vs Retail came up. Is there a real difference between them other than one might come with a couple game demos and a fancy box?

[shiyan]

besides the fancy box and games, you really have to look at the specs.

sometimes in the past, LE cards were just called OEM.

haven't seen it recently though.

[R4z0r4mu5 Pr|m3]

retail cards generally seem to be more overclockable and maybe even more stable

also, retail packages use the guaranteed specs for the chipsets such as the Radeon 9100 which specs at 250/250 will come at 250/250 in retail boxes but only 250/230 or even 250/200 from OEM - they use slower ram

[shiyan]

cool, so this OEM = LE stuff is still going on then?

[billstuck]

I allways buy OEM and have gotten great cards with great specs. MY last one was a Powercolor 9600pro with 2.8ns RAM. It came with DVI, SVideo cables and 3 games...The retail ATI cards don't come with any of that.

OEM is good stuff it just doesn't have a fancy box. The warrenty is the same and the card is the same. They do not dump underperforming cards into OEM.

As allways buy from a reputable dealer and stay away from those Pricewatch scammers. They sell 9800NPs as pros with a flashed bios and all sorts of scandulous crap. Newegg or Mwave gets my vote.

[Pinnacle2k4]

Originally posted by billstuck
I allways buy OEM and have gotten great cards with great specs. MY last one was a Powercolor 9600pro with 2.8ns RAM. It came with DVI, SVideo cables and 3 games...The retail ATI cards don't come with any of that.

OEM is good stuff it just doesn't have a fancy box. The warrenty is the same and the card is the same. They do not dump underperforming cards into OEM.

As allways buy from a reputable dealer and stay away from those Pricewatch scammers. They sell 9800NPs as pros with a flashed bios and all sorts of scandulous crap. Newegg or Mwave gets my vote.

retail card don't have with dvi? Most cards come with dvi, its like a standard and all cards now, so is the s cable.

[billstuck]

Originally posted by Pinnacle2k4


retail card don't have with dvi? Most cards come with dvi, its like a standard and all cards now, so is the s cable.

sorry I ment the games. Bad wording

[snyper1982]

pretty much, oem and retail are the same. i have heard of it in the past where oem got slower parts, but not recently. i got my oem 9700np, and i cant imagine getting a faster one retail, it has 2.8ns samsung ram :)

[R4z0r4mu5 Pr|m3]

it depends on the card of course, for higher end cards like the 9500 to 9800 series, the oem ones are currently just about as good as the retail, but for lower cards where people try to save money like the 5200 or 8500-9100 you better watch out - they cut the ram speed, sometimes even 128-bit down to 64-bit ram interface

[DarkDraco]

i was wondering because i saw a 9500pro OEM for 189.99

[R4z0r4mu5 Pr|m3]

that's a good deal DarkDraco, is shipping included?

[HardwareJedi]

Originally posted by billstuck
I allways buy OEM and have gotten great cards with great specs. MY last one was a Powercolor 9600pro with 2.8ns RAM. It came with DVI, SVideo cables and 3 games...The retail ATI cards don't come with any of that.

OEM is good stuff it just doesn't have a fancy box. The warrenty is the same and the card is the same. They do not dump underperforming cards into OEM.

As allways buy from a reputable dealer and stay away from those Pricewatch scammers. They sell 9800NPs as pros with a flashed bios and all sorts of scandulous crap. Newegg or Mwave gets my vote.


You still need to read the fine print when it comes to OEM or Bulk packaged items. Some Makers DO sell underspec parts (Slower Clock speeds) at cheap prices that are called oem. You really need to be sure of what your getting. ATI's older cards followed this convention and Visiontek produced a 2 pipe Geforce 2 GTS low baller. It's still being done by Both IHV's Board Partners. Caveat Emptor!

and BTW My ATI Retail card came with a DVI adapter and S-Video Cable and as for the games, If they're any good or of interest to me I already have them. Nothing you get with an OEM package is going to be really new.

[DarkDraco]

Originally posted by R4z0r4mu5 Pr|m3
that's a good deal DarkDraco, is shipping included?

after shipping its 194. i decided to pay a little extra and get a 9800np

[billstuck]

Originally posted by DarkDraco


after shipping its 194. i decided to pay a little extra and get a 9800np


Good choice ;)

[chasingapple]

I have an OEM ASUS GF4 Ti 4200, same clock speed as the retail cards minus the fancy box and software...I would rather save the money :)