what is the difference between a retial and an oem hdd,other than price?????

[Grampa]

in looking for a hard drive I have seen oem and retail versions of the same drives ,is it that an oem is not formatted?
:confused:

[kct2]

No drive comes formatted. The only difference is packaging, and price.

[Needitcooler]

Sometimes the warranty periods are different also. Not very often though. Everything else is the same.

[apenland01]

I haven't seen too many "retail" drives out there. Most are OEM drives in static sleeves which are standard. Honestly, you don't need much with a drive in the way of instruction or manuals. As long as the warranty is solid, it shouldn't matter which version you get.

[Grampa]

thanks for the info people,I am learning as I go,buying parts (Nf7-s v-2,barton 2500 aqxea0331spmw,couple sticks of corsair)lots left to buy.then I get to put it all together and get it to work

[apenland01]

Thats where I'm at on my new system as well. The "putting it together" phase. Good luck with your new system.

[rxc]

OEM HD's probably will not come with any cables so be sure to pick some up if you need them.

[Chixofnix]

The only hardware i would recommend as necessary to buy "retail" (aka in a box, whether online or otherwise) would be your graphics card and power supply, b/c the vid card is really expensive, and you'll want some kind of warranty if it breaks after a few months, and buy a power supply with a nice warranty (truepowers are nice), b/c if your PS screws up so may your entire system, and you'll want to be able to put the responsibility on your PS company if their PS blows up your compy

[Grampa]

you think alot like I do Chixofnix,I paid a little more for my unlocked barton but I have a three year warrenty,I wouldnt rma it if I messed it up but I like having the 3 years of coverage

[lansens]

I buy most everything "Retail". I like having the security of longer warranties. The only exception would be hard drives. Hard drives in most cases come with the same warranty, OEM or retail. When you buy from e-tailers like NewEgg, OEM's are all they sell. Besides, if you buy a motherboard retail, it should have all the cables you will need. No need to spend the extra cash on retail hard drives.

[Grampa]

your right,fed-ex just dropped off my new NF7-S into my hot little hands(even gave my dog a milkbone,such a nice guy),I opened the box and all the cables I need are with it,started reading the manual and found out that I need to go get fitted for glasses(just another hidden expense when you build your own system)