Tbird 1.4 Question

[train22]

hi all

first of all, I forgot what Stepping means, I read it somewhere but now I'm mixing it up with smothing else, what does it mean again?

And about the Tbird I am about to buy for 170 bucks, its the retail, is it worth buying an OEM, are they usually in good condition? Do I need any documentations or any disk or other hardware besides the CPU chip itself? the buttom line is: IS IT RISKY OR NOT BUYING AN OEM CPU? are they used or just bought in bolk? I would be saving 40 smackers so It's a big diffy.

Thanx guys, hope soon enough I'll be doing more of answering and less questioning, heh.

[Placid]

Stepping is the revision of the cpu axia,ayhja, ect.
Most places will give a 30 day or more warranty for a oem cpu.
It does not come with a heatsink/fan.
Oem cpu's are not covered by amd's warranty only what the place you but it from offers.
The retail cpu comes with a heatsink/fan and is covered by amd's warranty for 3 years.
The common things that cause a cpu to stop working such as chipping the core or overheating are not covered under amd's warranty.
The choice is yours.

Check this link for info on stepping.
http://www.athlonoc.com/stepping2.php

[train22]

If I buy the AYHJAR Stepper over an OEM 1.4 chip can I overclock more? (I would unlock it myself but is that stepping really good for o/c?)

I would buy an OEM if the step dosen't make a diff because I don't use the defualt fan or hs. What is teh AYHJAR revis?

Edit: Nm I looked at the link after I posted this, does this mean it is easier to get high o/c?