OEM or Retail???

[-=HN=- Wild9]

im buying my mobo and cpu seperatly and the mobo im getting is retail, should i get an oem version of the tbird 1.4ghz 266 fsb or should i pay the extra and go with the retail box of it?

[rUfUnKy]

I would go with oam and save your self some money..cpu's are cheap enough now that theres no need to go retail just for the warranty....

[JAWS]

Man, I would go with oem all the way! The only thing you're doing is saving money.

[Microsoft]

retail

2 - oems = $$$

1 retail = replacement

[Hugo 59]

With retail you will get:

CPU in a Nice Box
cheap hsf (will need to be replaced if you want to oc)
Three year warranty (will be voided as soon as you oc)

With OEM you get:

CPU in a white box
No hsf
Warranty depends on what the OEM provides

You will also save a lot of money with which you can get a good hsf and some arctic silver.

I've bought every cpu I've ever owned OEM.

[proze]

i reckon hugo's on the button. you void your warranty anyway when you start overclocking, so why bother paying extra for a hsf you're not going to use anyway? get the oem cpu...

[abb1]

I have always bought OEM. I don't keep a CPU long enough for the warranty to benefit me, and I use the money I save to buy other computer parts.
Abb

[Shadow ÒÓ]

bah.....the price difference is only about $10-$20. IF for some reason you havn't blown that thing up (within reason) in 2 years, you have a free replacement!

I always buy Retail. It's not a huge price difference.

[bsblues]

retail My retail 1.4 athlon was only 5 dollers more then a OEM.

long as you core does not chip you got a 3 year warrenty with
the retail, I think it is worth it.

[The Overclocker]

i didn't get the choise but with prices as low as they are, does it really matter

[killem1x1]

I have cracked 1 bird, and 1 duron, but I have four other chips that I purchased "retail" because the price difference was about $10.00. Yes I do overclock, but I haven't done anything "permanent" to the chips(yet) that would void my warranty. So while it may be morally wrong to use a warranty in this manner, I would highly suggest protecting your investment, in any way possible ;)
Now, I'm off to permanently void my warranty on my XP1800+. Talk about a hypocrit :)

[-=HN=- Wild9]

i just went with oem, i mean once i overclock it the warranty is gone, and ill have to short the L1 bridges too, so well if i kill it then ill just get a duron until i save up again to get a 1.4