Whats OEM?

[MajinSSJVegetto]

I know what it means, but not what it stands for...

[masitti]

Original Equipment Manufacture I beleive..

[Starfoxer]

yea, ms masitti is correct :p

[CyberFed]

yep , from what i understand its like a bulk product , usually doesnt have more than a 30 day warentty on it. I avoid OEM all the time and buy retail box.
just my 2 cents

[masitti]

I am quite the opposite; I avoid retail and buy OEM. It is usually cheaper, and if I don't break the thing in 30 days, then it is a keeper. :p Like my CPU; I didn't need a HSF, so I went OEM. I saved like $20 on that...

[parkan]

OEM items are mostly intended for white box computer manufacturers, not end users.

[masitti]

Originally posted by parkan
OEM items are mostly intended for white box computer manufacturers, not end users.

That is definitely true, however a lot of places (example: NewEgg) offer OEM products directly to consumers/end users.

[MajinSSJVegetto]

I always try to avoid them on most things.
Just wanted to make sure I was dodging them for the right reasons=)

[Lance Thornton]

I've only bought one boxed processor, the rest have been OEM, and I have never had a problem. Just buy from a reputable source and you should be fine.

[AZN]

basically resellers can save big on a bulk of oem products. 1, they dont come with those fancy boxes, so u wont get charged for that. also yes the warrantee is much less. but that doesnt mean the product is not as good as retail. if the average consumer walked into Frys electronics and saw a bunch of video cards in a static bag without fancy pictures they wouldnt have anything to read or wouldnt even know what they heck they are looking at. With OEM, u just get the product and what is needed to make it work, such as drivers, nothing else. No extended warrantee card to fill out... u get the idea. Oem is mostly for the pros, and generally not sold to the public. yes, some vendors like newegg offer it to the public.

[JFettig]

i dont think i would ever buy myself a boxed processor, because rite after i test it to make sure it works its gonna be unlocked.. and voided the 3yr warrenty... so thats basicly pointless....

[Yobbzz]

Originally posted by maskedgeek
i dont think i would ever buy myself a boxed processor, because rite after i test it to make sure it works its gonna be unlocked.. and voided the 3yr warrenty... so thats basicly pointless....



Yea that sums it up nicely.

[masitti]

Originally posted by maskedgeek
i dont think i would ever buy myself a boxed processor, because rite after i test it to make sure it works its gonna be unlocked.. and voided the 3yr warrenty... so thats basicly pointless....

True; however, can't you lock the processor back up? :p

[JFettig]

actually i think you can, just take some of that acetone stuff to the thing and rub it all off, but who knows how much of the other stuff it would rub off...

[ssjwizard]

yea it doesnt matter even if you get it off if theres a sign that the cpu has ben screwed with people wont return it. oem is all i buy. the only people who need the retail box is newbies who dont oc but just a little bit who dont have the budget to get a better hs/f and just need a computer that runs.

[JudgeDredd]

I thought Retail processors overclocked better than OEM...

[JFettig]

retail processors are oem processors with a box and a crappy heatsink....

[ssjwizard]

exactly like the masked one put it. retail is an oem with a box and horrible heat sink

[AZN]

Originally posted by maskedgeek
retail processors are oem processors with a box and a crappy heatsink....

I thought i already made that clear. Retail comes with boxes and OEM is just the product and whatever is needed for it to work. like wires or drivers. OEM has no instructions no fancy box just the bare minimum. Thats y u dont see them in big RETAIL stores like Frys, cuzz its the average consumers that buy there, not the people that know better. There is no difference in quality for retail or oem.

[YoungstaxGx]

For a retail processor how does the warranty work? I mean usually if the thing is bad after 30 days you either fried it most likely

[parkan]

Originally posted by NO1


I thought i already made that clear. Retail comes with boxes and OEM is just the product and whatever is needed for it to work. like wires or drivers. OEM has no instructions no fancy box just the bare minimum. Thats y u dont see them in big RETAIL stores like Frys, cuzz its the average consumers that buy there, not the people that know better. There is no difference in quality for retail or oem.

Actually, oftentimes drivers are not included since it is expected that the manufacturer will download one master set from the site and install on all mashines.

[AZN]

then i guess im lucky. I never bought a card without the drivers. Sometimes they have returns or useds cards without drivers, but those are marked down alittle. Doesnt matter, i never use the drivers on the CD anyways, i always download the lastest drivers.