Retail Vs OEM Differences?

jayb59874

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Apr 21, 2006
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Basically wondering what the differences are between the retail and oem version of the 3700+. Where they are both advertised it says the retail version includes a heatsink fan and a 3 year warranty. Does the oem also come with a warranty for 3 years? I am thinking of buying a Zalman 9500LED cpu fan as I have read good reviews regarding these so the OEM seems like a better purchase for me. However if no warranty is included then there is no way I would lose that just to say 15 pounds...

Thanks in advance for clearing this up for me
 
OEM parts are typically meant to be sold to system builders like Dell or HP/Compaq and are bought in bulk to reduce costs. Depending on which store you buy from the warranty period can be anywhere from 15 days to 1 year. If you are looking for peace of mind, then simply buy the retail version.

While the Zalman 9500LED is a good HSF, there are better and more quiet HSF. Read the Final Thoughts section (scroll down).

My standard recommendation is the Scythe Ninja.
 

samir_nayanajaad

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about that scythe ninja cooler, I have no personal experiance with it but on person mentioned that due to its massive size it can copmpleatly block a ram slot, or not even fit on some mobos. he had to get another cooler because the ninja just woldnt work with his (i think it was an asus sli mobo)

I hear that is a superb cooler if it fits, the zalman 9500led cools as good and has far less issues with fitting, but it is more costly.

so do your homework on both before buying to ensure that they will indeed fit and work with your mobo.
 

jayb59874

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Thank you all for your advice, in the UK the 3700+ oem cost approx 200 dollars and the retail version costs approx 215 dollars. For the 15 dollars extra I will go for the 3 years warranty, my only concern now is if it is worth buying an aftermarket CPU fan/heatsink. I was considering it but do nto know whether it is worth the money.

Will the scythe ninja or zalman 9500led be a wise investment in terms of keeping my rig quieter and running more efficiently or am I wasting my money since I doubt that I will be overclocking?
 
If you're not overclocking, it's probably not worth it. The stock cooler will do just fine at stock speeds. Also, I'm not sure how AMD feels about after-market coolers when it comes to warranty... but you could just say you were using the stock cooler anyway.
 

brainysmurf

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If not overclocking, the stock HSF with the 3700+ is fine. It cools adequately and it's not very loud, either.
I built a system for a friend with a 3500+ Venice a couple of months ago. Used stock HSF. It was much quieter than the 1.8 ghz Pentium IV Dell that it replaced.
There's room for improvement, thought. If you want to build a near-silent computer, then you may want an aftermarket brand.
My advice:
Pay the extra 15 cash for the retail version with the longer warranty and included heat sink fan (which comes with a decent, but not premium, strip of thermal compound already in place on the heatsink).
Install it and run it awhile. If you decide the fan is a little bit louder than you'd like, you can always go back and put a different heat sink on it later.
Do keep in mind, though, that many aftermarket, premium HSF combos require a custom back plate. The back plate goes on the back side of the motherboard (hence its name), which means that the motherboard has to be removed from your computer's case and motherboard tray to install it.
It's easier to install it all at once during the initial system build than to have to remove it all later and do it over.
So, if having a very quiet, very cool-running computer is high on your priority list, you should probably pick up a high-end cooler now (along with some Artic Silver 5 thermal grease).
Plus, if you later decide to experiment with overclocked settings, you'll be good to go :D
 
Will the scythe ninja or zalman 9500led be a wise investment in terms of keeping my rig quieter and running more efficiently or am I wasting my money since I doubt that I will be overclocking?

The best advice I can give is to just throw your 3700+ into your PC (figuratively speaking) and find out if the stock HSF is too loud for your taste, or the CPU gets too hot.

Then decide if getting an aftermarket HSF is worth the money. If your case has good airflow the Scythe Ninja will be able to cool it passively. If you overclock then maybe you need to use the included fan and get a fan controller like Zalman's Fanmate 2 to reduce it to minimum speed. The Ninja can cool a X2 3800+ passively with no problems in a case with good airflow. You can do a search for the Scythe Ninja in SilentPCReview.com's forum to find out how effective it is. You can also register and post a question and have it answered by people who uses it.