Difference between Retail and OEM CPUs?

timehopper

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Feb 23, 2007
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I see, reason i ask is because a friend is building a system but he's getting an aftermarket hsf so there is no point to get the retail version since there is no other difference. Thanx!
 

Wgfalcon

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oem processors only have a 15 to 30 day Warranty if your gonna oc then get the oem since your warranty is voided anyways if not spend the extra 10 or so bucks and get the retail with a 3 year warranty
 

Neotriple

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Pretty much what Jack said.

The only thing about the warranties:

It really depends on where you buy from. I got an OEM e6600 from Fry's which came with a one year warranty, instead of the normal 90 day warranty [or less] you get with normal OEM's.
 

mpjesse

Splendid
Recently (8-10 months ago) Intel announced a flat pricing scheme, i.e. ending volume discounts to try to squelch some of the gray market profiteering... the problem is that what the OEMs do and the distributors/retailers do is not illegal as they purchased the processors and they are now the owner.

Didn't they do that a couple years ago? I seem to remember Intel intro'ing flat pricing back in the P4 days. Could be wrong though...
 

Crashman

Polypheme
Former Staff
An OEM CPU has no cooler or factory warranty, and TYPICALLY COST MORE THAN THE OEM CPU in low quantities. If you found a place where it cost more than the retail boxed version, look at other places.

So, for more money you lose your warranty and that chunk of aluminum you didn't need. Send the sink to me, I'll use it.

People USUALLY buy OEM CPU's because they THINK they cost less, without even checking around for lower prices on retail boxed CPU's. This is of course idiocracy, but it's contagious.
 

Grimmy

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Just wanna say that I'm currently using OEM CPUs that were brought (P4 and C2D) from Ewiz:

PIII 800 (now broken after over 8 years)
P4 3.0/800fsb/ht Northwood core
E4300 OC to 2.4ghz

Its nice to have the warranty, but to me... I dunno. The memory this triggers in my mind about warranty is best buy. Can't remember how many times the cashier would offer me an extended warranty on mouse or other stuff. I bascially said no to every offer they had on warranties.

So far I really haven't had anything replaced for failure of operation, especially a CPU.

And you can save some money (oem cpu), and get the after market or third party HSF of your choice which does make it nice.
 

Grimmy

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So far I really haven't had anything replaced for failure of operation, especially a CPU.

Either you're extremely lucky or you haven't upgraded a lot in your lifetime.

Still... I've never had a CPU go bad either.

Okay.. I may have exaggerated some... I guess I should have said fail while the general warranty was good. :lol:

I've had a PSU go out on me during a storm, which caused a power spike.

I've had a CRT 17" monitor go out on me, just wouldn't turn on one day.

I've had a WD 20 gig hd go out on me, was running linux. Took it apart to look at the platter for fun.

That PIII 800 went out on me when I was doing a linux update, then I found the crack on the die.

All in all, even the stuff that broke out lived the original warranty. Which did lead to getting better things anyway. But, I guess I'm just lucky at some things, while other people maybe lucky at other things... like winning the lottery :cry:
 

Crashman

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Former Staff
I just think its totally stupid topay more for an OEM CPU with no sink and no warranty than the retail CPU cost.

I've actually seen guys post threads "buying tomorrow, what do you think of these parts" and link to Newegg with an OEM CPU, even when Newegg charged less for the retail boxed CPU.

Occasionally the retail CPU was around $1 more but with free shipping, where the OEM was $1 less but with $4 shipping. Give me a break.

Then you point that out and they buy the OEM CPU anyway. Why? Because people keep telling them its a better deal IN THESE FORUMS. In fact, you can tell people IN THESE FORUMS "I can get a Retail Boxed E4300 for $143, or an OEM E4300 for $145, which should I buy" and they'll say "buy the OEM because it's cheaper and you don't need the cooler anyway".

The smaller number is less money in spite of what people say.
 

Mondoman

Splendid
Yes, and the OEM cooler can be a handy thing to have, especially if you are trying to troubleshoot fan-speed-based shutdowns or mysterious failures that may be caused by an aftermarket cooler's lack of secondary cooling.
 

Grimmy

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I just think its totally stupid topay more for an OEM CPU with no sink and no warranty than the retail CPU cost.

I've actually seen guys post threads "buying tomorrow, what do you think of these parts" and link to Newegg with an OEM CPU, even when Newegg charged less for the retail boxed CPU.

Occasionally the retail CPU was around $1 more but with free shipping, where the OEM was $1 less but with $4 shipping. Give me a break.

Then you point that out and they buy the OEM CPU anyway. Why? Because people keep telling them its a better deal IN THESE FORUMS. In fact, you can tell people IN THESE FORUMS "I can get a Retail Boxed E4300 for $143, or an OEM E4300 for $145, which should I buy" and they'll say "buy the OEM because it's cheaper and you don't need the cooler anyway".

The smaller number is less money in spite of what people say.

whoa guy.. I did shop around you know.

I paid 133 bucks for OEM E4300 when it was 169.00 at NewEgg. I ended up getting HSF that I wanted, so over all I saved money. I could have gone retail and brought the same HSF I wanted, but that would have been more costly.

Now if the CPU craps out then thats my fault. If it surpasses 3 years in continued working order (OC or not), good for my dad.

Again, I haven't had an OEM cpu go bad on me. If you did have an OEM go bad, I could understand perhaps on why you would want retail with the added assurance.
 

Crashman

Polypheme
Former Staff
Yeh, so you're the exception that everyone assumes is the rule. But most people buy their OEM CPU from companies like Newegg or ZipZoomFly, and those companies often charge more for the OEM version due to something called...get this:

Supply and Demand

As in, people hording the OEM versions based on the belief that they're saving money, without actually checking to see if they're actually saving money.
 

Grimmy

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Well.. I got mine from Ewiz like I stated, and I think they are just like the other company.

I can understand where you coming from though. I'd get the retail if it was $1 to $15 difference, between them so I got a paper weight to use. :lol:

I should also admit that after I got the E4300 for $133 bucks, it did go up to $143 bucks a couple days later, and the retails were sticking still at $169.00. I did luck out at that time, and I can understand the price fluctuations that you mention which can be misleading. So it does pay to shop around.

Now that I checked from Ewiz, its 109 bucks. So I would perhaps get the retail for 114 or 115 bucks simply for stock HSF, and not really the warranty. Though in my mind, I'd prolly wouldn't ever need to use the warranty, but it doesn't hurt to have added insurance.
 

Grimmy

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Overclock the snot out of the thing and when it breaks, get it replaced. Pretend the system got too hot because of extreme weather :p

Oh, you don't have the warranty.

No... I don't need to OC the snot out of it and blame it on the weather. :p

But of course, the warranty is void if you OC CPU's (OEM or Retail), but you don't wanna tell them that, if it breaks, now would ya? :p :p