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OEM vs. ?

OEM is when they dont package the part with a pictured box and usually with no extra software. only drivers, screws etc. and in a plain box.

retail comes with extra software and colored packaging.

most if not all the stuff i ordered from newegg was OEM, parts came bubble wrapped with a bag of screws or disk.

and OEM has a shorter warranty then retail. the price should also be lower due to not including the extra software/warranty.
 
There is OEM, and there is Retail. Take a processor, for example. With the retail package, you get a fancy box, a heatsink, a fan and a long warranty. With the OEM package, you get the processor and 30 days warranty, but you save major bucks. A CD burner? With OEM you get the burner and maybe some burner software. It varies a bit what you get with OEM. A mouse, for example, will come loose without a box, warranty or drivers. Any drivers that you may need, you download someplace. Sometimes the seller has a good rma program that helps if the piece you bought immediately goes south on you.

Me? I tend to go for OEM, but a lot of people feel safer if they buy the retail package because of the warranty. I always buy retail monitors because I like that added protection.

I hope this helps with any decision that you are making. :)
 
I buy my processors and motherboards retail (memory too), but hard drives, sound cards, video cards, and optical drives, I have no problem going OEM. I can download my own drivers, so I can do without the pretty little CDs.
 
OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufaturer, which means that it is not meant for the typical end user, however, if you know what you are doing, you can save a good chunk of money by buying OEM. The only things I usually buy OEM is Processors and CD-ROM Drives.


~N
 
OEM - same product, but no pretty packaging, and usually either come in a white box or no box at all. Also, they usually don't come with manuals or any software.

I buy my hard drives, opticals, and sound cards OEM, but I buy my processor retail for the case badge and free heat sink.
 
i got a OEM WD Drive 2OGB and it runs perfect, but except this one runs a little hotter then the retail. but they still good. :D
 
Originally posted by xdviper
i got a OEM WD Drive 2OGB and it runs perfect, but except this one runs a little hotter then the retail. but they still good. :D
Click to expand...
The reason it runs hotter is just dumb luck because they are the same as retail drives. You got a hot running one.
 
Most oem parts (except processors) come with the exact same warranty as their retail counterpart.

They also come with the manaul and cd (just not necessarily some extras like games and stuff).

OEM parts are bulk packed, to save on packaging. If you get an oem product without the cd or manual, someone was most likely just too lazy to pack it.
 
Originally posted by xdviper
i got a OEM WD Drive 2OGB and it runs perfect, but except this one runs a little hotter then the retail. but they still good. :D
Click to expand...
Haha, you are kidding right?:p

OEM is good for things that you don't really want the warranty on. Generally, I buy monitors, vid cards, and motherboards retail, and pretty much everything else OEM, especially generic stuff.
 
The other option that no one has mentioned is BULK. I've found that it is a basically an OEM product with even less included. Often times, the quality isn't as good as an OEM or a retail product. In the case of a video card, for instance, sometimes manufacturers ship the card out at a lowered core clock or memory speed. It's a dirty game to play, but you should know what you are buying anyways.

I concur with many though. Unless a product is a processor or motherboard, I'll purchase the OEM version of a component as I don't need all the eye candy to go with it.

Dark Assassin
 
Originally posted by Mad_Pyro
Haha, you are kidding right?:p

OEM is good for things that you don't really want the warranty on. Generally, I buy monitors, vid cards, and motherboards retail, and pretty much everything else OEM, especially generic stuff.
Click to expand...

Remember that the warranty is still the same for OEM components or retail components from the Manufacturer. Now that being said, if you buy OEM you need to deal with the Manufacturer to RMA it. If you buy retail you can use the retailer to RMA it for you usually up to a year. You can still return OEM equipment but usually in a very short period of time (anywhere from 10 days to 90 days usually).

Cheers,
 
Check the specs. Some OEM video cards come clocked slower or with a narrower memory bus than the retail version. Some CD-RWs have 2MB buffer vs. 8MB for retail. And there are differences in OEM vs retail warranty from some manufacturers. OEM product, as stated above, was intended to be built into a PC usually with a 1-year warranty from the PC builder, so some OEM components have 1-year warranty vs 2- or 3-year retail warranty.
 
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