Retail box or OEM

[Paul the D]

Which is best when buying hardware - retail box or OEM (what does this
mean). Sorry for daft question, but it just had to asked!!

Paul D, Worcestershire, UK
The Sunshine County

P3 700mHz
MS-6178
256MB RAM PC100
Maxtor 30Gb HDD
Samsung Combo SM-304B
Artec WRR-52Z
Delta 180w PSU

 

[Forelli]

oem is cheaper.
retail ya just pay more for a fancy box.

oem = is original equipment manufacturere

 

[Mike Mastro]

Don't forget that retail frequently involves getting something "more" as
well. For example, when you buy a retail AMD CPU you will most likely get
a heat sink and cooling fan (HSF) with it that you can use. The OEM
version would usually just be the chip itself. In this case, many power
users still go an buy a better HSF (for different reasons), so from their
point of view the "extra" isn't worth it since they won't be using it. I
have done both myself, but since I don't overclock I've found that the HSF
included in the retail package is adequate. Please note that this is
just the difference with a CPU as an example. The retail vs. OEM also is
done with other hardware as well. You usually just have to read the fine
print to determine the exact differences.

Good luck with whatever you may purchase.

Mike

 

[Conor]

Which is best when buying hardware - retail box or OEM (what does this
mean). Sorry for daft question, but it just had to asked!!

OEM = brown box, minimal instructions and minimal guarantee (12 months)
Retail = glossy box, nice manual, added extras (such as a free game on
a graphics card) and extended warranties such as 3 year ones on some
CPUs and HDDs.

--
________________________
Conor Turton
(e-mail address removed)
ICQ:31909763
________________________

 

[Timothy Daniels]

Which is best when buying hardware - retail box or OEM
(what does this mean). Sorry for daft question, but it just
had to asked!!

"OEM" usually means the piece of hardware as a PC
manufacturer would need it - without an installation or
user's manual and sometimes without associated software
like drivers or applications and without a pretty box.
Sometimes, in the case of some utility software, the OEM
product is identical with the retail version but just comes
in a CD sleeve instead of the retail box. There can be a
small installation manual that accompanies it, but the full
user guide must be printed from the CD or it can be
downloaded from the producer's website. Usually, what
an OEM product lacks, one can get from the maker's
website. There may be some warranty differences for
OEM versus retail products, but I don't know for sure.
If you're a true-blue DIYer and homebuilder, the lower
prices for OEM products are unresistable. If it means
solving an engineering problem for the manufacturer,
all the better.


*TimDaniels*

 

[Gary Tait]

oem is cheaper.
retail ya just pay more for a fancy box.

But you iften get more bundled software, support, and warrantee.

A middle grpund would be to purchase an OEM boxer, such as RetailPlus,
whom buy the OWM hardware, and sell it retail.

 

[Conor]

oem is cheaper.
retail ya just pay more for a fancy box.

Not necessarily. A retail AMD CPU that comes with a HSF and an extra 2
years warranty is the same price as buying an OEM CPU and HSF.


--
________________________
Conor Turton
(e-mail address removed)
ICQ:31909763
________________________