OEM vs RETAIL!

Drakon · Dec 11, 2004, 07:44 AM

Ok gang, planning and hoping to build a new pc sometime soon and i am in the process of choosing my parts, but one thing i am curious about is oem and retail parts. now i know retail costs more than oem, but is it worthwhile to purchase oem parts or should i stay clear of them? please let me know ur reasons for ur particular choice...

**MIG-31** · Dec 11, 2004, 07:52 AM

oem parts are just the same items as the retail counterparts.the only difference between them you don't get all the fancy packaging with oem's.

say a oem dvd-rw which were the last oem purchase i made,plain brown box and no software ie nero 5.5/dvd software is included.

so effectively most would already have all the software from other purchases so thats were the savings come in.

Drakon · Dec 11, 2004, 07:58 AM

hmmm, i heard at one time that oem parts are usually inferior somewhat than their retail counterparts. is this true? also what about warranties? r the normally the same lenght of time as for retail parts?
also i noticed that some oem parts don't come with the necessary cables, so would it be cheaper to buy the oem parts and then buy the necessary cables separately, compared to buying the retail vers which includes the cables?

mike2h · Dec 11, 2004, 08:01 AM

most of the time you do not get the warranty either. & the possibilty of 'relabled' or 'changed spec' parts is possible too. not likely, but there.
usually if you chx the venders out you can save yourself most problems.
mig pretty well hit it right. you need to look at the software involved(if any) & decide wether you need it or not. if you do then bundles are the cheapest way of getting good. useful software(legit

).

**MIG-31** · Dec 11, 2004, 12:29 PM

just to add also......with oem parts i agree with what mike2h says about the warranty etc.yes i would email the particular store/site to see what the feedback about warranties are from them.also keep track on how long it takes them to reply also if these are stores you have not used before.

but i find if you use a reputable online store they do help out the best they can.but as in the past i have yet to return a single oem item.

OldBuzzard · Dec 11, 2004, 02:37 PM

I don't worry too much about the length of warranties on anything that is all solid state. Electronic equipment either fails almost immediately or lasts for a long, long time. Yeah, fans on vid cards and such might fail, but it's usually not worth the effort to RMA them for something that is as cheap and easy to replace. Almost all OEM stuff now has a short warranty, and that's usually all that you really need. I'll go OEM on things like that unless there are 'goodies' in the retail ones that I want or need.

Hard and Optical drives, Keyboards, and Joysticks (things that have a lot of mechanical parts) are another story. I want all the warranty I can get on them because they have moving parts and are much less reliable than solid state devices.

The_Neon_Cowboy · Dec 11, 2004, 02:42 PM

depends on many factors.... OEM costs less but is also worth less when you resell it.

Warrenty is also improtant!

high end stuff Motherboard, Hard drives, Video cards, sound cards
I try to always go retail... useally it's onlt a few buck mores

the rest doesn't matter as much.... cheap modems sound cards / video cards etc

Drakon · Dec 11, 2004, 05:22 PM

well thanks for the replies, guys...

i was considering if it'll be better to get an oem cpu like the A64 3500+ and 2 oem segate barracuda sata hd's, but i think i'll get the retail versions of those instead...

Btw, i was looking at these components on newegg...

farkas · Dec 11, 2004, 05:52 PM

What I would like to point out, is the warranty. OEM warranty's are usually (99%) with the retail outlet (shop or online store) or with the distributor for that retail outlet. If the store goes out of business good luck with servicing your part. If the distributor goes out of business, 50 % chance warranty servicing will be troublesome.

The_Neon_Cowboy · Dec 11, 2004, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drakon

well thanks for the replies, guys...

i was considering if it'll be better to get an oem cpu like the A64 3500+ and 2 oem segate barracuda sata hd's, but i think i'll get the retail versions of those instead...

Btw, i was looking at these components on newegg...

If you not going to o/c the CPU buy OEM, if you going to o/c buy retail
why? warrenty

The hard drives if the warrenty is the same with some brands if it's 3 years for the retail or oem get the OEM if it's cheaper! orther wise get retail

Drakon · Dec 11, 2004, 07:18 PM

well checking both the retail and oem versions of the segate sata hd's i saw both offer a 5yr warranty. the oem version however doesn't come with any cables and it's cheaper; the oem 80GB Sata HD is $73 + $4.69 for shipping and the retail is $97 + $5.25 shipping.

i saw i could get this power adapter for the oem:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...104-555&depa=0

This is what comes with the retail version:
http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage....148-037-03.JPG

However what is this orange cable that is next to the power adapter and where can i buy it if i get the oem version? Thanks for all the help, guys

drakesteakn · Dec 11, 2004, 07:34 PM

u mean the S-ata cable, new egg sells them. not sure about local stores.

PoopyTheJ · Dec 11, 2004, 07:51 PM

Depends on the difference in price usually for me, I'll go OEM for most things but like I say it depends on price.

crlorentzen · Dec 11, 2004, 08:44 PM

SATA cables usually come with the motherboard. AS for OEM vs Retail, I buy OEM on everything I can save the 20 bucks...but when it comes to CPUs I buy retail because I want the original fan/heatsink.

May just be lazy on my part but I do not want to have to look for a fan. As well buy refurbished when you can they are usually a lot cheaper and are equally good in most cases, my current mobo is a refurb from newegg.con.

topbob · Dec 12, 2004, 07:06 AM

only thing id suggest getting retail is cpu and mobo, other things dun matter too much.

Matth · Dec 12, 2004, 05:25 PM

If the Retail CPU includes a stock HSF (and you're happy with the cooling/noise result from it), retail can even work out cheaper than buying the OEM CPU and a suitable HSF.

One thing to watch, is that the OEM is not a nasty version - with writers, in particular, some OEMS (eg. Sony) are nasty versions with infrequent updates unless you crossflash them.

A bagged or brown box version of the standard drive as OEM, OK, but not some half-assed rebrand version.

pr0digal jenius · Dec 12, 2004, 07:49 PM

OEM for drives(optical and hard disk), sound card, and RAM, retail for CPU, mainboard, and video cards.

Ubergrendle · Dec 13, 2004, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drakon

hmmm, i heard at one time that oem parts are usually inferior somewhat than their retail counterparts. is this true? also what about warranties? r the normally the same lenght of time as for retail parts?
also i noticed that some oem parts don't come with the necessary cables, so would it be cheaper to buy the oem parts and then buy the necessary cables separately, compared to buying the retail vers which includes the cables?

I'd have to strongly disagree on this point... in my experience OEM is equal, if not better quality, than their retail counterparts.

OEM theoretically is targeted at local manufacturers, and enthusiasts are tolerated as well...basically a very technical audience. If there is a bad batch, or inferior quality components, the buyers are qualified enough to know the issue and put up a stiff resistance. Its counter productive to dump crap in the OEM channel.

Having worked retail in the early 1990s, I can honestly say that the quality of retail packages was garbage...we had 33% return rates on alot of components. And we did our own quality control testing to ensure that "yes, this batch has a 1 in 3 failure rate" by doing in-store testing rather than just rely on consumer-return #s.

Packaged retail versions do sometimes get bundled with nice extras -- especially software wise. This would be the only 'plus' in my mind.

As for 'warranties', failure rates on electronics are a massive inverse bell-curve. If your device doesn't fail in the first 30-90 days, chances are it will run for 5 years+ without giving you a problem. Hence as long as you have a good 15 day return/exchange policy from your OEM reseller, and you burn in your component immediately upon purchase, you're free and clear. This is why "extended warranties" are cash cows for the Future Shops, Best Buys, and Fry's of the world.

Dec 11, 2004, 07:44 AM	#1
Drakon DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Floatin'... Posts: 4,957 Rep Power: 0	OEM vs RETAIL! Ok gang, planning and hoping to build a new pc sometime soon and i am in the process of choosing my parts, but one thing i am curious about is oem and retail parts. now i know retail costs more than oem, but is it worthwhile to purchase oem parts or should i stay clear of them? please let me know ur reasons for ur particular choice...

Dec 11, 2004, 07:52 AM	#2
MIG-31 HardwareHeaven News Mod Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Nottingham,UK Posts: 56,821 Rep Power: 471 System Specs	oem parts are just the same items as the retail counterparts.the only difference between them you don't get all the fancy packaging with oem's. say a oem dvd-rw which were the last oem purchase i made,plain brown box and no software ie nero 5.5/dvd software is included. so effectively most would already have all the software from other purchases so thats were the savings come in. __________________ Please Post Your News Submissions Here

Dec 11, 2004, 08:01 AM	#4
mike2h DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: norcal Posts: 6,483 Rep Power: 91 System Specs	most of the time you do not get the warranty either. & the possibilty of 'relabled' or 'changed spec' parts is possible too. not likely, but there. usually if you chx the venders out you can save yourself most problems. mig pretty well hit it right. you need to look at the software involved(if any) & decide wether you need it or not. if you do then bundles are the cheapest way of getting good. useful software(legit). __________________

Dec 11, 2004, 12:29 PM	#5
MIG-31 HardwareHeaven News Mod Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Nottingham,UK Posts: 56,821 Rep Power: 471 System Specs	just to add also......with oem parts i agree with what mike2h says about the warranty etc.yes i would email the particular store/site to see what the feedback about warranties are from them.also keep track on how long it takes them to reply also if these are stores you have not used before. but i find if you use a reputable online store they do help out the best they can.but as in the past i have yet to return a single oem item. __________________ Please Post Your News Submissions Here

Dec 11, 2004, 02:37 PM	#6
OldBuzzard DH's oldest Geek Join Date: May 2003 Location: Oberlin, OH Posts: 2,783 Rep Power: 145 System Specs	I don't worry too much about the length of warranties on anything that is all solid state. Electronic equipment either fails almost immediately or lasts for a long, long time. Yeah, fans on vid cards and such might fail, but it's usually not worth the effort to RMA them for something that is as cheap and easy to replace. Almost all OEM stuff now has a short warranty, and that's usually all that you really need. I'll go OEM on things like that unless there are 'goodies' in the retail ones that I want or need. Hard and Optical drives, Keyboards, and Joysticks (things that have a lot of mechanical parts) are another story. I want all the warranty I can get on them because they have moving parts and are much less reliable than solid state devices. __________________ When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY

Dec 11, 2004, 07:58 AM	Thread Starter #3
Drakon DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Floatin'... Posts: 4,957 Rep Power: 0	hmmm, i heard at one time that oem parts are usually inferior somewhat than their retail counterparts. is this true? also what about warranties? r the normally the same lenght of time as for retail parts? also i noticed that some oem parts don't come with the necessary cables, so would it be cheaper to buy the oem parts and then buy the necessary cables separately, compared to buying the retail vers which includes the cables?

Dec 11, 2004, 02:42 PM	#7
The_Neon_Cowboy HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 16,009 Rep Power: 92 System Specs	depends on many factors.... OEM costs less but is also worth less when you resell it. Warrenty is also improtant! high end stuff Motherboard, Hard drives, Video cards, sound cards I try to always go retail... useally it's onlt a few buck mores the rest doesn't matter as much.... cheap modems sound cards / video cards etc __________________

Dec 11, 2004, 05:22 PM	Thread Starter #8
Drakon DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Floatin'... Posts: 4,957 Rep Power: 0	well thanks for the replies, guys... i was considering if it'll be better to get an oem cpu like the A64 3500+ and 2 oem segate barracuda sata hd's, but i think i'll get the retail versions of those instead... Btw, i was looking at these components on newegg...

Dec 11, 2004, 05:52 PM	#9
farkas IT Support Specialist Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Ste-Anne-de-Beaupre, Québec, Can Posts: 175 Rep Power: 0	What I would like to point out, is the warranty. OEM warranty's are usually (99%) with the retail outlet (shop or online store) or with the distributor for that retail outlet. If the store goes out of business good luck with servicing your part. If the distributor goes out of business, 50 % chance warranty servicing will be troublesome. __________________ K8N DLX (s754) A64 3200+ Thermalright XP-120 Corsair CMX512C2 X 2 1GB total Asus X800XT PE with ATI Silencer 4 rev 1 120Gb Sea SATA + 120GB WD PATA + 80GB WD PATA

Dec 11, 2004, 07:18 PM	Thread Starter #11
Drakon DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Floatin'... Posts: 4,957 Rep Power: 0	well checking both the retail and oem versions of the segate sata hd's i saw both offer a 5yr warranty. the oem version however doesn't come with any cables and it's cheaper; the oem 80GB Sata HD is $73 + $4.69 for shipping and the retail is $97 + $5.25 shipping. i saw i could get this power adapter for the oem: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...104-555&depa=0 This is what comes with the retail version: http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage....148-037-03.JPG However what is this orange cable that is next to the power adapter and where can i buy it if i get the oem version? Thanks for all the help, guys

Dec 11, 2004, 07:34 PM	#12
drakesteakn boo!!!! Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Ft. Meyers, FL Posts: 2,041 Rep Power: 0	u mean the S-ata cable, new egg sells them. not sure about local stores. __________________

Dec 11, 2004, 07:51 PM	#13
PoopyTheJ DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,588 Rep Power: 66	Depends on the difference in price usually for me, I'll go OEM for most things but like I say it depends on price. __________________ [COLOR=Blue]“Alright boys, let’s start her up and see why she doesn’t work.” - John Fritz "I aim to misbehave" Malcolm Reynolds ATI Catalyst Beta Tester[/COLOR]

Dec 11, 2004, 08:44 PM	#14
crlorentzen DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: East Coast USA Posts: 1,201 Rep Power: 0	SATA cables usually come with the motherboard. AS for OEM vs Retail, I buy OEM on everything I can save the 20 bucks...but when it comes to CPUs I buy retail because I want the original fan/heatsink. May just be lazy on my part but I do not want to have to look for a fan. As well buy refurbished when you can they are usually a lot cheaper and are equally good in most cases, my current mobo is a refurb from newegg.con. __________________

Dec 12, 2004, 07:06 AM	#15
topbob HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: SFBA, CA, USA Posts: 463 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	only thing id suggest getting retail is cpu and mobo, other things dun matter too much. __________________ 12090 in 3DMarks06 on current system, 5001 on old system, 4164 on older, 1587 on oldest

Dec 12, 2004, 05:25 PM	#16
Matth Flash Banner Hater Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: UK Posts: 3,426 Rep Power: 93 System Specs	If the Retail CPU includes a stock HSF (and you're happy with the cooling/noise result from it), retail can even work out cheaper than buying the OEM CPU and a suitable HSF. One thing to watch, is that the OEM is not a nasty version - with writers, in particular, some OEMS (eg. Sony) are nasty versions with infrequent updates unless you crossflash them. A bagged or brown box version of the standard drive as OEM, OK, but not some half-assed rebrand version.

Dec 12, 2004, 07:49 PM	#17
pr0digal jenius Delete Me Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 14,648 Rep Power: 0	OEM for drives(optical and hard disk), sound card, and RAM, retail for CPU, mainboard, and video cards.