OEM and Retail Box XP Chip

[Warlord]

I'm loss was looking to system upgrade and found deal on AMD XP Chip but there a huge price difference on OEM and Retail Box what the skinny? Is it worth the difference in cost and upside/downside?
Rookie comp builder


Thanks for the help.....Here the link

http://www.partspc.com/store/ProcessorsAMD.htm

[sho.gun]

I would just go with OEM. The retail just gives you a nice pretty box and the stock heatsink and fan. Buy the OEM and get a good Heatsink like the Thermalright SK6 and a 60mm fan and you're set to go. Maybe even save some $$

check out www.newegg.com they have very good prices

[sbp]

The retail cpu's come with the cooler and a much longer warranty from AMD.

"Is it worth the difference in cost and upside/downside? " It depends. If you go OEM you save money and can get the better cooler you want. However if something happens to the cpu, having a retail warranty makes it less of hassle to get a replacement.

[MazaNaza]

Yeah, the OEM chips are suppossed to carry a one year warranty from AMD, but the retail models carry a three year one. It all comes down to whether or not you're concerned about returns/replacements; I've never heard of someone having an easy time getting their warranty honored on an OEM chip.

In fact, there are only a few places that have AMD's approval to sell OEM chips. If you buy it through a non-approved site, you're SOL when it comes to warranty. You can find a list of approved vendors on AMD's website.

--> Norm

[bachviet]

I would get boxed CPU instead of OEM one! I'm getting the boxed XP 1800+ and Epox EP-8KHA+ motherboard from Fry's for $200.

[Hiro]

Originally posted by sbp
The retail cpu's come with the cooler and a much longer warranty from AMD.

Thats basically the ONLY difference.

[DeepFreeze]

ive seen a strain of OEMs that have problems or come DOA.

not to mention, the STOCK HSF is FINE if you are not overclocking get it, and FORGET it. once its setup.

[clutchy]

if you're a novice i would tend to think you should get a retail chip, but it's your choice, i've seen way to many chips go south because people don't what they're doing.

[kfc]

Some local pc shops in the area give 1 year warrabty on their amd oem cpu's. just buy from them and pricematch via amex.

[attgig]

i'm setting up a dual system...

got the retail, cause buying 2 heatsinks & oem would end up costing just as much as getting retail.....

http://www.pcsupplysource.com/

that's where i got it got the 1800+ retail for about 155...
got it with my amex blue..
in a couple months...get a check for the difference

[clutchy]

amex price matching has to be advertised print doesn't it? they don't take pricewatch prices i don't think.

[bachviet]

I got my OEM XP1700+ from Fry's and it has 1-yr warranty comparing to 3-yr of boxed one!