OEM vs. Retail CPU

[Kalisperas]

I've received most of the equipment for my first build, and now the time has almost come to order my CPU. I put the CPU off 'till last in the hopes that prices might drop during my time saving up for the other parts, but I'm going to order it next week regardless. I've decided on the Athlon XP 2000+ (highest I can fit into my budget), so now I need to know whether I should go with the retail or OEM version. I like the retail version because of the included HSF and warranty. Assuming I have no intention of overclocking, will the included HSF be sufficient? I've heard some people say that it isn't, but I assume these are overclockers speaking. I'm new to the PC platform in general (I'm a hardened Mac veteran), and I have no desire to risk my hardware/stability by messing with overclocking.

Other questions: Does the retail version of the CPU contain anything else that might be of use to a first-timer, such as documentation or thermal compund? And if I really should go with OEM/3rd party HSF, could someone recommend a good one that's relatively inexpensive? My max budget for a HSF is around $25, less if possible (Need to keep cost of OEM CPU+HSF as close as possible to cost of retail CPU). And if I get a seperate HSF, keeping in mind that I'll be doing no overclocking, will I be OK with the included thermal pad if it comes with one, or should I do what everyone else seems to do and strip it off and use thermal grease?

Thanks!

 

[dumdum]

The retail box will be sufficient. Just make sure you have at least one intake and one exhaust fan to keep the air circulating in the box. If the retail heatsink comes with a thermal "Pad". Remove it, clean the bottom with some alcohol and then apply a quality thermal paste.

It is my understanding that retail cpus are taken from the center of a die sheet as opposed to oem's who get the chips from the outer section of the sheet. We are always looking for new members at our computer forums:

http://forums.jlrforum.net

Please come join our community too.

 

[paparazi]

I would never buy a retail boxed processor unless there was no price differance to OEM.
All you are getting is a box and the assurance of the correct rated heatsink/cooler (nothing more, nothing less)but recommended by AMD.
You will probably save yourself between 10 and 25% by just buying the two parts seperately OEM and almost definately end up with a better cooler into the bargain.
OK! here are two AMD recommended coolers, both under $20, both copper bottomed and both rated at 2.2gig and higher.
Taisol CGK-760172 (prefered)
Akasa AK-821.
Yes the thermal pad that comes attached to the heatsink base is adequate and will do, but if you clean it off and use a quality paste such as Arctic Silver III your overall CPU temps could be 2-5C lower, your choice.
There is no differance in the quality of the CPU, retail or OEM.
OEM just came about because large system builders didn't want to pay for the fancy packaging, thats all!
Martin


Please let members know if there advice has helped any.

 

[CycoDude]

the difference between an OEM CPU and retail CPU is that a retail (boxed) CPU will have a HSF, and generally come with a 1-to-3 year warranty, but it costs more. an OEM CPU costs much less, but doesn't come with a HSF, and will typically have a 30-to-90 day warranty (although there are stores that sell OEM CPUs with 3-yr warranties). thermal pads generally suck, so use paste (even generic paste is better than most pads).

if it were ME, id get an OEM CPU and an aftermarket HSF as previously mentioned. you might want the longer warranty - thats something youll have to decide on. Vantec, Thermalright, Alpha and Global Win are all good brands to choose from.

http://www.frostytech.com/

has tons of reviews if you want to look some up yourself.