Advice On Buying CPUs..

[Maezr]

I'm building my first computer from scratch..

Anyway, I plan on buying most everything from pricewatch.. For CPUs, they seem to have REALLY restricted and short warranties.. How often is it that CPUs just won't work when you get them? Because I'm building this from scratch, and I don't have much else around, I won't really have the ability to check it right away..

Is there really anything I can do to avoid throwing more than 100$ down the drain on something that won't do me any good..?

I plan on getting an Athlon XP 1700+, if that's at all relevant..

 

[lastig21]

Almost all cpu's will come with a 2 week warranty from the reseller. If it doesn't work, get an rma request from the reseller quickly and they will swap the cpu's with you. If you are going to be buying items over an extended period of time, make sure to get the cpu last to ensure you will still have the warranty.

 

[techwanabe]

OEM CPUs usually have short warrantee's and no HSF. If you want a longer warrantee, get the retail box version... comes with a HSF also.

 

[gaidin123]

If you are concerned about the short warranty period of OEM CPUs that you see listed on pricewatch and at most any computer store around, buy a retail CPU.

OEM and retail CPUs are the exact same CPUs but the retail ones come with a heatsink/fan and, more importantly, a 3 year warranty from the CPU manufacturer. The super short warranties you see on OEM CPUs come from the computer store you buy the chip from and not AMD or Intel.

If you can't build your system right away or are worried about frying your CPU (admittedly very unlikely if you follow the instructions and carefully mount the heatsink/fan on your new Athlon) then you might as well err on the side of caution and pay the extra $20-30 for a retail CPU.

Good luck on your system!

Gaidin