ATI: Retail vs. OEM

[bluntman]

Are OEM ATI cards slower versions of their retail cards? A local store is selling an OEM 9700 Pro for $100 less than the retail boxed version. Which one should I get?

 

[lobadobadingdong]

An oem ATI card is an ATI card made by Sapphirre Inc., they've been making ATI cards for years and years, (on the 9700pro) all the specs are exactly the same, as well as the layout and components, you get the exact same drivers, cables, etc. etc., the only thing you don't get is the snazzy box and paper documentation, who needs another book when it's on the cd and is self expanitory anyway. I have a Sapphirre board and it runs great, btw they also use the same support staff (from time to time) , technical documents, and warranty period.

 

[Rand]

All Radeon 9700 Pro graphics cards are clocked identically regardless of manufacturer and OEM/Retail status. Thankfully ATi has finally begun to solidify on clockspeed for their graphics cards....

 

[sc0tty8]

They all share the same ref. board, even nvidia oem and retails across diff compnaies are usually all the same pcb. I would save the money, I don't need any more boxes...save a tree.