bulk vs oem?

[spanky]

besides spelling... anyone know whats the real difference between these two terms when describing computer parts?

 

[dude]

The usual differences is packaging, warranty, & software. Sometimes, there are hardware (cutdown) differences.

MOST of the time, the OEM and retail are the same, except for software, packaging (white box), and warranty.

e.g. CPU's retail with 3 years warranty, and nice packaging and a fan. OEM has oem warranty (none, to 15, to 30 day warranty) and no fan.
video cards my vary by software (games) or drivers (no driver cd). Sometimes, usually ATI, differ in retail and OEM by cmemory and lock speeds also.

 

[spanky]

i know the difference between retail and oem, but i always thought oem and bulk were the same thing. then one day i noticed in newegg's refurb section, they had an oem and bulk radeon 8500, but one was like $10 more then the other. they were both under the same ati section & all specs checked out the same. wtf?!?! so anyone know is there a difference between bulk and oem parts?

 

[Jhill]

bump, I'd like to know also.

 

[spanky]

anyone?

 

[dude]

Doh! I thought you said "retail"! <bonk self!>

OEM and bulk are the same.


As for newegg refurbs.... They are weird sometimes. They will sometimes have the same two items for different prices in the "refurb" section. Sometimes, their refurbs are more costly than the new items itself! It's odd and I don't know. It's like trying to calculate pi in your head for the 250th digit.