OEM??? Didn't know where to post this

[laFiera]

hey guys....
sorry for posting here, but since i'm new to this online buying frenzy as incited by hot deals, I wanted to know what the hell is OEM...it seems that everybody refers to this when they get some type of discontinued product, or used product, so i wandering what is OEM??
thanks..

 

[dutchboy]

Original Equiptment Manufacturer
No middle man to jack up the price

 

[gittyup]

original equipment manufacturer - which means that you are usually buying the specific piece of hardware in a plain bag or box.

 

[IcemanJer]

OEM vs. Retail.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Original Equipment Manufacturer.


Basically it's w/o the colorful box and sometimes bundled goodies.

Edit: and also tech support is often _NOT_ included and warrentees are often 30-90 days instead of 3 years or so.

 

[Bignate603]

Except for IBM OEM drives, the warranty is the same 3 years as the retail drives, so there's no point to buying the retail drive compared to OEM.