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What type of documentation is included with a RETAIL Athlon processor?

R

rnmcd

Platinum Member
I have never purchased a processor before and all I can find that are available are OEM (unless I go much faster (i.e., more expensive) than I planned).

I am leary of buying an OEM processor because of the limited (if any) warranty and it also seems that there is kind of "gray market" on some OEM cpus.

What is included in a RETAIL boxed Athlon cpu?

Thanks,rnmcd
 
Retail CPUs have a heatsink and fan which suck. Check Anands recent hs/fan roundup and check the test results.

It also comes with a little "Intel Inside" sticker and a booklet with no useful information. Go OEM, save some cash and buy a decent hs/fan.
 
You receive a stock heatsink and fan, along with the installation manual....and a 3-year warranty🙂

I, too, bought a retail box processor, but think I'll go with the OEM next time.... Seems like every processor I buy has a shelf life of a year in my system, so the OEM 1-year warranty would be ideal...One thing, however, if you get an OEM chip, I would make sure you purchase it from a respectable retailer...or else you might not get what you pay for🙂



 
Your reference to (grey Market) is correct.Those are not trustworthy.
That is not the case for OEM. FYI, all companies like Dell,Gateway,IBM,Compaq are all oems and they only buy oem chips.When a reseller offers you an oem chip at a reduced price from retail,he has your best interests in mind.He knows there is little to no difference in reliabilty from an OEM chip and a Retail "boxed" chip.If you pay for the glittered box and the owners manual,AMD or Intel will give you a longer warrenty because they attach the heatsink/fan themslves.(you get that with a retail chip only)

When you buy the OEM chip,you can select from a variety of cooling options from your retailer and I woyuld bet money,virtualy all options are a better cooling solution than the retail version.IMHO
 
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