OEM vs Retail

[fat bear]

Which parts are best?
Personally, I would rather go with retail parts than OEM parts because of the quality. Even though OEM is cheaper, there is a better chance that it is crap, especially with cpu's.

[HiTmAN]

OEM myself, although i usually go for retail processors - then they come with a suitable heatsink and fan. other than that, OEM all the way.

[wyrd_fish]

OEM owns... its a great way to get hold of identical hardware cheep but sans waranty

(if it doesn't work new you can still take it back to the shop, juast not in 10 months...)

[Dr-Electro]

Neither. I buy direct from the manufacturer. Some might consider it retail, but education and government have purchasing options and advantages that are not available to any one else.

I another thread, I posted that my job works much better with standardization. Direct purchase is the way to go for standardization.

[Mystical Parrot]

it depends what im buying really if id prefer retail or oem. if it has software/leads with it or needed for it i'll buy retail (except for hdd) but for most things id go with oem because its cheaper and if its branded your getting usually the same thing but without all the extra expensive stuff