OEM or Retail???

[neo090282]

Whats the difference and and the advantages and disadvantages?

Thanks

Ian

 

[Hipster Doofus]

Retail costs more & get microsoft support. OEM is suppose to come with a new computer & has no MS support. But hey that's what we are here for.

 

[Taurus]

retail comes with a pretty box, software, and goodies. oem is usually the base product and maybe a driver cd, if applicable. oem is cheaper, of course.

 

[Zedric]

OEM is often called "bulk" as well. You only get what you need. I allways buy bulk unless there is something in a retail I really need.

 

[sboulema]

same here

 

[jw50]

There is also a big difference in support. Support for OEM products is provided by the seller (vendor), not by the manufacturer, i.e., if it fails you have to send it back to where you bought it from. Support for retail products is provided by the manufacturer.

Sometimes it is worth the additional cost to buy retail items, especially with something like a high end motherboard. You just need to look at each purchase on a case basis to determine if it is worth paying the additional cost for the retail version.