Thanks, Russ and others who replied.  I did not notice a distinction at 
NewEgg between the two (other than the box).  A fan is a lot cheaper 
than the $150 delta, and I suppose that given the infant-mortality of 
integrated circuits it is probably safe to go with a 30 day warranty and 
run a burn-in.  But, it is a little scary to spend that much money on 
something that is so easily damaged.

I wonder how easy it is to get a replacement under warranty of a cpu 
that does not show any signs of abuse.  If it does not have bent pins or 
a sign of overheating is Intel generous about replacing cpu's under 
warranty?  I have never had a problem with one, so I can't speak from 
experience.  (I did fry a processor once.)

Dean Kukral

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Russ Poffenberger" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: [PCBUILD] Retail vs OEM Intel Processors?


Hi Dean,

I believe that retail box processors come with a 1 year warranty, a
heatsink/fan included, and a cute little sticker for the front of the 
case.
Although not always the best performing heatsink/fan, it is adequate. 
OEM
processors usually 30 days and no fan.

Other than that, there is typically no difference, so it all depends on 
your
budget. If you are replacing an existing processor with a faster one, 
and
already have a good heatsink/fan, then the OEM is a good way to go. If 
you
are building a new machine, and especially if you want that cute "intel
inside" or "Core 2 Duo" sticker and need a new heatsink/fan anyway, then
consider retail.

Russ Poffenberger

> -----Original Message-----
> Subject: [PCBUILD] Retail vs OEM Intel Processors?
>
> I am thinking of upgrading, and I was looking at NewEgg at
> the new Yorkwhatever processors from Intel and saw that there
> were two kinds, an OEM version and a Retail version.
>
> The retail version evidently came in a box, perhaps with a
> cpu fan included (?), and the oem version seemed to come bare bones.
>
> There was a $150 price difference between the two, and I was
> wondering if there are any other differences.  Not
> necessarily in the cpu's, but in warranty for example?
>
> Dean Kukral
>

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