OEM components, which ones?

[crittergeek928]

Hi again,
What components are safe to buy OEM? And which ones should I definitely not? Keep in mind this is my first build. Also, what is the difference between SATA and SATA II hard drives?
Thanks,
Frasher

[doctorgonzo]

Just about anything is safe to buy OEM. The only thing I would hesitate on is a CD/DVD burner since sometimes OEM drives don't come with burning software. Lite-On OEM drives usually do, though. Also remember that OEM processors will require a heatsink and fan.

SATA II has a faster maximum speed than SATA, although there is very little difference in real life. The drives are generally backwards compatible, so you can use a SATA II drive with a motherboard that is only SATA.

[glc]

All OEM components are *safe* but you need to look at what they come with versus the contents of the retail package, and what the price and warranty differences are.

SATA II is just a faster theoretical burst interface.

[blue60007]

You can buy OEM drives (opticals and hard drives, check OEM vs Retail on the opticals and see if any software, like Nero, is included. you might be able to get it for a few bucks more with retail if OEM doesn't have it). Don't buy OEM CPUs unless you plan on buying another cooler, the retail comes with a cooler that'll work for you. You might be able to buy OEM video cards, but they may not come with any adapters you might need.

SATA 1.5Gb/s (aka SATA I) and SATA 3Gb/s (SATA II does not mean 3Gb/s). SATA 3Gb/s has twice as much *theoretical* bandwidth (burst speeds, not sustained). In reality, it's not much, if any, faster than SATA 1.5Gb/s drives. SATA 3Gb/s is backwards compatible with SATA 1.5Gb/s controllers. I've got a SATA 3.0Gb/s with a SATA 1.5Gb/s controller, it just runs at the controllers max speed. (Aye, but SATA II is much easier to type )

[marshmellow man]

OEM is sketchy in my opinion because i've bought OEM video and OEM sound and neither had drivers EVER updated.(granted the parts work fine when i got them)

I bought a raedon 9800 oem and it was a hercules OEM card and they honestly never updated the drivers so i was stuck with drivers from 2004, my roomate had the exact same card which was retail and his drivers stayed up to date...you can imagine how angry i was with that.

Now, my audigy 2 card was even more of a pain in the ass because they only ever put out 1 driver for the card which made it literally impossible to update ever. So in my opinion never go OEM unless your sure that there are drivers for your specific card and they're being updated. If not then your cards are pretty much useless.

But i mean something like a cd-rom or dvd-rom or even ram is perfectly safe from what i know of.

going cheap with pc componets is a very thin rope to walk on in my opinion

[doctorgonzo]

That may be due to the manufacturers rather than the fact that you bought them OEM.

For drivers, whether I buy OEM or retail, I never ever use the driver disk that comes with. I immediately go and download the latest drivers. For your Radeon 9800, for example, did you try going to ATI's website and downloading the latest drivers?

As long as you stay away from no-name brands, going OEM isn't bad.

[marshmellow man]

thats not true though, email the companies and ask them directly about it if your going to go OEM, because i've been in contact with both Creative and ATI about these issues and they told me its up to the manufacturer if drivers are to be put out for that card. Honestly if i were going to go OEM again i'd email the manufacture and ATI or Nvida to find out if this card is compatible with drivers.

i litereally tried every single driver on ATI's site to see if it would be compatible with my card because at one point i was in so much disbelief that they wouldn't put out new drivers that i figured...hey i might get lucky

And staying away from no-named brands does not solve your problem believe me, because hercules is not a no-named company.

[glc]

I have yet to find an ATI card that the Catalysts don't work with, or a Nvidia card that the Forceware doesn't work with. Creative Labs can be a different story though, but they seem to have a universal updater now for all Live/Audigy cards, I just installed a used OEM Live 5.1 in my machine yesterday, Windows installed the generic WDM Live Basic drivers, and the updater took care of everything - I have full functionality and control.

Generally, if you buy an OEM video or sound card from Newegg, they do include a driver CD, but seldom will it come with the supporting software - which may or may not be needed anyway.