OEM Caveats

OEM - Original equipment manufacturer. When seen in a computer ad (e.g., "Sound Blaster OEM"), this generally means a lower-cost product that does not come in a retail box, usually lacking in manuals, bundled software and other accessories.

People are sometimes confused by the often dramatically lower prices of "OEM" (original equipment manufacturer") versions of hardware products: hard drives, video cards, sound cards, and so on. Is there some feature that the retail hardware provides that is not present in the OEM version?

In a word, yes.

OEM versions typically lack the connecting cables, software bundles and manuals found with the retail packs. In extreme cases, they may also provide inferior performance, as was the case with some recent Intel OEM Celerons. In short, I wouldn't get an OEM version unless I was completely aware of what I was and wasn't getting; the SW bundle included with "Retail packs" is typically worth more than the additional cost.

Also, some OEM cards (e.g., the Matrox Millennium included as an OEM component in some pre-built machines from certain large U.S. mail-order houses) have cheaper components (slower RAMDACS, etc.), and may not be supported by recent BIOS or software updates

OEM modems and soundcards can be a particular problem, especially if you expect to be able to use the product in DOS. Definitely avoid Winmodems, which are strictly Windows-only. As for DOS compatibility with PCI models, it all depends on drivers. Even in retail boxes, some manufacturers do not supply drivers for DOS, even though their hardware is capable of it. OEM versions are less likely to include such "extra" software and dealers don't always know the facts.

Installation manuals are also likely to be lacking. Compare, for example, a retail boxed hard drive versus an OEM pack. the retail drive includes manuals, disks, cables, warranty documentation, etc. Your are likely to get only an antistatic plastic bag and a bare drive when you buy the same model "OEM."

Video cards are another example of OEM products that often have extreme price differences from their retail counterparts. A retailer in my area, for example, sells the OEM version of the Diamond Viper 770 TNT2 card for C$149. A nearby store sells the same product in a retail pack for C$279 -- almost twice the price -- and, yes, the retail version is worth the extra money, if you don't have the games it comes with. See the websites of the various providers (Elsa, Creative, Diamond, etc.) for specifics on retail versions.

The retail box version of the Voodoo3 is another good example of a retail product with a great game bundle: Need For Speed 3, Unreal (full versions!) and Descent3: Sol Ascending, plus a coupon for a DVD player.

Our advice is: don't buy anything OEM unless you don't mind not getting manuals, cables, software, etc. They are products intended for original equipment manufacturers, not end users.