OEM or retail CPU?

[davidstone28]

Got a choice between:-

1. A64 3200+ OEM (unknown core) - £92
2. A64 3200+ retail (venice) - £110

Is it worth the extra £20 for the overclocking potential or is there no difference between OEM and retail batches of CPU?

[jackofalltrades]

as far as i'm aware the only difference would be the warranty and heatsinkfan that comes with it in the retail versoin

[jon bda]

For the slight difference in price i'd go for the retail. The HSF is handy if you don't plan to o'clock and can make do with a standard one but the extra warranty is a big bonus...

[sawyen]

Newer venices tend to clock crap.. if u get the E6 rev chips.. you'd be glad to hit 2.4Ghz.. no really.. my E6 3200+ cant even hit a good 2.5Ghz stable without pouring volts in spades..

[EtheAv8r]

Ask the vendor for OEM core info, but I expect it will also be Venice - e.g. same chip but without cooler and warrenty.

If you plan to go with retail cooler anyway, go with Retail, if you plan to use a better (and quierter) cooler (Artic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro), or you plan to overclock, get the OEM and the afore mentioned Artic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro.