With hard drives in particular, OEM purchases can sometimes change warranty terms (and the exact same item isn't necessarily available in both retail and OEM packaging). With other peripherals like optical drives, video cards, etc, it often changes the software bundles that are included. For example, you may not get a manual or instructions (even if available), a burner may not come with any authoring software, and the a video card may not come with the typically bundled games, adapter cables (or even daughter boards), or driver discs. Except for CPUs, OEM is usually the way to go for a Linux user looking for hardware.<br> <br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Oct 27, 2010 at 2:32 AM, David Singer <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:david@ramaboo.com">david@ramaboo.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;"> OEM is the drive in a box. No screws, mounting brackets (usually don't<br> need these anyhow) and no cable. The hardrive may be unformated as<br> well. Its not a bad deal on hard drives its CPU's that you have to<br> watch out for<br> <font color="#888888"><br> David<br> </font><div><div></div><div class="h5"><br> On Tue, Oct 26, 2010 at 21:43, Chick Tower <<a href="mailto:c.e.tower@gmail.com">c.e.tower@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br> > I'm shopping around for computer components, and I see some things described<br> > as OEM. I know the letters mean original equipment manufacturer, and I know<br> > that it means such a CPU comes without a warranty or a cooling fan. What<br> > does OEM mean for hard drives and optical drives? I see hard drives<br> > sometimes described as bare drives, but they still come with a<br> > manufacturer's warranty if they're new.<br> > --<br> ><br> > Chick<br> > _______________________________________________<br> > linux-user mailing list<br> > <a href="mailto:linux-user@egr.msu.edu">linux-user@egr.msu.edu</a><br> > <a href="http://mailman.egr.msu.edu/mailman/listinfo/linux-user" target="_blank">http://mailman.egr.msu.edu/mailman/listinfo/linux-user</a><br> ><br> _______________________________________________<br> linux-user mailing list<br> <a href="mailto:linux-user@egr.msu.edu">linux-user@egr.msu.edu</a><br> <a href="http://mailman.egr.msu.edu/mailman/listinfo/linux-user" target="_blank">http://mailman.egr.msu.edu/mailman/listinfo/linux-user</a><br> </div></div></blockquote></div><br>