ES vs. Retail vs. OEM

What's the difference between them?
Can one be overclocked while the others can't?

 

Retail = OEM. The only difference is the packaging, and retail might have a longer warranty.

As for ES models, depending on how close they are to the final version, they might be almost identical as well.

 

ES= Engineering Sample, unlocked multipliers, no sensors, might of been heavily stressed. Not legal to sell or buy it is the property of MFG. Of course they are sold and bought all the time.

Retail= Full support from MFG usually better more complete packaging.

OEM= No support you are the support. Bare packaging and info provided in many instances.

Cost you should pay for each ES<OEM<Retail for same model.

 

So it's possible to overclock an ES?

 

no usually not.. also it is not recommended to buy them as usually they're crap and lack features and they're in a way not to be sold and are stolen property.. also u can find OEM ones cheper than ES sometimes.. i found a 920xm OEM for 500... cheaper than ES..

 

If that M15x offered an Extreme CPU and OC'ing then if you can get the correct BIOS then yes it might be possible. ES is a non production/release chip so I think saying any general thing about is tricky. Many come unlocked but does not mean all.

There are other ways to OC but yes some like that about them. But remember without sensor monitoring temps could be difficult and watching temps is important when OC'ing.

 

Apparently the one I bought is identical to the retail version, according to the seller, so would it come with a temp sensor?

 

If it is identical then yes it would but would also be locked. If they do the first run of the fully designed CPU and want to test then yes it could be an ES.

Some do not like buying an ES because how was it tested? How much was it stressed.

I can't really say anything about an ES for certain it is an ES and that can mean many things. It is a leap of faith buying an ES. Some are happy about theirs others not.

OEM and retail are the safest most certain way to know what you are getting. I do not know if I would buy an ES myself.

 

I have a couple of ES cpu's in a server and they have been great, temp wise they aren't too hot and they have never caused me issues with regards to reliability.

I would however be hesitant of putting on in the M15x, I had the same issues because I purchased my 15 with the 330m, I then had to chose the processor, in the end I went for an OEM 620M even though it was slightly more expensive than the ES versions of the 720QM. At least with the OEM cpu I am in a better position should anything go wrong with it.

 

A CPU having been previously "stressed" means nothing at all. Even in cases where people put their processors under liquid nitrogen and crank up the volts and clockspeed to the limit, if the chip survives the ordeal it is extremely rare for there to be any negative consequences to the processor itself. And these are not the pre-production processors Intel stress tests to death at the factory. Most ES processors you find on ebay are the ones sent to OEMs to test and develop their products. Most of these are identical to their non-ES counterparts. On top of that, Intel stress tests some retail and oem processors on the production line too.

Finding an ES with an unlocked multiplier that isn't an extreme edition would be incredibly rare since those are mostly kept in-house.

Really they are usually crap and usually are missing features? Why don't you stop talking about stuff you have no clue about. Besides some people having been known to get them without a working temperature sensor, how else can you possibly back any of that up?

You must be confused because the only 920XM's that are that price or are even close to it are all ES. The non-ES ones sell for well over a thousand dollars.

 

Thanks dude, you've cleared alot of things up for me.

 

Only ES CPUs with unlocked multipliers are Extreme CPUs.

If you are going to buy a ES CPU do some research on the model you are looking at before you purchase it. My cpu is an ES but has the same CPU id as the OEM version and works exactly like an OEM.

 

I have not seen anyone with a Core 2 ES CPU that had an unlocked multi except for the extreme ones.

It was a very long time ago when the ES CPUs had unlocked multipliers.

Also about the temp sensor:

 

The information provided regarding Engineering samples is only partially accurate. These are purely test silicone chips and don't always have all features enabled or in fully functioning order. Haven't messed around with ES CPU's, but ES network cards, WiFi adapters, and WiMAX adapters for example can't be used safely or at all in production because the MAC addresses are all the same and sometimes the chips are enabled in a mode where it won't function with non-test equipement and environments. Drivers and firmware aren't always compatible either. There's no way to know what you're getting with ES parts because of this and I'd steer clear of them because something important could be disabled, or incomplete, or performing out of specification. Imagine getting ahold of a ES CPU that calculates differently, for example with a different type of float-point precision or method of rounding, and having no idea that the data being generated could be returning inaccurate numbers. This is what ES samples often are labeled as such for, so avoid them unless you have a reason to use a test version of the hardware.

Retail vs OEM is just a matter of licensing and support differences, the hardware is complete and final version.

 

Back in the days before Core iX CPUs, I managed to snipe an OEM QX9300 for $450. Didn't work in my laptop, unfortunately, but I was really proud of myself.

 

Ok i'm really confused.. the guy who wrote it was OEM didn't read... its QS... brb...

 

Yeah it can happen Ripfire was selling OEM X9000s for $300 on this forum and that is a really good deal.

 

Qualification sample ~ Engineering sample

 

INTEL quad mobile i7 920XM 3.2GHZ 12M 1333Mhz KING! - eBay (item 130399856319 end time Jul-12-10 03:54:39 PDT)

ebay has them for around 500 bucks or so.....

 

this was the one... and strangely i think u recommended it... its not a retail or OEM one.. anyways trottel QS~ retail than ES...

 

I've got a 940XM QS in my machine right now and it works perfectly fine with awesome temps. In fact the temps are lower with this chip than they were with my 920XM OEM CPU. Go figure!

 

Actually Intel apparently just changed the name of the pre-production processors it sends out to OEMs from ES to QS with the latest generation of processors.

 

I just ordered an M17x-R2 today with the i7 720QM. Someday I may upgrade the CPU like you did. Would the 920XM or 940XM use the same heat sink as my 720QM?

If you don't mind me asking, did you get the CPU from laptopmonkey?

Have you had any issues with it?

Thanks!

 

yes it would... same series and chip in a way except for name and speed.