I'm currently in the process of building a gaming PC and I've noticed that all the retailers in my country, North Macedonia, only sell tray versions of AMD CPUs like the Ryzen 5 7600x. I'm a bit confused about the differences between tray CPUs and boxed ones. Is it just the warranty that's different, or are there other aspects to consider? Is it worth it to go with a tray CPU? Thanks for any insights!
4 Answers
When it comes to performance, tray and boxed CPUs are the same. The only real issue is how the tray CPUs are packaged—it's just in a simple tray as opposed to a proper retail box. If you’re planning on using a custom cooler, a tray CPU should work fine for you.
The main difference you need to know is that tray CPUs, also known as OEM versions, typically don't come with a warranty from AMD. You're mostly relying on the seller's warranty instead. Because of this, they're usually cheaper than boxed variants. Additionally, tray CPUs usually don't come with a cooler or retail packaging, so that's something to keep in mind if you don’t have your own cooler already.
I've bought a tray CPU too, and you just need to grab a separate cooler for it since they don't come with one. If you trust your retailer's warranty, I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
It’s pretty simple: tray CPUs come without a box or cooler, while boxed CPUs include those. In Europe, you generally get a 2-year warranty for all CPU types unless you're buying as a business. So if you don't care about the cooler or packaging, tray CPUs can save you money.
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