The problem with Frys and their deals is 9 times outa 10 they are refurbished hardware that nobody wants to buy. Specialy the CPU and mobo deals. They put good deals on them so they can hand you a refurbished ECS board to go with your CPU thats been used already. So far every single combo ive gotten from Frys was a refurbished ECS board and the CPU still had some thermal paste on it from the last guy who used it and returned it.
I always thought the CPU combo were OEM. This got me worried, so I went and check on my e7300/ecs which I got this week. It turns out this CPU has scratches marks/lines on the top square plate that covers the cores... I then check the back of the CPU and saw a tiny shade of brown color under the surfaces. As if someone tried to OC this and failed, then returned it.
I thought it would be best to exchange this, and maybe get something else. They refused to accept this CPU. The reason is, I am missing a black protector piece that stay in the plastic case which goes under the CPU. I kept telling them it was never there to begin with. So, because I don't have it, they wont let me return the CPU/MB.
Looks like I have to wait until Tuesday before I can test this CPU if it has any problem, because the rest of my system part has not arrived yet.
This was such a bad experience, and I hope some of you learn from my mistake. Be careful when buying CPU/MB deal from Fry, most may be in a good condition . But some, in my case will give you a big headache.