Billfo

Thank you for the reply and advice. I'll look into that.

Cheers!

Hi,

I'm interested in teaching IT or other computer related subjects. I have a degree in Multimedia Technology and would like to use this in regards to teaching. I am based in Chiang Mai. Does anyone know of the chances of getting a teaching job in this subject are and what types of school teach it? (government, private etc).

Thanks

Hi,

I want to buy a desk and chair for my computer, does anyone know of a cheap place in CM? I've seen the office shop in Panthip and the cheapest I saw was about 2000 for the desk and about 1 - 1500 for the chair. Are there any other good shops not in the tourist area which might be cheaper?

Cheers!

Once again, thank you very much for the really imformative posts! Thats even better news that you don't shop online Thanh, I'll be sure to shop around Pantip Plaza when I return to Thailand next week. I've also seen numerous reviews regarding the ATI Radeon cards are the best for most 'bang for your bucks' so I think I'll change to Radeon X1950 Pro 256mb. Although what Richard-BKK said I'm now a little confused.... again!! lol

I have also heard the same regarding the PSUs that come with cases, my friend said exactly what you said Thanh about the voltage dips and surges. Although I've had one for the past 4 years and its been fine, maybe I just got lucky. But I think I will look at a good PSU and a surge protecting expansion plug as the the Thai electricity isn't exactly renowned for its stability!

Regarding the AMD stuttering problem with video editing highlighted by LivinLOS, I won't really be doing any video or music editing, the closest I'll get to it is 3D Modelling with the likes of 3D Studio Max & Maya. But thank you for raising the issue, the more information, the better decision I can make.

Thanks again for the great posts!

Hi,

You don't say where you are going to in Thailand but you state "I don't really want to travel all the way down to Bangkok to get a visa there" so I am assuming you will be in the north. Here in Khon Kaen we have a Vietnamese consulate and I enclose a link to an earlier thread on TV that may be of use to you.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=80689

Hi,

Apologies, yeah I'll be in Chiang Mai, as far as I know CM doesn't have a Vietnamese Consulate, hopefully I'm wrong though! So thats why I'm considering using one of these agenices, but I'm a bit cautious. Here is just one of the agencies who offer the 'visa on arrival' http://www.welcometovietnam.net/vietnam-visa/

Hi,

I am going to Vietnam in early March and I have seen, on the internet, agencies who can arrange for visa on arrival at Vietnamese Airports. Has anyone used one of these? I just worried if I do use one of these, they don't really exist. I don't have time to apply for visa here in the UK as it takes 2 weeks and I leave for Thailand in one week, and I don't really want to travel all the way down to Bangkok to get a visa there.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Cheers.

Hi Thanh, I've done some quick research and one website says AMD is the best while the other Intel. I'm now leaning towards the AMD, with the money saved, I'm trying to keep it as close to 20,000 as I can while getting good(not brilliant) performance on games.

Where do you buy your components?? 22,000 for that PC is pretty dam_n good!! Do you shop online or buy from shops? I need a monitor too (preferably LCD, but depends on price) but that price range is exactly what I'm looking for.

Hello.

I know quite everybody falls for marketing and the hype and power of hearsay - but i advise you, with years of experience building computers, ditch the Intel CPU. Go for an AMD Athlon XP64 x2 (dual core), you get a more powerful variant of those (3800+ or higher) for less than half the price of the Intel. The appropriate mainboard costs the same as the one for the Intel.

Then use the saved money to double your RAM to 2x 1 GB, or get a second, identical, hard drive and do the RAID setup as already mentioned. Are you sure 160 GB is enough??

Mind you (and others) i have nothing against Intel, they make good CPU's. It is just the fact that AMD delivers the same "bang" for much less "buck", and specially for builders on a budget the cheaper AMD makes for more RAM or other system improvements at the same final price. I didn't have a problem with any of the two dozen machines i've built the last 7 years, all of which had AMD chips. None ever overheated even tough some were overclocked, none died (except mine own and that wasn't the CPU that died but the mainboard) and none of the people i've built machines for ever complained about too slow or otherwise weak systems.

Best regards......

Thanh

Thanh, thank you for the very interesting input. I guess the only reason I chose Intel is bias. I've always had Intel so its more loyalty (stupidly enough!). I might just use the AMD then, I'll look into the price and as you say I can upgrade my RAM with the saved money. So you say the AMD dual core is pretty much the same as the Intel dual core? The only thing that worries me is why is it so much cheaper? Because of the brand name or performance?

Thanks again!

Where's the blue-ray player or Blu-Ray burner? clearly its the next generation . Its a must have if i was building it.

I'd love a Blue-Ray player and burner but my wallet wouldn't love it too much! I'm trying to keep it as close to 20,000 as I can.

As regards to the data back-up, I think I'll just use a DVD burner and also my iriver mp3 player which doubles as a hard-drive.

What do people think in regards to ventilation? Do I need tons of fans being in a hot climate? Or will the standard case & CPU fans be ok?

Thanks for the input gus, appreciate the advice. I'll also shop around Chiang Mai for components, I think building is the way to go but I will look at some pre-built PCs just to make sure. I might go for the Radeon 3850, I'll give it a look.

Cheers again, much appreciated

I would recommend you at least get a second hard drive and motherboard with on-board RAID, and implement a RAID 1 mirror as part of your plan. Also for gaming you'll need a decent graphics card (the more RAM the better) and your base system memory of 1GB is a bit lean in todays terms. Go for 2GB especially if you want to run Vista smoothly.

Sorry, forgot to say, the motherboard does have RAID. Do you have any suggestions as to what graphics card to get? I only want to spend around 5,000baht as I'm on a tight budget

Hi everyone. I will be returning to Chiang Mai in just over a week and I've decided I want to get a computer for my room with the internet. I have been researching into the cost of computers, I will be using it for work and also for gaming. I am looking for a good gaming machine, not top range but a computer around the 20,000 baht mark. I have been looking on www.thanni.com in the view to build my own PC, here is what I got.

Case: DGET LC321-313 with 450w PSU 1,290baht

Motherboard: ASROCK 4 core dual - VTSA VIA PT880 for Intel CPU. 2,040baht

CPU: Intel core2 duo E6550 2.33GHz 1333FSB 4mb Cache. 5,960baht

CPU Fan: Coolermaster Hyper TX2 AMD&Intel. 1,280baht

DVD: Lite-on LH-20A4P - duel DVD and CD writer. 1,010baht

Hard Drive: SATA Seagate 160Gb. 1,870baht

RAM: 1gb Corsair Value DDR2 533 PC 4200. 760baht

Graphics Card: XFX Geforce 8600GT 512MB DDR2 PCI-Express or Powercolor Radeon HD2600XT 256MB DDR4 . Around 5,000baht.

Monitor: LG CRT 17" Flatron 3,050 baht. LCD screen on thanni.com start at 6,000, there must be cheaper LCDs than that?

I've not added the mouse and keyboard on yet as they'll be cheap and not hard to choose from. What does everyone think? I always struggle choosing a graphics card as there are so many of them. I would like to play the latest games such as Bioschock etc.

Any input, suggestions or criticisms would be appreciated!!

cheers.

Hi,

I'll be going to Vietnam in March and I was thinking about buying some malaria pills in Thailand rather than paying through the nose for them here in the UK. I was wondering if anyone knew if they are good or of the same standard in Thailand than here in the UK. And if anyone knows the rough cost, that would be great.

Thank you!

Thanks for the replies.

Well it looks like I'll bed down for the night, I suppose it'll be better arriving at CM in the day anyway. Kerryd, I did try and get the later flights but they were way more expensive than the later flights, apparently because its half term. Nevermind.

Jingjoe, thanks a lot for the list of hotels, guesthouses, I'll have a look through them.

Cheers!

Hi Everyone,

I'm landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport in about a month at 6:40pm with Emirates, I want to get upto Chiang Mai ASAP as to avoid paying for a hotel room in Bangkok. I have found an Air Asia flight from Suvarnabhumi to Chiang Mai at 8:40pm the same evening. I reckon I could make the Air Asia flight but it might be cutting it a bit fine. Can anyone who has been through the airport recently tell me How long has it taken them to get through immigration and bag collection etc? Trying to work out if its worth risking 1,200(ish) baht.

Cheers!

I'm also looking at purchasing a computer when I return to CM in Feb. Some people have mentioned buying online. Can anyone recommend some good online shops please?

Cheers

Hi,

I'm returning to Thailand in Feb and I want to buy a nice shiny new computer and get the internet in my appartment, can anyone give me any guidance on what broadband providers are good for the money in Chiang Mai?

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

Actually can't find the listing at either theater Bilfo... where'd you see it? Otherwise I'll be paying Donnyboy n co a visit to get a hold of it

Well I'm in the UK at the moment, so not sure where you can see it in CM, as someone said before, it'll surely be available at the usual places! And I recognised the worowat market bit too. thoroughly recommend the film, quite slow but perfectly paced. Which scenes were you in realthaideal?

Hi everyone,

Firstly I apologise if this question and answer has been posted a million times, I've tried to use the search feature but it doesn't really refine the search much so here goes.

I've just come back from the movies to see American Gangster, I remember some of it was being shot in Chiang Mai. So the first exterior shot in 'Bangkok' looked very very similar to where John's Place is, on the Moonmuang , can anyone confirm that? Its really bugging me!

Thanks a lot!

Thanks again for the advice everyone.

She's currently unemployed and we were considering getting a letter from her friend who owns a business to say she works there but after reading the posts I think its better not to now! Thinking about it, it is a little stupid becasue as you say, any inconsistancies would definately result in a refusal.

Thanks again everyone. Fingers crossed!

Scouse, thanks a lot for the reply.

Regarding the fact about me going home for good, is it best, if asked, to say that I'm going home to visit?

3 weeks isn't a long time so i hope they see it that way too!

Do you know if 1 day in BKK will be enough t submit the form personally for the biometric info?

Thanks a lot for the help again, I appreciate it.

Hi,

Hoping for a little advice.

I will be moving back home to the UK next month and I want to take my Thai girlfriend with me, her visit will be only 3 weeks and she will return to Thailand. We've been looking at the application form and the necessary supporting documents. I will be paying for her trip fully, so does she need to send her bank statements or just mine? I've been living in Thailand for 6 months teaching so should I bother including pay slips or just my English bank statement? Is it a good idea to get a letter of invitation from my family (thats who we'll be staying with) maybe saying that they (and I) will be support her for her stay?

She doesn't have a job so that will most probably count against her, she has a kid but he isn't coming, I see there is a question about if she has a kid in the application form, is it best to say yes(a reason for her to return to Thailand) or is it best to say no?

I hope someone can give me some advice! cheers.

Forgot to ask, how long does the application in person take in BKK? Is it just one day? or do you have to go back a few times over a few days?

Hi All,

Does anyone know where I can find original PSP games in Chiang Mai? The only PSP games I can find are copies and I see maybe 3 original games per shop. I'm after Grand Theft Auto: LIberty City Stories if that makes any difference.

Cheers.

Does anyone know where in Chiang Mai I can get my hands on a home poker set or just chips?

And does anyone know how much they are?

Thanks!

Thanks for the replies. I'll try CM saloon, I watched the Man Utd v Milan game last week there but they didn't open for the Chelsea v Liverpool last week or last night.

I'll give the half moon bar, failing that its the dreaded lucky bar! Or then again I could watch it on thai tv, or maybe it could be on supersports channel.

Cheers.