Anyone use PC's instead of laptop?

[noodleslayer]

I have both a PC and laptop, but i prefer pc. Is there a way to bring a PC from USA to thailand? I'd like to bring mine from home as im moving to thailand in a year. Also when it comes to PC's how do you get wifi going on your PC, when you are staying in an apartment. At home to get connection on my PC I have my PC connected to my router but obviously won't be having my router in thailand

[soalbundy]

I use only a PC, 14 years old now. Sign up with TOT and you get your router/modem.

[longball53098]

What is a "PC" ?  Last I knew a PC is a "Personal Computer". So, a laptop or notebook or desktop machine can be a PC. A desktop PC can be a tower style PC with a monitor on the desk and the tower "box" on the floor or desk next to the monitor or the desk machine may be the a "All in One" style. So maybe clarify what you have?

I have used a tower style PC for 10 years now and the chassis box has a WIFI card and an ethernet card so I can connect to my TOT fiber internet using either a WIFI connection or a hardwired LAN to the modem.

[johng]

19 minutes ago, noodleslayer said:

Is there a way to bring a PC from USA to thailand?

You can bring it in a suitcase  monitor might be a bit difficult depending on size...or just buy a new PC when you get to Thailand, unless you want very high end spec stuff its all available here at reasonable prices.

[Moonlover]

18 minutes ago, longball53098 said:

What is a "PC" ?  Last I knew a PC is a "Personal Computer". So, a laptop or notebook or desktop machine can be a PC. A desktop PC can be a tower style PC with a monitor on the desk and the tower "box" on the floor or desk next to the monitor or the desk machine may be the a "All in One" style. So maybe clarify what you have?

I have used a tower style PC for 10 years now and the chassis box has a WIFI card and an ethernet card so I can connect to my TOT fiber internet using either a WIFI connection or a hardwired LAN to the modem.

Yes, I do have to agree. I regard my Acer lap top (which has never been on my lap!) as my personal computer or PC.

 

But do recall, before the small, portable computer came along, we did indeed call the tower version a PC and the term has stuck, in the same way that we still so often call a vacuum cleaner 'a hoover'. 

 

 

Edited November 4, 2019 by Moonlover

[steven100]

why bring a PC from US to Thailand …. just save all your files and anything needed onto a 32GB USB memory stick and bring it with you, then buy a high end PC in Bangkok and download your files back onto the new PC.

[RobbyXNorway]

If you know your stuff with PCs you should dissasemble it and bring the expensive pieces like CPU, motherboard, RAM, harddrives and graphicscard. Put them inside antistatic bags and package them safely in a box inside your luggage. You can buy a cheap computer case for it once you arrive here from InvadeIT or through Lazada.

 

Personaly I didnt bother as my computer back home was 3 years old already. So I just bought the parts here in Thailand and assembled it myself. Brought a Norwegian Windows license with me on a stick.

 

I also have a laptop I bring on my motorbike rides to transfer video from my cameras.

[KKr]

Since a PC has a screen, and a laptop a one page A4 sized display, I use both.
For work prefer PC and can see instantaneously on (several) windows whether what I am doing gives the correct result.
Brought PC (Apple) in a suit case, at that time not a problem at all.

[Lacessit]

My son built a desktop for me here. As RobbieXNorway said, he brought over the CPU, motherboard etc, then we bought the tower case, monitor and cooling fans here.

One small point. When he assembled it, he found the tower case was live, due to the absence of earthing in Thai circuits. Electricians here assume every device you have will be double insulated.

[noodleslayer]

1 minute ago, johng said:

You can bring it in a suitcase  monitor might be a bit difficult depending on size...or just buy a new PC when you get to Thailand, unless you want very high end spec stuff its all available here at reasonable prices.

i dont mind buying a monitor in TH. would i disassemble the PC, or just leave everything in it? Would the desktop case even fit in a carryon?

[Beggar]

7 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

 

One small point. When he assembled it, he found the tower case was live, due to the absence of earthing in Thai circuits. Electricians here assume every device you have will be double insulated.

Often it helps to turn around the plug. 

[seajae]

I use a desk top(PC) computer all the time, bigger screen and easier for general use although I have a lap top I take with me when I travel. I build the desk tops myself, I usually replace them every 5 years or so as technology improves, that way I am sure I have a computer that is exactly what I want as pre built ones can have some cheap components in them(top brands too) as I have seen over the years, building myself makes sure only quality components are put in. You just need to bring your hard drive with you then buy the components and put it together with your original drive so you have all your programs, only need to load the new drivers depending on what components you use or let the shop put it together for you but make sure if you do that they dont load it with pirate ware

[wgdanson]

1 hour ago, steven100 said:

why bring a PC from US to Thailand …. just save all your files and anything needed onto a 32GB USB memory stick and bring it with you, then buy a high end PC in Bangkok and download your files back onto the new PC.

Or put all your data up on One Drive or Google Drive, or any cloud location, and you can access it from anywhere on any computer or phone.

My bros and I have a 'family' Microsoft 365 account. £80 a year for up to five users and each get 1 TB of One Drive storage. With a 3BB 200Mb/s connection I keep very little data locally, it's all there in milliseconds when i need it.

Edited November 4, 2019 by wgdanson

[Lacessit]

4 minutes ago, Beggar said:

Often it helps to turn around the plug. 

I'm not sure what he did to fix it. It's not live now.

[sillyfool]

i did this in july of this year when i moved back to thailand. i tore down the pc and kept the important bits. once i got here i had it rebuilt and works like a charm. use it daily.

 

i put it in my carry on bag. got a few funny looks when crossing through security checks but they understood what it was. didn't trust it to be in my checked luggage. we all know what happens down there in the underbelly. 

[steve187]

what are the specs of your pc, see if its worth the effort of bringing, either as a whole of in bits,

[johng]

I don't think it would fit in a carry on   unless its one of those small factor  types that lay flat on the desk with the monitor perched on top.

 

If you take it in a suitcase you may want to  remove the ram and CPU cooler  or pack the inside with bubble wrap to prevent damage from shock and jolts  as they throw the luggage around.

 

I took mine to bits   packed  mainboard,cpu/cooler,ram,power supply and fans in suitcase    left PC case as it weighed a ton bought a new one here...hard drives went in my carry on  as I didn't want them lost.

[blanes2007]

1 hour ago, noodleslayer said:

Is there a way to bring a PC from USA to thailand? I'd like to bring mine from home as im moving to thailand in a year.

In my opinion, it would be a waste of money and efforts. Why don't you buy a mini-PC + (good) usb hub + usb drive? The monitor, keyboard and mouse can be bought and then left in Thailand, they are cheap. I've used this set for may years already, it's transportable and convenient in the case of moving to another place.

Quote

Also when it comes to PC's how do you get wifi going on your PC, when you are staying in an apartment. At home to get connection on my PC I have my PC connected to my router but obviously won't be having my router in thailand

By wifi usb dongle (or smartphone with the mobile Internet) connected via usb hub. Also the smartphone can be connected to my computer via Bluethooth.

[wgdanson]

26 minutes ago, noodleslayer said:

i dont mind buying a monitor in TH. would i disassemble the PC, or just leave everything in it? Would the desktop case even fit in a carryon?

That depends on the size of your tower, and your carry on bag.   LOL

[wgdanson]

There's a lot to be said for Intel NUC PCs. I use an i5 model for my media centre up on my big Samsung telly, with a CAT6 cable from my router. Cannot fault it at all.

And it will fit in the Mrs's handbag as carryon luggage.

Edited November 4, 2019 by wgdanson

[worgeordie]

I only use mini PC's, have 6 of them take up little room,

have Monitor's with 2 HDMI so can connect 2 mini's to

the monitor, use them for different things,the main one

just use to stream stuff to the telly.

regards worgeordie

[NotEinstein]

At home I don't use my notebook/laptop and only use my PC for heavy processing, such as video trans-coding.
I have down-sized our 'desktops' to Raspberry Pis, which are fine for web-browsing and other such normal computer use, allowing us to use decent sized monitors etc. Linux is so much simpler to deal with updates etc. compared to M$ Windows.

[johng]

3 hours ago, NotEinstein said:

I have down-sized our 'desktops' to Raspberry Pis, which are fine for web-browsing and other such normal computer use,

Pi 4  ?   what O/S do you use ?

[NotEinstein]

I am currently using Pi3B+s running Arch Linux because it is much more efficient than Raspbian.
I started with this https://sourceforge.net/projects/rasparch/ added zramswap to get over potential RAM issues and added a few chromium add-ons to restrict ads and javascripts slowing things down.

I could upload a copy to MEGA if you are interested.

[Don Mega]

Used to be a PC only person but these days its a laptop with 2 monitors.

[MJKT2014]

5 hours ago, noodleslayer said:

Would the desktop case even fit in a carryon?

Some desktop PC's will fit in your hand these days. It really depends on how big the PC is. Are you sure this isn't a wind up?

[mosan]

I have a Microsoft Surface Go for "on the go", and an Intel NUC for my home theatre machine...it's only 4"x4"x4" but packs an i7 CPU, 16 Gigabytes of DDR4 RAM and a 256 Gigabyte SSD. Like many others, I keep most stuff in the cloud, but I also have a 500 Gigabyte external USB drive to store stuff offline for backup.  All of these things easily fit in your backpack.  Unless you're a gamer and need a super duper video card, why have a traditional tower PC?  Besides, you can get any component you need right here in Thailand. There are two large computer chain stores here: J.I.B Computer, Banana Computer and also InvadeIT and Lazada, for online ordering of parts, whole machines or software...

[WhatsNext]

I game so i have a desktop pc, a laptop for when i travel and a smartphone "of course"

Before i moved permanently to thailand, i sold my setup and bought a new one in JIB here.

The costs were minimal, but that was a year back when the baht was still 37 to the Euro.

[Tayaout]

On 11/4/2019 at 10:07 AM, Lacessit said:

One small point. When he assembled it, he found the tower case was live, due to the absence of earthing in Thai circuits. Electricians here assume every device you have will be double insulated.

They don't assume anything. Grounded electric cables, grounded wall socket and grounding rod cost more. Thai remove the ground pin on everything because they don't understand what it's used for. Even some appliance like my refrigerator are sold with optional grounding. I paid Thai electrician to redo all the electricity where I live and they did a good job. I know because I worked as an electrician for a very short time and tested the installation with proper tool. 

 

To try stay on topic, I use 1 desktop and 2 laptops. Laptop are better for travel and when there is a power failure. If you buy a cheap UPS for the router then you can stay online. Desktop are more modular and offer better performance for the price. In my opinion, in Thailand you need a UPS to protect your desktop from power surge. 

 

For wifi some motherboard have it integrated or you can buy a cheap dongle. For a slightly more complicated setup, I used to live in a condo with shared WiFi and could only connect 1 device. I used a router with 2 radios and connected it to the shared WiFi then created another WiFi network for my devices and connected some via Ethernet. 

 

Like suggested you can bring the components and buy the case in Thailand. You might have issue with customs since they started to use x-ray scanner. 

Edited November 9, 2019 by Tayaout

[NoshowJones]

On 11/4/2019 at 9:21 AM, steven100 said:

why bring a PC from US to Thailand …. just save all your files and anything needed onto a 32GB USB memory stick and bring it with you, then buy a high end PC in Bangkok and download your files back onto the new PC.

What about an external hard drive?