Is Pc Hardware Usually Cheaper In Thailand?

[freitag1]

I think about building my own little desktop pc after 4 years of using laptops. It makes sense because I still have my laptops anyway and I mostly use my computer at home. I have two questions, would be glad if someone could help me out.

1. Does it make sense to buy the components here in Thailand? I will be in Hong Kong soon and could get some from there if it really makes a difference.

2. I have 1000$ which is about 30.000 Baht, do you think I get a decent computer with Monitor for this price? Where should I go for the components Pantip or is Fortune cheaper?

Any help would be great!

[torrenova]

I think the thing is the warranty. If you live here, a warranty for the USA only is no good and vice versa.

2 1/2 years ago I got a HP/Compaq Presario P4 2.93 ghz 512 RAM with combo DVD drive, 15" flat panel monitor and 1610 all in one printer/scanner etc. for about Bt30k or so.

Build to order were more expensive and little or no guarantee.

With base level systems in Carrefour for 10/12k I reckon you'd get a fair new set up for your budget. I would buy in your country of residence and location as well. No good buying in bangers if you live in Pattaya !

I'm not tech savvy enough to build my own but I'm sure some of the guys here are.

[monty]

Low end standard parts are as cheap or cheaper as anywhere else.

Mid-end is on the expensive side while high-end is bloody hard to get and if available ridiculously priced!

That said, with the 30,000 Baht budget you'll be able to assemble a very capable low to mid-end machine which will handle everything pretty well, apart from the latest games which will be only playable at the lowest resolution and lowest detail settings...

[JSixpack]

You can check Thai prices at sites like Hardware House, a vendor chain:

http://www.hwhinter.com/price.php

Thai computer hardware prices don't represent great bargains, but are usually reasonable, unlike, say, wine prices. USA stores often have rebates on partcular items that cannot be beat. I'm too lazy to fill out any rebate form, however.

I strongly suggest you let a shop like Hardware House build your computer (free labor!) using quality off-the-shelf parts, as it will be easily repaired and upgraded and you get the local warranties and support. You can get a good computer for 30,000 or less.

Look at the sample configurations at Anandtech. like these suggested budget (there are also midrange and high-end) systems:

http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=3148&p=2

and get the equivalent in Thailand, substituting as needed. I would trust Anandtech much more than the advice you'll get here re: system configuration.

One gotcha is that a shop will typically give you a cheap power supply and case. At the least, demand a good power supply like Enermax. I see Hardware House claims to have a "CONTURION" case, which may be a Cooolermaster Centurion, an excellent case. Shops in Panthip like Buscom sell high-quality cases like Coolermaster and LianLi. IMO, they are well worth the premium.

You may already be aware of the need to get a good UPS. Hopefully you'll be staying somewhere with grounded electric outlets; if not, you'll need to make your own ground wire (I think there is a thread here about that). Needless to say, the electric power fluctuates quite a bit in Thailand.

OK, I'll now turn this thread over to our resident enthusiasts . . . .

Edited December 27, 2007 by JSixpack

[Plus]

You can get latest top end components in Hong Kong and assemble it here with the regular stuff that doesn't need to be hauled through the airports - keyboard, mouse, speakers.

Problem might be with a big ass monitor.

[ignis]

Sure you can build a good PC for under 30,000..

Now a day even a 19” LCD monitor is around 6,000 baht.

If you buy at Pantip 2 or Zeer Ransit they will build it for you while you wait for Free or max 300 baht with loads of software….

For an idea of what you want have a look at http://www.shop4thai.com/en/category/?cat=213 if you then go to Pantip or somewhere the parts will be cheaper + you can get a discount if you buy all the items at the same shop.

Yes an UPS is a must around 1,700baht, a Ice Cooler Heatsink for your CPU about 1,000baht, 550 watt power supply around 450 baht.

[cali]

Low end standard parts are as cheap or cheaper as anywhere else.

That is not true.

[Gimbo]

I just got myself an Acer desktop with a 2.2Ghz dual core intel prcessor, 2 mb DDR Ram, witrh a ATI Radeon 2400HD Pro graphics card and a Realtek 5.1 soundcard, 19" flatscreen.

That was the best I could find in Buriram, so I bought it for 31K baht. Building it yourself you should be able to do better, but it should give you an idea what you can get.

I am pretty sure I could hav found a better set up elsewhere, but I was desperate, and needed it at once...

[tigerbeer]

With a budget of 30k, I can do a top of the line PC capable of playing any video games. 22" LCD. No need to do HP or ACER or any branded stuff. The components themselves are Intel, Asus etc.

[kash]

With a budget of 30k, I can do a top of the line PC capable of playing any video games. 22" LCD. No need to do HP or ACER or any branded stuff. The components themselves are Intel, Asus etc.

we all can, but Thailand is not the cheapest place to do so, a swift run over the border to Malaysia would cut the total with 10-15%.

[hp8000]

I just got myself an Acer desktop with a 2.2Ghz dual core intel prcessor, 2 mb DDR Ram, witrh a ATI Radeon 2400HD Pro graphics card and a Realtek 5.1 soundcard, 19" flatscreen.

I hope you mean 2Gig DDR Ram.

[freitag1]

Thanks a lot guys here comes my system so far. Please comment. I have built my last computer some years ago and basically don't really know what matches what. I did some research on anandtech and in some forums though. I increased my budget to 35 - 40k because I want a dual 19" widescreen set up. If anyone knows a way how to save some bucks please let me know.

NEW COMPUTER

Intel

Core2 Duo E4500 2.20GHz , LGA775, 800 MHz, 2MB ### 4400 THB

Motherboard

Gigabyte "GA-P35-DS3R" Intel P35 Chipset Mainboard for Intel LGA 775 Retail ### 3900THB

GFX Card:

SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON HD 3850 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DL-DVI/TVO ### 7000 THB

(i might go for a cheaper one because gaming is not my main thing anyway, but on the other hand I have no idea how important a good gfx card for a dual monitor set up is)

Harddrive

Western Digital 3200KS 320GB SATA II Transfer Rate 300MB/s 7200RPM Buffer 16MB ### 3000 THB

Monitor

2 x 19" widescreen ### 15000 THB

(didn't decide on a brand yet but I saw samsung and lg monitors for around 7000 each)

Ram:

Corsair XMS2 2GB (2x 1GB) DDR2 800 PC-6400 RAM w/ EPP Retail ### 2630 THB

Optical Drive:

Some DVD-RW ### 2000 THB

####### At this point im around 38000 THB #########

-------------------- this whole thing below gives me headaches, I don't want to spend more than 3000 - 4000 THB on it if possible ---------------------

UPS:

Syndome 500VA 400Watt - GOLD (NEW) ### 4000 THB

(i have no idea what is good here and what not, what is sufficent and what not so I would appreciate some advice)

Case:

Centurion 5 CAC-T05 Medium Tower Case, 80mm front fan, 120mm rear fan, no power supply / White ### 2000 THB

(i also have no idea how important a good case is anyway)

Power supply:

no idea... does it have to match the ups? does it have to match my case? any advice would be great!

By the way, I checked some recommended system setups and never found any soundcard mentioned. Are they all onboard right now? I need nothing fancy just to listen to music.

Edited December 27, 2007 by freitag1

[ignis]

Power supply:

no idea... does it have to match the ups? does it have to match my case? any advice would be great!

MUST match the motherboard, Core2 Duo motherboards have more pins.

Ram:

Corsair XMS2 2GB (2x 1GB) DDR2 800 PC-6400 RAM w/ EPP Retail ### 2630 THB

Kingston is cheaper @ 1,090 per 1GB, where I bought most of my stuff, bought 4x 1GB for 4,000 baht.

GFX Card:

SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON HD 3850 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DL-DVI/TVO ### 7000 THB

(i might go for a cheaper one because gaming is not my main thing anyway, but on the other hand I have no idea how important a good gfx card for a dual monitor set up is)

Myself have the ASUS EN8600GT/HTDP/512M which is very good for my needs also has GDDR3 Dual DL-DVI/TVO paid 4,900 baht

By the way, I checked some recommended system setups and never found any soundcard mentioned. Are they all onboard right now? I need nothing fancy just to listen to music.

Myself now use the 'onboard' ..

[Rice_King]

a swift run over the border to Malaysia would cut the total with 10-15%.

Reference these Singapore Price Guides to get hardware prices from there. (Free to register or just use "bugmenot1" for username AND password.) That should give you some idea if a trip there might be worth your time / money.

Edited December 27, 2007 by Rice_King

[JSixpack]

NEW COMPUTER

Off to a good start. For a PSU, the Hardware House link I gave you above has a checkbox to list their PSU prices. They claim to offer Enermax and Enlight; either of these are "known good."

Onboard sound is now standard and, unlike before, satisfactory.

As for UPS, try for an APC, well-regarded internationally. I bought one 6 years ago and it's on the second battery now, been great, seen me through many a blackout and even a lightning strike or two. I also have had a PCM "Imperial" (because APCs are rather scarce) for a couple of years now with which I have no complaints. It is at least marketed internationally. I guess in general that it is well to check that a UPS is not a purely local Thai brand. The UPS should have a USB link to the computer and software for graceful automatic shutdown of said computer if you're away.

Saving money, hmmm. Others can better advise about the graphics card. If you're just running XP, you could do quite well with just 1 G of RAM. As poster above said, Kingston is cheaper than Corsair and excellent quality. You could get a cheaper mainboard; anything by ASUS is pretty good, long as it doesn't have a VIA chipset. A shop could advise you on this; frankly the Thai builders are usually pretty good when it comes to putting hardware together. You'll test your system before it leaves the shop.

That's a decent price on the case. A good case will be with you forever . . . and is a joy whenever you want to get in there yourself.

I might suggest a 2nd harddrive for backups, either internal, external, or rack-mounted.

Be advised that just because Thai website or flyer advertises they have something, it doesn't mean they actually do, or at least readily at hand. It's about like a typical Thai restaurant menu in which numerous dishes are listed that are in fact not served. So, when you get on the ground, there may be some delay and improvising and running around . . . you get used to it and learn to consider it a part of the local charm . . . . In the end, I'm sure you'll get a good build.

And I would buy locally for the local support. Need to return something or have a warranty problem, then you'll really appreciate the convenience of just going back to the local shop who know you as their customer. I've found guarantees always honored here, no hassles at all for me (others may have had a different experience). Otherwise, you've got to dig around for the distributor or supplier somewhere in Bankok and hope they'll honor a warranty here from a product you bought in another country. I once found that Panasonic didn't honor a warranty IN JAPAN on a Panasonic computer I'd bought in the USA! You takes your chances.

Edited December 27, 2007 by JSixpack

[freitag1]

a swift run over the border to Malaysia would cut the total with 10-15%.

Reference these Singapore Price Guides to get hardware prices from there. (Free to register or just use "bugmenot1" for username AND password.) That should give you some idea if a trip there might be worth your time / money.

Thanks, I checked and over all I would save about 3000 - 4000 THB in Singapore on all the parts I could carry with me so it's not really worth flying there.

[freitag1]

Thanks Sixpack! That sounds really good. I will probaby just get a decent psu and case because I will be able to use it for a long time. I plan to upgrade my computer over the next couple of years on a steady basis. I will look around for a ups like you recommended. I already have an external hd and use an online backup service so I don't really worry about that anymore.

[freitag1]

Just a little update for all those looking for ups check this site:

http://www.apc.com/tools/ups_selector/index.cfm

I will have to use one of these here for my setup:

http://www.shop4thai.com/en/product/?pid=7522

http://www.shop4thai.com/en/product/?pid=8511

[nikster]

a swift run over the border to Malaysia would cut the total with 10-15%.

Reference these Singapore Price Guides to get hardware prices from there. (Free to register or just use "bugmenot1" for username AND password.) That should give you some idea if a trip there might be worth your time / money.

Thanks, I checked and over all I would save about 3000 - 4000 THB in Singapore on all the parts I could carry with me so it's not really worth flying there.

That has been my experience as well - you'd usually save $100 or so, not really enough to warrant a trip to Singapore/HK/KL... some stuff is way cheaper in the U.S. - I am vying for a 24" screen which are impossible to get here or extremely overpriced. Like monty said anything that's high end is expensive - I guess there is no market for high end stuff in Thailand?! So I will have to wait until 24" is mainstream and not high end anymore... a year or so

[thaicraw]

Ive noticed in general, thailand is cheap for many things, except for electronics and automobiles..

computers/tv's/camera and such are more expensive then for the same item, if you bought it in thailand as opposed to the U.S

I can understand why, its mostly taxes/tarrifs levied by the government that makes it expensive

But for the life of me, I still dont understand why used cars are so expensive in thailand, the same car in thailand goes for dam_n near 3 time the price as it would in U.S

Edited December 28, 2007 by thaicraw

[cali]

I can understand why, its mostly taxes/tarrifs levied by the government that makes it expensive

Not necesarily. Things like hard drives MADE IN THAILAND cost more than buying the identical drive shipped off to other countries around the globe.