Avice On A New Gaming Computer

[Kanos]

Hi guys,

I can't bring my computer with me in Thailand so I'll need to buy a new one. Could you guys give me some advice on what to buy and where to buy a good gaming computer. Between 30.000 and 40.000 BAHT.

It doesn't need to be the best, just a solid dual core gaming computer to play some MMORPG's with a 22 or 23" LCD screen.

I know some websites : http://www.invadeit.co.th and http://www.thanni.com. Can they mount the computer for a fee too?

And about the internet, I will be living in a small village not far from Chaiyaphum. So far I don't know anyone who has internet there but will ask when I will be there. Any advice on that too?

Thanks guys

[dave_boo]

Any/all of those shops in Panthip/MBK will build your machine for you. Just browse around to find the best bang for your buck and have them build/test it.

[Lammbock]

Go to the Pantip Plaza. Straight up to the 5th or 6th Floor. Don't remember exactly witch floor but is one before the last one. In front of the Escalators to the top floor is the best PC gaming shop.

They got this little screen on the "Bar" where you easily can choose witch parts you want in your Gaming station.

But you have to bring your own OS and it must be original as they do not install copies on there products.

It is definitely worth to check this place out.

Regards,

Lammbock

[Kanos]

I'd rather prefer to have some of your advice on what pieces to buy first. I'm not up to date with the new hardware yet

I'll definitely have a look @ Pantip.

Lammbock, is it ok if that shop just mount the whole computer without installing any OS ? If not, Linux is free so they can install that and then I could format and install my copied OS at home.

And what about discounts and bargaining ? What would be a reasonable discount ? How to negotiate a good deal ?

[tominbkk]

And what about discounts and bargaining ? What would be a reasonable discount ? How to negotiate a good deal ?

Prices are fairly set at computer shops, as far as I know. And they are all quite competitive......just go around and get the prices from different shops and share your info, I'm sure you can work a deal at one of them. Also, most shops will install Windows if you want it, but it won't be original.

[Lammbock]

Sure you can just install your copied OS at home. You take the computer as you orderd and do the installation of the OS by your self. The computer will recognize the DVD Drive.

When you go there you just talk to the Guy with the short haired head. He is the shop owner. Young and very full of PC Gaming knowledge.

I have to admit that i pay for my Dads computer in March 2009 around 30.000THB NO OS, NO Keyboard and Mouse, NO Screen.

But i don't want to scare you off. You really should check it out and have a chat with the guys there. They will finish your computer within one houre (more or less) and you can take it home within the same day.

Edit/

And they are not cheat you in any way as they put a window at the site of your Tower so you really can see that all your parts you paid for are installed inside the Tower.

Edited February 22, 2010 by Lammbock

[Tywais]

I'm currently looking into upgrading my system and this is my shopping list so far and will be gaming plus my design work so need some horsepower.

ASUS P7P55D Premium mainboard (P55 Express chipset, LGA 1156 socket)

Intel Core i5 660 (Quad Core 3.3 GHz) - possibly the i7 860 but reviews seem to put the edge on the i5 in gaming

4GB Geil DDR3 CL7 1600 memory

2 Samsung F3 500GB drives in RAID0 and short stroked.

Already have:

Cooler Master Case

Cooler Master True Power 550W power supply

8800GT video card (may upgrade this to dual GPU later)

WD Raptor 150 which is showing its technological age thus the F3s in RAID0 - F3 RAID0 performance shows better then a single Velociraptor and tests against SSDs equals or betters in some tests. My first choice is an OCZ vertex 120 SSD but price and availability doesn't warrant it for me.

Plus a couple of terabyte drives and a handful of 500/300/etc drives.

[richardt1808]

hi,

Computers is something where there is no real bargaining here. You get exactly what you pay for and 99.9% of shops in Pantib all have the same price for new PC equipment. They normally have sheets clearly listing all component prices at their counters and it is VERY seldom that any shops have 'special' deals because word travels so fast that other shops would react immediately. Most places tend to stock pretty much the latest motherboards / CPU's and graphics cards as most Thai shoppers want only the latest and most up-to-date things, so it is all a pretty level playing field and I think that for 40,000 you will get a great gaming machine.

You can tell the shops who are in the gaming business by checking out their display windows. Find yourself a larger shop where someone speaks English or take along a Thai friend and then just ask their advice. All shops offer a build service and they know that with prices the same as the next place, the thing which keeps customers coming back, is service. Just find yourself a shop who can answer your questions and who take the time to give you advice. Remember, don't ask for discount unless you are ready to buy and then, yes, you may get a few percent off the total if you are buying a full system.

I've always had good service at the large shops and have bought more than 20 PC's in my time here (company equipment) from a place called ELITE who may be a few Baht more expensive than other places, but they 100% guarantee their stuff... they have replaced faulty items (months after the official guarantee in some cases) without any question, so in the long-run I'm definitely better off than other people who try to penny-pinch. Unfortunately, they don't specialise in gaming PC's so you'll have to shop around a bit until you find something appropriate.

[dandun]

i know you want a desktop but if you ever consider a gaming laptop i recommend acer aspire 5740dg, it has 3d screen , comes with 3d glasses. has i7 cpu 2.66 ghz, ati hd 5650 with 1gb dedicated memory, 4gb ddr3 system memory, 640 gb hdd, bluetooth etc. 51.000 included vat

you can play any recent game in high settings without a problem.

[garyh]

i know you want a desktop but if you ever consider a gaming laptop i recommend acer aspire 5740dg, it has 3d screen , comes with 3d glasses. has i7 cpu 2.66 ghz, ati hd 5650 with 1gb dedicated memory, 4gb ddr3 system memory, 640 gb hdd, bluetooth etc. 51.000 included vat

you can play any recent game in high settings without a problem.

Thats over the budget, spend the same on a desktop and you will have a better computer with a 1920 * 1080 23" screen, not some pokey little notebook screen.

[dadisbell]

As for internet in Chaiyaphum...I also live in a small village in changwat Chaiyaphum and I have a CAT/CDMA USB Modem that works great. You may need an external antenna, depending how far you are from a CAT tower. Around B8,000 plus 800 bhat per month if you want 7/24.

[TigertheCat]

Pantip Plaza is where I bought my latest desktop for HD video editing.

Jedicool have 2 outlets in PP,ask for Khun Judy ,she speaks excellent English,they stock all the high end stuff also.

Check out their website www.jedicool.com

Gigabyte case,water cooled

Asus M4A79T Delux MB

AMD 955 Phenom II Quad Core

HID 4850 GPU

8Gb DDR3 RAM

150 Gb WD Velociraptor HDD

640 Gb WD black HDD

[ballbreaker]

I suggest you spend a little time checking out: www.tomshardware.com

You can compare different gaming PC options and make your own informed choice.

Next check this sites price list: http://www.busitek.com/forms/pricelist.html

Their shop is located in Pantip Plaza and I have no problems dealing with them.

[JSixpack]

Check the guides here and buy same or comparable at Panthip or Fortune:

http://arstechnica.com/hardware/news/2009/...aming-guide.ars

http://arstechnica.com/hardware/guides/200...009-edition.ars

http://www.anandtech.com/guides/

[Kanos]

Hey, Thanks for the good advice. I'll take my time to check out all your links and I have a few others in mind. I will be in Thailand in March but don't think I'll buy a gaming computer before June or July ...

But I have another big questions who would make a big deal about online gaming, the internet connections ?

How would you qualify the internet in Thailand ? Is it enough for gaming ?

And like I said in my first post, , I will be living in a small village not far from Chaiyaphum. The fact that there are not many internet users in that area (compared to Bangkok, for sure) will it make the internet faster or does the location doesn't have any impact ? I don't even know if I could have a connection there ... By satellite maybe but even then, is that reliable?

Thanks again

[robblok]

Hey, Thanks for the good advice. I'll take my time to check out all your links and I have a few others in mind. I will be in Thailand in March but don't think I'll buy a gaming computer before June or July ...

But I have another big questions who would make a big deal about online gaming, the internet connections ?

How would you qualify the internet in Thailand ? Is it enough for gaming ?

And like I said in my first post, , I will be living in a small village not far from Chaiyaphum. The fact that there are not many internet users in that area (compared to Bangkok, for sure) will it make the internet faster or does the location doesn't have any impact ? I don't even know if I could have a connection there ... By satellite maybe but even then, is that reliable?

Thanks again

I found that i had to stop playing games like warcraft. The lag was just too bad, it could have changed a bit but i dont play anymore. But it does not matter what kind of computer you have (within reason) internet will be the bottle neck.

[Kanos]

That's right. It would be stupid to invest in a strong gaming computer if the connection is bad. And I mainly want to play online games on the PC. For solo games, I can use my game consoles.

Even if I won't purchase a gaming computer before 2 or 3 months, I won't be able to know if the games are playable because I'll only have a netbook in the first months.

Any feedback welcome.

[dandun]

I do a lot of online gaming here in Bangkok with 4mb TOT connection, early mornings and anytime after midnight i absolutely have no problem connecting to servers with decent ping. but afternoon and evening forget about it.

you need to get adsl or cable internet "which i have no clue if it exists in Thailand" for gaming, satellite "no matter how fast" is not good for gaming due to the 1 second latency between the satellite and the lnb.

[robblok]

That's right. It would be stupid to invest in a strong gaming computer if the connection is bad. And I mainly want to play online games on the PC. For solo games, I can use my game consoles.

Even if I won't purchase a gaming computer before 2 or 3 months, I won't be able to know if the games are playable because I'll only have a netbook in the first months.

Any feedback welcome.

But you can try to open the games with you netbook (if possible) and just look at you lag / ping. This way you know if your connection is going to limit you.

I can't give decent advice because internet differs from place to place and provider to provider. You really have to check it at your place

[Kanos]

Yes I'll try that or try to play games in an internet café near the village to see how the ping is.

True doesn't ever cover the area (or maybe it does and their website is not up to date).

But I won't buy a gaming computer for solo games, that's for sure. If the internet is bad, I'll just buy a 22" LCD screen for my netbook so I can surf and watch series.

I'll have to play console games and offline ... but there are good multiplayer games to play with the thai locals