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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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madoka
Joined: 27 Mar 2008
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 Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 11:32 am Post subject: Bringing PC parts to Korea |
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I don't want to deal with Hangul and I'm largely unfamiliar with the brands I saw in Korea. So, I plan on bringing my own stuff.
I figure I'd come with:
- motherboard
- processor
- video cards
- ram
- hard drive
- router
All the heavy/bulky stuff I'll buy in Korea.
So has anyone been hassled at the airport for having things like a motherboard or video cards in their luggage? |
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Carbon
Joined: 28 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 2:29 pm Post subject: Re: Bringing PC parts to Korea |
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| madoka wrote: |
I don't want to deal with Hangul and I'm largely unfamiliar with the brands I saw in Korea. So, I plan on bringing my own stuff.
I figure I'd come with:
- motherboard
- processor
- video cards
- ram
- hard drive
- router
All the heavy/bulky stuff I'll buy in Korea.
So has anyone been hassled at the airport for having things like a motherboard or video cards in their luggage? |
Unfamiliar with ASUS, Gigabyte, ATI, Nvidia, Samsung, Hynix, OCZ, Western Digital, Maxtor, Fujitsu, Intel, AMD, D-Link, or Linksys?
While prices here may be a tad higher for some bits, brand-name hardware shopping is painless. Heck, most of it is made nearby. The boxes are the same; go to Yongsan with a list and easily get what you need. |
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madoka
Joined: 27 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 3:42 pm Post subject: Re: Bringing PC parts to Korea |
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| Carbon wrote: |
Unfamiliar with ASUS, Gigabyte, ATI, Nvidia, Samsung, Hynix, OCZ, Western Digital, Maxtor, Fujitsu, Intel, AMD, D-Link, or Linksys?
While prices here may be a tad higher for some bits, brand-name hardware shopping is painless. Heck, most of it is made nearby. The boxes are the same; go to Yongsan with a list and easily get what you need. |
I've searched all around Yongsan over the course of two days and could not find a single linksys product. I ended up with a d-link with Korean firmware which took a while to figure out. I don't want to have to deal with any of that nonsense again, so I might as well bring my own.
As for your other brands, I'm picky about what parts go in my rig. To you it may all be nvidia or ATI, but to people who care, there is a world of difference. Never saw any of the top tier manufacturers in Korea (e.g. XFX, EVGA) nor did I ever see high end stuff. Koreans seemed much more interested in price over anything else. So once again, I figure I should bring my own. |
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Carbon
Joined: 28 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 3:55 pm Post subject: Re: Bringing PC parts to Korea |
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| madoka wrote: |
| Carbon wrote: |
Unfamiliar with ASUS, Gigabyte, ATI, Nvidia, Samsung, Hynix, OCZ, Western Digital, Maxtor, Fujitsu, Intel, AMD, D-Link, or Linksys?
While prices here may be a tad higher for some bits, brand-name hardware shopping is painless. Heck, most of it is made nearby. The boxes are the same; go to Yongsan with a list and easily get what you need. |
I've searched all around Yongsan over the course of two days and could not find a single linksys product. I ended up with a d-link with Korean firmware which took a while to figure out. I don't want to have to deal with any of that nonsense again, so I might as well bring my own.
As for your other brands, I'm picky about what parts go in my rig. To you it may all be nvidia or ATI, but to people who care, there is a world of difference. Never saw any of the top tier manufacturers in Korea (e.g. XFX, EVGA) nor did I ever see high end stuff. Koreans seemed much more interested in price over anything else. So once again, I figure I should bring my own. |
Yongsan has all of the stuff you need. A firmware update will solve the Dlink problem. I too am picky and have never had a problem finding what I need. True though; Linksys are rare.
FWIW:
All graphics cards can be found by ticking the appropriate box. (Click the "+" sign to open more brand options)
http://www.danawa.com/product/list.html?defSite=PC&cate1=861&cate2=876
All the biggies are there. Yes, a bit more than in the US, but nonetheless, all accounted for.
RAM: http://www.danawa.com/product/list.html?defSite=PC&cate1=861&cate2=874
Again, tick the box. (Hit the "+" sign to find more brands)
Mainboard: http://www.danawa.com/product/list.html?defSite=PC&cate1=861&cate2=875
HDD/SSD: http://www.danawa.com/product/list.html?defSite=PC&cate1=861&cate2=877
CPU: http://www.danawa.com/product/list.html?defSite=PC&cate1=861&cate2=873
PSU: http://www.danawa.com/product/list.html?defSite=PC&cate1=861&cate2=880
To answer your question (sorry I didn't yet): No, you will probably have to trouble (I have done it), but be prepared to take it all out and show what it is. |
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archmagos
Joined: 14 Nov 2006
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| Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 2:38 pm Post subject: Re: Bringing PC parts to Korea |
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| madoka wrote: |
I've searched all around Yongsan over the course of two days and could not find a single linksys product. I ended up with a d-link with Korean firmware which took a while to figure out. I don't want to have to deal with any of that nonsense again, so I might as well bring my own.
As for your other brands, I'm picky about what parts go in my rig. To you it may all be nvidia or ATI, but to people who care, there is a world of difference. Never saw any of the top tier manufacturers in Korea (e.g. XFX, EVGA) nor did I ever see high end stuff. Koreans seemed much more interested in price over anything else. So once again, I figure I should bring my own. |
Fair point ... I'm returning in about a week and plan to bring most of my pc over (cheaper than repurchasing everything, especially for lian-li cases). However, I am freight forwarding my pc parts along with a few other household items, so it becomes a bit more economical.
If you are quite particular (I have to be too as I will be building specialised rigs for pfsense and linux virtualised servers) have you considered purchasing from Newegg and having it shipped over seperately (eg through a friend or through a forwarding agent like http://www.shipito.com)? On a bulk purchase, the shipping fees wouldn't be too much to get the right thing you need. |
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Slowmotion
Joined: 15 Aug 2009
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| Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 6:11 pm Post subject: |
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| I bought a bunch of things a few weeks ago while I was in the states and no problems with customs. I don't like finding stuff in Yongsan and it was hard to find a decent modem the last time I went. I find a much better modem in the states and brought it back. Works great. |
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vDroop
Joined: 25 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 6:13 pm Post subject: |
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You can get get any brand of graphics card here.
Hardest part to get quality names for is RAM. Buy that outside of Korea if you have the chance. Low latency RAM is difficult to get here and costs too much. Mushkin is hard to find. Hypers are hard to find. |
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Carbon
Joined: 28 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 7:29 pm Post subject: |
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| Slowmotion wrote: |
| I bought a bunch of things a few weeks ago while I was in the states and no problems with customs. I don't like finding stuff in Yongsan and it was hard to find a decent modem the last time I went. I find a much better modem in the states and brought it back. Works great. |
It isn't hard to find a good modem; it is hard for you because you can't deal with Korean. The IPtime modems are excellent, but the fimware is Korean only. However, that doesn't mean they are not good. Learn some Korean and life (including tech shopping) becomes much, much more fluid.
I have a guy in both Yongsan and technomart that I go to, tell him what I need, sit down and have a coffee and wait (he usually doesn't have exactly the part I am looking for on his shelves; he rings a few people and they bring it over). 10 ~ 15 minutes later, done. He asks a modest commission to do all the leg work for me, but who cares? It is worth 20,000 to not have to do anything.
Again, I met this guy and have a good rapport with him thanks to speaking Korean. He knew right out of the gate that I knew the score and how to deal in Korea, so, no funny stuff. Straight up with me, always. It is amazing the things that they do have when you get someone on the inside on your team, so to speak. After we discussed his commission and my willingness to go that route, he was willing to sell me stuff that wasn't in his stock; this is where the door usually closes for most.
The seller asks what you are looking for...you say a very specific part and he says 'sorry'. Why? Because in order to make a bit of coin from you, he will have to slightly inflate the price, which he knows most people will not tolerate. He doesn't stock the part and will have to go to another store to get it. They will also expect a modest commission from him and thus, he washes his hands of it...too complicated.
However, if you are willing to give him 10 bucks and let him pass the other guy 10 bucks (they really aren't 'doing' much in the sale, and it isn't exactly a huge sale; maybe a single graphics card, CPU or the like, nor a huge time investment for them to make some calls or deliver the part) and they are fine with that....easy money for them, easy shop for me. Win-win. Be prepared to grease the wheels a bit and it rolls along nicely. I certainly have more money than patience in these matters and my time is equally rare valuable; I refuse to run all over needlessly.
A long diatribe, but the point is this: learn some Korean and you will get what you need at a better price (if they do have the part in stock, you can barter) and you will have a great many more options. Korean companies make some good quality stuff (Unitech, for example) and just because one cannot use it - a linguistic deficiency - that doesn't mean the stuff is 'bad'.
If you can't speak the language, you shouldn't expect much. |
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cadurling
Joined: 16 Oct 2007
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| Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 8:28 pm Post subject: |
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"I have a guy in both Yongsan and technomart that I go to, tell him what I need, sit down and have a coffee and wait (he usually doesn't have exactly the part I am looking for on his shelves; he rings a few people and they bring it over). 10 ~ 15 minutes later, done. He asks a modest commission to do all the leg work for me, but who cares? It is worth 20,000 to not have to do anything"
You pay for that service? I buy a lot from Youngsan and they never have the thing I want on the shelf. They always phone, I wait 20 minutes and I leave with the product. I've never payed a commission and actually this is how it works at ALL shops at Youngsan. Why on earth would you pay a commission? |
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Carbon
Joined: 28 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 9:59 pm Post subject: |
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| cadurling wrote: |
You pay for that service? I buy a lot from Youngsan and they never have the thing I want on the shelf. They always phone, I wait 20 minutes and I leave with the product. I've never payed a commission and actually this is how it works at ALL shops at Youngsan. Why on earth would you pay a commission? |
Because I am a heck of a guy with lots of money.
I buy rare items. |
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Slowmotion
Joined: 15 Aug 2009
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| Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 11:08 pm Post subject: |
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| Carbon wrote: |
| Slowmotion wrote: |
| I bought a bunch of things a few weeks ago while I was in the states and no problems with customs. I don't like finding stuff in Yongsan and it was hard to find a decent modem the last time I went. I find a much better modem in the states and brought it back. Works great. |
It isn't hard to find a good modem; it is hard for you because you can't deal with Korean. |
 Nice assumption buddy. I'm willing to bet I speak Korean at a higher level than you. But that's besides the point, there aren't good modems like the new Linkys modems that came out (linksys e2000 is what I bought). It's also hilarious how you're bragging about your mad Korean skills and dealing in Korean, yet you repeatedly deal with the middle man and pay more for items anyone else can acquire, FAIL |
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akcrono
Joined: 11 Mar 2010
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| Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 12:36 am Post subject: |
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| Carbon wrote: |
It isn't hard to find a good modem; it is hard for you because you can't deal with Korean. The IPtime modems are excellent, but the fimware is Korean only. However, that doesn't mean they are not good. Learn some Korean and life (including tech shopping) becomes ly closes for most. |
I have had quite a few people in the know tell me the opposite. IPtime routers die all the time.
I'd just get a belkin router. Both my buddy and i have had one for about a year now, and they've held up fine. They also support multiple languages, including English. He got his at lotte mart for around 30k.
Sorry that this is all empirical evidence; I don't have any info on router durability. |
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Carbon
Joined: 28 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 4:14 am Post subject: |
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| Slowmotion wrote: |
Nice assumption buddy. I'm willing to bet I speak Korean at a higher level than you. But that's besides the point, there aren't good modems like the new Linkys modems that came out (linksys e2000 is what I bought). It's also hilarious how you're bragging about your mad Korean skills and dealing in Korean, yet you repeatedly deal with the middle man and pay more for items anyone else can acquire, FAIL |
I ain't your buddy, pal.
I deal with the middle man 'cause I like him and unlike most, I don't mind spreading some money around to those whom I feel need it. I appreciate his being there, so, I reward that service.
Anyhow, your complete logical disconnect has me chuckling: how do you equate Korean skills to dealing with a middle man? Seems you are confusing language skills with an understanding of how a certain system works. Also, you are the one who conferred the level of Korean on me. Re-read my post and tell me where I specified either my 'mad skillz' or the need for such a level. I didn't.
@akcrono: Well, I am not here to convince you. My N6004 IPtime is great and has been for a long time....since my Linksys gave up the ghost a couple of years ago. Belkin are good, for sure but yeah, it is all conjecture on my part as well. Just posting from my and a couple of friends' experiences. |
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kwokman
Joined: 09 Aug 2009
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| Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 4:38 pm Post subject: |
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I was in a similar situation when I went back home to Los Angeles this past August. I brought everything over besides my case, PS and cpu heatsink/fan(purely due to the size of it). I got my motherboard box and put all the parts in it and made sure that it was properly packaged. I just put it on my checked baggage(made sure to pad it with my clothes...heh) and it was fine. They might look through your luggage but it sure beats shipping it and having to pay extra or waiting for it to arrive.
Now here's the mistake that I did make. When I came back to Korea, I went to a technomart and paid what I thought were decent prices. About a month later, I wanted to upgrade my graphics card which wasn't available in Technomart. So I headed over to Yongsan(my first time) and realized that I got ripped off BIG TIME. Might I suggest a recommendation for cases? Zalman(the company well known for their cpu coolers) has a very good selection of cases and I was thoroughly impressed with their products. They are also a Korea-based company(from what I believe) so you're not paying higher prices. I believe that they're actually a few dollars cheaper than what you would find at newegg.com. |
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akcrono
Joined: 11 Mar 2010
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| Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 10:06 pm Post subject: |
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| kwokman wrote: |
I was in a similar situation when I went back home to Los Angeles this past August. I brought everything over besides my case, PS and cpu heatsink/fan(purely due to the size of it). I got my motherboard box and put all the parts in it and made sure that it was properly packaged. I just put it on my checked baggage(made sure to pad it with my clothes...heh) and it was fine. They might look through your luggage but it sure beats shipping it and having to pay extra or waiting for it to arrive.
Now here's the mistake that I did make. When I came back to Korea, I went to a technomart and paid what I thought were decent prices. About a month later, I wanted to upgrade my graphics card which wasn't available in Technomart. So I headed over to Yongsan(my first time) and realized that I got ripped off BIG TIME. Might I suggest a recommendation for cases? Zalman(the company well known for their cpu coolers) has a very good selection of cases and I was thoroughly impressed with their products. They are also a Korea-based company(from what I believe) so you're not paying higher prices. I believe that they're actually a few dollars cheaper than what you would find at newegg.com. |
<3 Zalman. Best CPU air coolers on the market IMO. |
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