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zoeksk
Joined: 21 Jan 2012
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 Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 3:26 am Post subject: Buy a computer in England or Korea? |
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I'm moving out to Korea in 3 weeks and I need a new computer as I cant take my desktop with me (am letting my family use it while I'm gone) so my question is should I buy one here in the UK and ship it over to Korea or buy one in Korea?
I really don't want a laptop as I tend to break them, but I'm only going to use the computer for watching tv and skype so it doesn't need to be top of the line. I thought about just getting one from someone moving out of Korea but how often do these come up for sale?
I'll be in Seoul, so I figure I have a better chance of getting to and from someone's house. Also I figured if someone had used it in Korea then I didn't have to worry about the plugs/voltage stuff.
Any advice would be great, but I am definitely not tech-savvy at all so please dumb down any tech-talk  |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 3:56 am Post subject: |
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Just pop over to the seon-in plaza (acoss the tracks from Yongsan station on the #1 line) and pick up a cheap (build while you watch) desktop. 500k won- monitor included.
Buying it in the UK and shipping it is just plain foolish - the shipping will cost more than the computer.
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zoeksk
Joined: 21 Jan 2012
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| Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 4:09 am Post subject: |
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Do they speak English? and should I bring my own keyboard as I heard its hard to get one in English.
Thanks for the quick reply, this is the best place for getting real advice |
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cj1976
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
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| Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 5:59 am Post subject: |
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| If you tell us what you want to do on the computer (gaming, downloading, surfing, movies etc) and a price limit, I'm sure people on here can give you a list of components that you can take to Yongsan. Failing that, there is a poster on here called jackdaniels that knows his stuff and he could probably build you a system to suit your needs. |
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zoeksk
Joined: 21 Jan 2012
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| Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 6:38 am Post subject: |
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| Thanks, I intend to use the computer for strewing movies and watching tv and for skype. I might make some lesson plans on it so offside would be useful. All in all I think I just need something pretty basic. I definitely won't play games on it other than mucking about on Facebook. I do download a lots of music though and stream alot of videos on YouTube etc |
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Swampfox10mm
Joined: 24 Mar 2011
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| Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 3:03 pm Post subject: |
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| zoeksk wrote: |
| Thanks, I intend to use the computer for strewing movies and watching tv and for skype. I might make some lesson plans on it so offside would be useful. All in all I think I just need something pretty basic. I definitely won't play games on it other than mucking about on Facebook. I do download a lots of music though and stream alot of videos on YouTube etc |
If you don't plan on being here for so long, there are actually several 2 year-old Core 2 Duo computers to be had for about 250,000 or so used. Add a used monitor for 70,000 (19" wide) or 120,000 (22" wide) and you'll have a machine that'll easily last you a year and you won't take a big hit on it when you leave and sell it. I have purchased brand PC's (like HP) used at those prices and they are great. And if they are a brand PC, they will have their own software, so you don't have to worry about a cracked version of an OS loaded on your machine.
Plenty fast for what you want to do. You'd just want to make sure the Ram is at least 3GB, so add some if it's not. That's cheap. Oh, and maybe you'd want to spend more and get a monitor that is also a TV. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 3:09 pm Post subject: |
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| zoeksk wrote: |
| Thanks, I intend to use the computer for strewing movies and watching tv and for skype. I might make some lesson plans on it so offside would be useful. All in all I think I just need something pretty basic. I definitely won't play games on it other than mucking about on Facebook. I do download a lots of music though and stream alot of videos on YouTube etc |
Any off-the-shelf box will do what you want. Nothing special or high end there.
Yes, there will be someone who speaks English (or at least tech).
Yes, the keyboard will have alpha-numeric characters on it just like one from home (what ever made you think they didn't?). The advantage is that you will also be able to input Korean characters.
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duke of new york
Joined: 23 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 9:10 pm Post subject: |
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| I think you could probably find a used one on Craigslist, since you don't need anything high-end. I would check Craigslist before you come and once you get here, and if you can't find anything, then just follow the advice of the others. |
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The Floating World
Joined: 01 Oct 2011
Location: Here
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| Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 9:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Ex display US model in Korea. That way you get a good machine, good price and no Korean alphabet uglying up your keyboard. |
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Skippy
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Location: Daejeon
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| Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 10:04 pm Post subject: |
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Unless you need a special component like some fancy graphics card consider just getting stuff here. Not the best prices, but fine.
Also shipping over you risk having to pay customs fees on the parts.
Something to consider to bring over is software (sort of redundant now a days with Internet). But having that Windows 7 English Version would be handy. |
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Swampfox10mm
Joined: 24 Mar 2011
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| Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 3:26 am Post subject: |
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| duke of new york wrote: |
| I think you could probably find a used one on Craigslist, since you don't need anything high-end. I would check Craigslist before you come and once you get here, and if you can't find anything, then just follow the advice of the others. |
Not a bad suggestion, but most of the computer prices on craigslist are laughable! |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 4:45 am Post subject: |
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| Swampfox10mm wrote: |
| duke of new york wrote: |
| I think you could probably find a used one on Craigslist, since you don't need anything high-end. I would check Craigslist before you come and once you get here, and if you can't find anything, then just follow the advice of the others. |
Not a bad suggestion, but most of the computer prices on craigslist are laughable! |
Agreed... you can get a new one for about the same as they are asking for 3 year old boxes on C/L.
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zoeksk
Joined: 21 Jan 2012
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| Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 9:18 am Post subject: |
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| Thanks everyone, thats really helpful and another thing off my checklist of things to sort out before leaving |
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Skippy
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Location: Daejeon
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| Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 9:54 pm Post subject: |
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Why not just disassemble your desktop. Leave the case and monitor behind. Just bring the components like motherboard, graphics card, etc. When you get here buy a case/power supply and monitor.
Just make sure you package up the parts carefully. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 1:42 am Post subject: Re: Buy a computer in England or Korea? |
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| OP wrote: |
| I cant take my desktop with me (am letting my family use it while I'm gone) |
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