think_too_mut Posted April 16, 2002 Report Share Posted April 16, 2002 I would greatly apperaciate if someone living in BKK could open a newspapers or tell me from memory, what is the price for a desktop, brand name (Compaq, HP, Dell) that has 1Ghz Celeron or better CPU, 128Mb memory, 10GB+ HDD, modem. If there is a quote with a flat screen 15", even better. Places that sell them, do they accept Visa or Amex? Would you give your CC to a shop at Panthip? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 16, 2002 Report Share Posted April 16, 2002 I don't know about brand names, but I've been told that they are more expensive in Thailand than in the USA. If you go to Fortune Tower in the NE section of BKK, there are all kinds of computer stores that will build you a desktop to your exacting requirements and load whatever OS, and software to boot. A complete system with 1.0 or 1.5 Ghz P3 or P4 chips, nvidia VGA cards, 256 RAM, CD burner, and 20 GB hard drive goes for about $600 US there. Flat screen likely to cost a bit more...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gummigut Posted April 17, 2002 Report Share Posted April 17, 2002 Building a gaming PC from scratch using top quality parts is just as cheap in Thailand as it is in the US. Only the very latest items (3 or 6 months old) have a premium price. I don't expect "brand name" PC's to be more expensive. Stores in Pantip will accept credit cards but you can get bigger discounts with cash. <<burp>> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 17, 2002 Report Share Posted April 17, 2002 I plan on building a desktop in bkk in a few months. Is pantip the best place to buy components? I dont know, i never paid much attention to hardware there but what i have seen seemed to be significantly higher priced than what i pay here in the states. But i must say, here in the states prices can vary by huge amounts depending on where you shop (and as usual how much trouble you want to go through to save a buck). I can buy new name brand components on ebay for sometimes literally half or less of the retail price down the street. And then there are the internet vendors who can sometimes have great bargains, we even have the price bots to help us. Also, when i dont need something anymore i can sell it on ebay. But i do not know of resources like this in bkk. Anyone know where used stuff can be bought and sold? And is pantip the best place for hardware? I never heard of this fortune tower place, tell me more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gene1944 Posted April 17, 2002 Report Share Posted April 17, 2002 Fortune (next to the Fortune Hotel) is a good place to comparison shop but I found their prices a bit higher than Panthip but not by much. I bought a desktop PC last year with AMD 900 chip, HP printer, 17 " flat screen (Samsung) for about $700 after shopping around. I think I saved $50-100 over the screen by purchasing it on sale at a place other than the computer. Also, the printer was separate from the computer purchase. THere is a website (dont remember website name, sorry) from Panthip that will price component parts of a computer from Panthip for you. You can still get a small discount from the list prices if you ask for it especially if you buying the entire computer and add-ons at one place. You will pay 3-5% more if you use credit card. I wa intending to buy an Intel chip but after checking around found that an AMD served my purposes well and saved some $$. Pick up the data sheets at the vendors and study them for best price if you want to save $$. Compaq and other brand name PCs were about $200-250 more expensive last year than a comparable no-Brand name PC that was made up of brand names (for the most part) components. Does that make sense?? THey are available at Panthip in the larger stores and are frequently on-sale or extras (like dvd drive or free printer, etc) are offered if you purchase during a sale. Ask lots of questions and let them assemble your self-designed PC and save the $$. The shop I went to showed me at the end of assembly that they had put everything into the computer that I had bought (it took less than an hour). i started with a basic package that they offered and then upgraded lots of stuff (ie modem and mouse) to name brands for a few baht more. So far, no problems with it (knock on wood). Good luck to you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 17, 2002 Report Share Posted April 17, 2002 But the question is how do pantip hardware prices compare to here in the states? Its always an advantage to build yourself. First because you will learn a lot that any computer user should know, and also because you can pick the exact components that best fit your type of usage. A big part of the difference in price is that the name brand system companies spend a ton on advertising and support. For me, i know exactly what components i want including name brands, but i have no idea what is actually available in bkk or not and at what prices. It has occurred to me that maybe i should buy some components at the cheap prices here in the states and pay the airline extra baggage charge to take them over. Dont know if its worth it or not. Only problem is that if customs checks all my bags i might end up having to pay the 40% duty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gummigut Posted April 17, 2002 Report Share Posted April 17, 2002 Okay, I'm going to say this SLOWLY this time. Especially since I answered your question already. Specifically in the post RIGHT ABOVE where you asked if it is more expensive in Pantip than in the states. Okay, here I go: BUILDING A GAMING PC FROM SCRATCH USING TOP QUALITY PARTS IS JUST AS CHEAP IN THAILAND AS IT IS IN THE US. pant pant. Substitute Office, Home, or whatever for Gaming in the previous sentence. The only thing you may pay a slight premium for are things that are very new (3 months old). Not sure what the flat scren market is like either. The prices are comparable to computer shows and US internet prices. The only thing I paid a slight premium for was for my Gigabyte Motherboard GA-7VTX as it was less than 3 months on the market and only 2 shops in Pantip had it. Then again, the premium was less than $10 from internet pricing if I remember correctly. Additionally, I could not find liquid cooling at Pantip, but I didn't look for it either. They do have some funky heat sink CPU fans, but they are probably not as good as what you can get at 2cooktek.com. Only thing about Pantip is that you have to know what you are buying, just like if you were at a PC show in the states as much of the component stuff is white boxed. There is one motherboard supplier that is not really found here in Thailand, but I forgot which. ASUS, Gigabyte, ABIT, ECS, MISI, FIC and many others are readily available. Additionally, I don't know what hardware prices you were looking at, but nothing I've seen has been significantly higher than in the states accept for very new stuff. My one caveat is that I'm talking about memory, CPU's, drives, cards, printers, scanners, etc.... I have not looked at flat screen and top-end Sony and NEC monitors. <<burp>> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adikgede Posted April 17, 2002 Report Share Posted April 17, 2002 Agreed if its main stream stuff any price difference is marginal. If you need something obsolete or uncommon though the differences can be stark. Last year I had to replace a Travan tape drive, and the best price I could find was $600 in Singapore for a used one, I asked around at Panthip and it was a no go. I found someone in the US who was willing to give me three for free, so I paid less than a $100 for shipping and have spares. Not so uncommon common items like SCSI devices seem to be expensive too. LCD's seem to be more expensive around these parts but I do see the price dropping pretty rapidly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 19, 2002 Report Share Posted April 19, 2002 BUILDING A GAMING PC FROM SCRATCH USING TOP QUALITY PARTS IS JUST AS CHEAP IN THAILAND AS IT IS IN THE US. WWWWHHHHHOOOOOAAAAAA!!!!! Hold on there just a minute. I came to the exact OPPOSITE conclusion. If you are right, I would really like to learn what I am doing wrong. Please back up this claim with real data. Below is real data I have. I shopped every store on every level at Pantip, but paid 28000 baht ($636) for a 19" CPD-420S Sony trinitron monitor. This is NOT a very new model nor Sony's top of the line and costs $299 in the US. A 120GB hard drive in the US goes for $147. How much can you get this for in Thailand? This is not the latest 160GB stuff. A 512MB RDRAM stick goes for $122 in the US and has been around forever, how much in Thailand? A GeForce4 TI 4600 goes for $317 in the US, how about Thailand? This has been out for months, but I would be very surprised if you can even find it in Thailand. This component should be the centerpiece of an enthusiasts game machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 19, 2002 Report Share Posted April 19, 2002 I must have spent hundreds of hours in pantip but i never looked very much at hardware. I just assumed from the few things i did see that prices were significantly higher. But, i havent known if thats true throughout bkk or maybe its just because i didnt know where to look. I mean, there are plenty of places here in the states that have high prices too, if you dont know where to look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.