Computers are expensive here?

Is it just me, or are computer systems generally more expensive here?

I’ve read the forums and I’ve seen some tips on how people can get great deals on systems here, but it seems to me that computers are generally about the same price as the states if not more expensive. For example, I was looking at netbooks and i found the Asus 1000HE for about $350US back in the states. When I looked up in Nova, the same netbook cost between $450-$500US. Same seems to go with desktops that have a brand on them. Are branded items more expensive here even if its from a Taiwan manufacturer?

In general if you are making a direct comparison to US it will be 10 to 15% more expensive in Taiwan.

We should still count ourselves lucky compared to the Mainland. They are 20%+ more expensive than Taiwan!

This seems to defy logic as most systems are Designed / Made in Taiwan / China Mainland.

I think it has something to do with economies of scale (US has the largest market) so they can survive with smaller margins.

Me, I’m used to this as in the UK we used to pay 1.5 to 2 times more than US. Something that costs $200US would be sold directly at £200GBP.

In the end I think it is lack of competition in the market. Manufacturers / Resellers/ Retailers are all colluding to maximise their margins and profit. Everyone makes a comfortable living so why rock the boat?

Yeah, but you can still go to guanghua or wherever and buy a motherboard, a processor, and so on and build one yourself to whatever specs you care to dream up for about twenty five bucks so there’s no point complaining.

Correct. This is the way to save money on computers here. And if you buy all the parts from the same shop, they’ll build the computer up for you for free.

Correct. This is the way to save money on computers here. And if you buy all the parts from the same shop, they’ll build the computer up for you for free.[/quote]

Correctamundootie, rooty patooty.
One must remember that, in Taiwan, DIY is not only the top brand, but it occupies something like a 30% market share.
Unlike any other country in the world except Germanny, for some reason I don’t get.
Of course, this fact doesn’t really explain notebooks, since you can’t really DIY a notebook…
I mean, IrishStu and Doc 'Dacus can, but most folks can’t.
Snadman, on the other hand, can’t even spell DIY…

DIV? Easy-peasy, ya stoopit DIV.

Maybe sometime you can take me to Guanghua and show me the stall that will sell me an octo-core Xeon for twenty five bucks. I’ll even allow you meant US Dollars. :smiley:

Why would you need one?

That’s twenty five bucks in REAL money, mate, or about 45,000 of those Taiwanese thingies.

What Apple Macs…? Are they any cheaper than here (Australia)…

I will be working in Taipei soon (September) and although I already have a Macbook and will be bring it with me, I would like to get a new battery (current one is on its last legs me thinks), RAM and power cord (to fits Taiwanese plugs)…also anyone know if I can upgrade HD and Processor…(have read that if my HD is equal to or larger than my external HD, Time Machine will not work?) or should I just buy a newer model…

Model Name: MacBook
Model Identifier: MacBook4,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MB41.00C1.B00
SMC Version (system): 1.31f0
Serial Number (system): W8819Y8U0P1

Macs ae pretty much the same price world-over.

Buy a replacement battery in OZ, not necessarily an Apple branded one, as the older Apple battery replacements here cost a fortune… price gouging on spares is an old apple trick, but it’s even better here.

Your power cord just needs a US adaptor plug on the end, and just get a two-pin one (the one that clips directly onto the brick) not a three pin as you’re hard pressed to find a three pin socket in most places (and even when you do, chances are very high that it’s not grounded)

your machine does not really look like it needs upgrading: 4gb of ram is more sheeppower than most people need, i am sure.

well…I do a LOT of film based photography, with high end scans…hence the high RAM, Ps eats up RAM…

Do they do a good job of that at GuangHua? Down here in Taichung, shop assembly is inevitably a complete disaster.

Another irritating thing (again, maybe not at GuangHua), is the total absence of high-end hardware. Graphics cards, cases, aftermarket fans, whatever. They just don’t stock anything good.

That’s why I ended up with this crappy 8800gt, which (I now know) is notorious for cooling problems and memory flakeouts, and gives me no end of problems. It was the only 8xxx card in all of Nova. I bet they don’t have any of the new GTX200 series cards there even now, and I’d have to order it from like HongKong or somewhere :confused:

Do they do a good job of that at GuangHua? Down here in Taichung, shop assembly is inevitably a complete disaster.

Another irritating thing (again, maybe not at GuangHua), is the total absence of high-end hardware. Graphics cards, cases, aftermarket fans, whatever. They just don’t stock anything good.

That’s why I ended up with this crappy 8800gt, which (I now know) is notorious for cooling problems and memory flakeouts, and gives me no end of problems. It was the only 8xxx card in all of Nova. I bet they don’t have any of the new GTX200 series cards there even now, and I’d have to order it from like HongKong or somewhere :/[/quote]

They’re not bad. I’ve had about half a dozen built up for various in-laws and never had much of a problem with any of them. Of course I’m not worried about fixing any problems should they occur, but they certainly saved me some time with the initial put-together.

I should clarify what I said, btw. If you want to save money, and do not require specific high-end components for your computer, then you can save a lot of money by doing it this way.

If you need something very specific, then you’re going to pay a lot of money, same as everywhere.

[quote=“digiboy”]What Apple Macs…? Are they any cheaper than here (Australia)…

I will be working in Taipei soon (September) and although I already have a Macbook and will be bring it with me, I would like to get a new battery (current one is on its last legs me thinks), RAM and power cord (to fits Taiwanese plugs)…also anyone know if I can upgrade HD and Processor…(have read that if my HD is equal to or larger than my external HD, Time Machine will not work?) or should I just buy a newer model…
[/quote]

I can’t give specifics for your own situation, but my G4 PowerBook battery just went kaput, and it’ll cost me 3,000NTD to get a new one (and seven working days, and I need to go to a shop on Bade Road, which is mildly inconvenient for me). That’s 114 Australian dollars, as determined by that little currency converter thingy at the bottom of the page. Perhaps compare that price to what you can get in Australia - I assume it’ll give you a good idea of how things stand.

Relative to Canada: I find Taiwan is a touch cheaper for Mac computer products, but only after Canadian taxes are included.

Labour, however, is often very cheap in Taiwan - you may not save on the parts, but you’ll save on any work that needs to be done.

Yes, you can upgrade RAM. I’ve done it. I don’t remember how much it cost, just that I’m probably foolish for buying Apple RAM when any RAM can do the trick (I think). I’ve also had a hard drive replaced and a DVD drive replaced/ upgraded.

No need to buy a newer model, digiboy.

I do upgrades on all platforms (where possible) and can upgrade your hard drive for you. Seems you’re already topped out at what’s max for even the newest Mac in terms of RAM. CPUs are generally not upgradable on notebooks as it’s more to do with BIOS support. There are windows platform systems that support more RAM, but again, they’re windows based.

As for the battery and power cables, I carry those too.
Gimme a shout when you land.

Nam

092 676 3664
nam@nationwide.com.tw
nationwide.com.tw

Sorry about the lack of content, but generally don’t hold on to products long enough to take a picture of them.
But my services and rates are all there, so check it out when you can or email me for me info.

Do they do a good job of that at GuangHua? Down here in Taichung, shop assembly is inevitably a complete disaster.

Another irritating thing (again, maybe not at GuangHua), is the total absence of high-end hardware. Graphics cards, cases, aftermarket fans, whatever. They just don’t stock anything good.

That’s why I ended up with this crappy 8800gt, which (I now know) is notorious for cooling problems and memory flakeouts, and gives me no end of problems. It was the only 8xxx card in all of Nova. I bet they don’t have any of the new GTX200 series cards there even now, and I’d have to order it from like HongKong or somewhere :/[/quote]

They’re not bad. I’ve had about half a dozen built up for various in-laws and never had much of a problem with any of them. Of course I’m not worried about fixing any problems should they occur, but they certainly saved me some time with the initial put-together.

I should clarify what I said, btw. If you want to save money, and do not require specific high-end components for your computer, then you can save a lot of money by doing it this way.

If you need something very specific, then you’re going to pay a lot of money, same as everywhere.[/quote]

About how much money can you reasonably expect to save??
Say, for a rig like:
4 GB RAM
300 GB HDD
DVD-+R Drive
3.5 GHZ CPU (Dual or Quad Core would be nice)
Up to date graphics card, equivalent of GeForce 8800 GT or greater…
550 W PSU

How much (in NTD) does it REALLY cost in Guanghua? And can someone Google Map Guanghua for me? And give me some directions as to where to look for such supplies?
EDIT: Found it myself maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source= … 12&iwloc=A

[quote=“XinBiDe”]How much (in NTD) does it REALLY cost in Guanghua?[/quote]http://www.arclink.com.tw/index.do I made a thread somewhere with about 3 or 4 other price lists.

I can’t navigate to your lists through this… Got anything Englishy?

[quote=“XinBiDe”]I can’t navigate to your lists through this… Got anything Englishy?[/quote]Afraid not, they’re all chinesey. You’ll just have to try each list one by one. “CPU” should be obvious. Another problem is that they use the Chinese names of the companies.