Buying components from abroad?

SayWhat? · 8 Oct 2013 at 22:25

Hi

This might be a stupid question, but if I was to buy PC components (graphics card, RAM, hard drive) within Europe (i.e Germany) would they work in the UK?

Basically a friend of mine is going on holiday and I was thinking it might be cheaper to get the products from abroad but wanted to confirm that it wouldn't cause any problems using components bought from abroad in my current setup.

stulid · 8 Oct 2013 at 22:27

Its fine, but you may not be covered under warranty in the UK should something arise.

The only thing you have to worry about is PSU's with a 110/240V switch which can cause a problem if set in the wrong position.

Hyburnate · 8 Oct 2013 at 22:28

Yeah it'll work however I'd buy the PSU in Britain, also you may want to watch out for import tax.

spoffle · 8 Oct 2013 at 22:29

They're all the same stuff.

spoffle · 8 Oct 2013 at 22:30

Hyburnate said:
Yeah it'll work however I'd buy the PSU in Britain, also you may want to watch out for import tax.

It's within Europe, there is no import tax from within Europe.

PSUs will be fine too.

hakank68 · 8 Oct 2013 at 22:35

everything you buy in the UK is pretty much made abroad and dispatched worldwide so there will be no problem, but as stulid and hyburnate rightly said, buy the psu from the UK

jonnyp1993 · 8 Oct 2013 at 22:42

surley it cant be that much cheaper over there than over hear?, with the postage costs and that ?

christ.. it cost me £9 to send my cpu over there...

spoffle · 9 Oct 2013 at 04:31

hakank68 said:
everything you buy in the UK is pretty much made abroad and dispatched worldwide so there will be no problem, but as stulid and hyburnate rightly said, buy the psu from the UK

PSUs are the same too. They can take an AC 110v current and an AC 220v current.

unleashed · 9 Oct 2013 at 08:06

spoffle said:
PSUs are the same too. They can take an AC 110v current and an AC 220v current.

110V AC is not used within Europe, it's an American / Canadian thing

swiftmetal · 9 Oct 2013 at 08:11

There was somthing about this on the gadget show where they went to Europe and got some gadgets with a tax free allowance that you are allowed and it worked out quite a bit cheaper.

SayWhat? · 9 Oct 2013 at 08:50

Thanks for the confirmation guys. Hopefully I can get a good discount with the components I'm looking to buy.

SayWhat? · 9 Oct 2013 at 08:53

Not worrying about any customs/import tax is a nice bonus too!

alex_123_fra · 9 Oct 2013 at 08:54

As said above, all components the same in Europe. Even the PSU. Only thing you will need is a plug adapter or rewire to a uk plu yourself.

spoffle · 9 Oct 2013 at 09:36

unleashed said:
110V AC is not used within Europe, it's an American / Canadian thing

I know. I mentioned it because they're the two systems used.

spoffle · 9 Oct 2013 at 09:41

alex_123_fra said:
As said above, all components the same in Europe. Even the PSU. Only thing you will need is a plug adapter or rewire to a uk plu yourself.

You would need neither. Just a UK IEC C13 power lead which you can buy for a few pounds, though most people who've built a few PCs tend to have a few spare ones around.

joeyjojo · 9 Oct 2013 at 09:43

spoffle said:
I know. I mentioned it because they're the two systems used.

Actually they're 115 VAC and 230 VAC. There's exactly a factor of 2 between them which makes conversion using transformers really easy.

spoffle · 9 Oct 2013 at 09:53

joeyjojo said:
Actually they're 115 VAC and 230 VAC. There's exactly a factor of 2 between them which makes conversion using transformers really easy.

Nope, it's more of a range which is 100v-127v and 220v-240v depending on the country.

rjk · 9 Oct 2013 at 10:00

i buy hardware in the EU and UK as part of my job for an online retailer.

all buyers pay similar prices, obviously this depends on currency rates, quantity etc.

but ultimately we all have to stick to market pricing.

this means that you will save a few quid here and there buying elsewhere, but ultimately nowhere in the world is drastically cheaper than anywhere else enough for it to make financial logic to purchase from abroad.

Ace Modder · 9 Oct 2013 at 10:16

Except for America Rich, but only if you live in America. If you buy from America and ship to UK or Europe you get hit with a hefty shipping charge and import duty.

joeyjojo · 9 Oct 2013 at 10:19

spoffle said:
Nope, it's more of a range which is 100v-127v and 220v-240v depending on the country.

I was just talking about North America and Western Europe as these are the most likely places to consider buying parts from. I doubt the OP is interested in a PSU from Mexico (127 VAC) or Nigeria (240 VAC) (map).

Actually I was wrong though and the U.S.A. and Canada use 120 V nominally, although 115 V is within the +/- 5% tolerance.