DigitalDragon

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Mar 6, 2005
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Hi, I'll be a new college student currently in Hong Kong studying this fall at a university in the United States. I'm assembling a computer at college, but right now I'm deciding where to buy individual parts (mobo, graphics card, RAM, etc)

I've seen prices in the US (i.e. a Geforce 8800GS 320 MB costs 280 USD) but what I'm not sure about if the listed prices on tomshardware are generally "final" prices or not inclusive of tax. In Hong Kong prices are slightly more expensive than those listed here, but cheaper if US prices are not-inclusive of tax. So are they or are they not?

many thanks
 

g-paw

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Jan 31, 2006
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If you purchase from an outlet that has a physical location in the state you live, then you'll have to pay state sales tax. For example, if you buy from a brick and mortar retail store, you'll pay state tax. If you buy on line from a company with a physical present in the state, e.g., in Ohio you pay state sales tax because Dell has Kiosks selling machines in Malls. If you buy on line from a site with no physical presents in your state, there is no sales tax. Again, in Ohio when I buy from newegg.com, I don't pay taxes. They're located in California and if that's where you live, you'll likely have to pay sales tax. When you buy on line you often have to pay for shipping. For prices on computer parts check out newegg.com, which has very competitive prices. They're seldom undersold by more than a few dollars.
 

g-paw

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Jan 31, 2006
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If you mean shipped to Honk Kong, many US sellers will not ship overseas. Suggest you price a system in Hong Kong and then the same system on newegg.com. Once you put the parts in the Cart at newegg they'll tell you shipping costs. If you build in Hong Kong, you'll also have to deal with bringing the machine into the US and I have no idea what that involves, e.g., will they want to tear it down to make sure you're not importing a nuclear weapon or will they want to look at the software involved and data. I'd check with some people that have brought machines into the US to see what's involved.
 

g-paw

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Jan 31, 2006
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I'm not sure about additional fees but given the problems with stolen identities and fraudulent credit cards I think you could avoid some hassles with a US credit card with a US address. You'll want to open a a checking account with a US bank once you get here and once you open an account the bank will offer you a credit card. You have to have a local bank account if you want to cash checks, generally a bank will not cash a check unless you have an account with them. You'd want a checking account so you don't have to carry large amounts of cash, e.g., buying books and supplies. Of course you could always use a credit card but at some point you'll want to pay by check, e.g., if you eventually move out of the dorm and into an apartment you'll need checks to pay rent and utilities.
 

greecemonkies

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Jul 19, 2007
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Have you looked into the possibility of buying a pre-assembled (Dell for example) brand and just switch out the components you want to customize? If all you want to change are easy add-on's like video card and power supply, I think it will be cheaper to buy the computer pre-assembled.
 

g-paw

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Unless you're getting a really cheap machine, e.g., E Machine, it's generally cheaper to build. In addition, you get better warranty because the parts are warranted, e.g., CPUs are generally 3 years, Seagate hdd are 5, plus you can insure you're getting the best parts and you can upgrade at anytime, nothing proprietary about a machine you build