Components from abroad?

[benny269]

Hi

Been meaning to sort out a PC build for well over a year but never seem to get round to it. I have a rough idea of what I want and had a list of parts about 6 months ago which needs revision. I'm also about to go to Florida and was wondering if there's any implications in buying PC components from abroad for use in the UK. I would still buy the same parts, I just happen to know that a lot of the prices are cheaper there, but will there be any power/voltage/warranty issues?

Thanks in advance.

 

[nhanandmel]

It should not be a problem at all, all the components should work normally. My one only thing is the PSU, isn't the power socket's different in the UK?

 

[modtech]

The power sockets are power voltage are different in the UK, but most PSU's support both and the cable can be easily replaced. Yea the prices are much lower in the US than the UK.

 

[shadowthor]

If I recall theres a switch on the back to change from 120v in to the one the UK uses.

 

[millwright]

Some power supplies don't even have a switch, they change by themselves from 115v/60cycles US to 230v/50cycles UK.

Edit: We have 230v in the US also, but in the US it is 60 cycles just like our 115v

cycles are also known as hertz

 

[dirtmountain]

Active PFC
I always like to buy my components from a woman *HINT* most don't like to be called a broad

 

[Shadow703793]

Like previous posters said most parts should work with the exception of the PSU. However, a good quality PSU (ie Corsair, PP&C) supports 230v and 115v.

Also you MAY run in to problems with the DVD drives too. Some times I have seen some DVD drives having a Region code lock so you won't be able to play DVDs bought in the UK with out changing Region code. (Region code for US/Canada is 1; for Europe/UK it is 2)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD_region_codes

Older DVD drives use RPC-1 firmware, which means the drive allows DVDs from any region to play. Newer drives use RPC-2 firmware, which enforces the DVD region coding at the hardware level. These drives can often be reflashed with hacked or Australia and New Zealand (hardware region coding prohibited by law in these countries) RPC-1 firmware, effectively making the drive region-free. However, this usually voids the warranty and can render the drive inoperable if something goes wrong.[13]