Computer From US to Vietnam

[albinoazian]

i want to send a friend in VN a computer because they are too expensive there, but not sure what needs to be changed. do they have a different electrical system?

 

[Kromis]

Yes, I believe they use 220 volts so you'll need a universal converter thingy.

 

[piasabird]

They make power supplies that are both 220 and 110.

Does this person speak english?

It might be nice to have some king of UPS (uninteruptable power supply), But that may not ship well.

The other problem is what kind of mail are you going to ship it through? Will it be interupted by a Vietnamese Customs Agent or will it be shippd to a foreign US Post office like APO (Army Post Office). It might be they have tarrifs for things like that if it is caught.

Most locations overseas are use to tourists wanting Transformers or converters, so I am willing to bet he can get something like that at his location. Maybe a laptop is a better idea than a big-box computer. Big and bulky just costs more to ship. Maybe you can send parts.

There may be a vietnamese keyboard and vietnamese version of Windows for all I know. Either that or an international version with different languages. Sometimes you can download different languages supposing he can actually download anything.

I dont know if the US Embassy would let you ship stuff through them or not. Hmmm.... Ship by funny looking boat.

There is a tight control on imports and very heavy tarrifs on imports if you get caught importing goods into Thailand. Sometimes between 50 and 90%. Dell also has an office in Thailand. It would seem they are very much against imports and are very much for domestically produced goods and services. You have to have a license to import or ship electronics to Thailand. Be careful.

 

[albinoazian]

Hmm, yeah she speaks English. Computers are so expensive there compared to wages, that I figured I would just send one of my old ones. An old PII box with Linux is better than no computer at all. I didn't know it was such a big deal with import/export. I figured that only mattered if you were doing a bunch of stuff like a business. It would not be sent APO, but to a regular citizen.

 

[East17]

Originally posted by: albinoazian
i want to send a friend in VN a computer because they are too expensive there, but not sure what needs to be changed. do they have a different electrical system?

This means you are a good friend indeed ...

The power supply in PCs are generally build for 110Volts and 220Volts ... so it is ok from this point of view .

 

[LazyB]

The plug is different, so he has to find the power cord, most ps has the 120-240 V switch. I wonder if the PS takes care of the difference in fequency by itself. In N.A we use 120V/50Hz and in VietNam it's 220/60.

Check the fee for sending the box + insurance and see if it's worth it. It can be pretty expensive. And I don't know if the hard drive can take the shock during the transport. Don't forget that those shipping men don't care if you put fragile on it or not, they throw them around

 

[OSX]

In NA we use 60 Hz, 50 Hz is in Europe.

 

[Kinslayer777]

A ups would really be useful. power went out constantly for me when i visited over the summer (=-) it was fun! Very pretty place and very nice people)

Vietnamese letters might be a nice thing to install. You may have customs to worry about. I remember the stupidest security measures. We were even stopped (patted down, and scanned) ****LEAVING**** the airport after arriving. There is a vietnamese version of windows, but you mentioned sending linux. With internet and shipping costs she/he might be better off going to an internet cafe. I remember once i found a good cafe in the city it was .25 cents an hour. Shipping rates i wouldnt be surprised if they were massive. Of course, its an EXTREMELY nice guesture and very nice thing to have your own computer.