US computer moved to the UK

[CrawfishFiesta]

Hi all,

We're moving to England from the US in a couple of months. Can I bring my computer and expect it to work? Do I need to buy a new power supply or converter? I'm thinking
about upgrading or replacing my PC anyway. Should moving to England have any impact on my component/MB/case/OS selection?

Thanks a lot!

 

[FrustratedUser]

I just moved from Sweden (in Europe) to US.
All I needed to do was to set a switch on the PSU on the computer.
The monitor just needed a new power cord.

You should be just fine. Check what switches your PSU has.

 

[Eug]

<< Hi all,

We're moving to England from the US in a couple of months. Can I bring my computer and expect it to work? Do I need to buy a new power supply or converter? I'm thinking
about upgrading or replacing my PC anyway. Should moving to England have any impact on my component/MB/case/OS selection?

Thanks a lot! >>


Depending on the drive, your DVD-ROM may not be able to read UK DVD movies (but will still read US DVDs fine). Either it means replacing the DVD or else finding a flash BIOS with region hack for it. (I've done this so I can play European/Asian/Australian DVDs on my Canadian machine.)

 

[getbush]

I suggest you upgrade or build a system right before you go to take advantage of the US hardware market.

 

[RSMemphis]

I moved from Europe to the US in 1999.
The computer moves easily, but I checked the computer as luggage - and they were quite nasty with it.
Result: bumped case (no problem) and a HD with a lot of bad sectors...

Take your HD in your carry on luggage.

 

[thraxes]

Do get your hardware upgrades before you go to england... the prices there are ridiculous (even for european standards > I always end up bringing a selection of hardware with me from germany for the family

 

[dpm]

Definitely buy all your parts before you go - British shops seem to just change the dollar sign to a pound sign... adding 1/3 to the price... :|

1 more thing - english keyboards are subtly different - nothing major, but you might find it annoying to get used to. But then, if you bring a US keyboard over, you might start to get annoyed at not having a pound key. You're lucky tho - if you were going to france you'd have to get used to the infamous AZERTY keyb...

 

[anthrax]

yep...buy all the stuff you want in the US first...basically...in England ...change the Dollar Sign the Pounds and you got the price.......its especially true for computer parts.....(so its basically 45% more )........you will really learn to love VAT...

As for the Keyboards... you will find them odd....the @ ~ # ' have been rearranged so you will have fun when you type e-mails....


And remember....to switch your PSU from 110 to 240 you will hear a pop (maybe a big spark) ...
You also need new power cables.....
as for DVD drive...Europe is Region 2 ....US is 1 ....I thought it was locked in firmware so you might have issues...

 

[dpm]

oh - and please god don't check your pc in luggage! just think of your delicate stuff bouncing around on those belts and trucks...
plus sometimes they'll make you open it up at security both ends.... which is no fun at all if you've taped your boxes up good