Using a comp in a differnet country?

Q

quiksilverx181

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I have a friend who lives in the UK, and he is currently visiting me in the U.S., and he wants to bring a PC back with him to the UK since its cheaper here. He wants an AMD 64 X2 4200+ with 1gb x 2 pc3200, fortron 400w psu and a geforce 5200, and abit av8 mobo (its going to be a server computer)

What do you guys think of that as a CS server comp, and how will he be able to use this comp in the UK?

Thanks
 
For starters, thats a damn good machine there. He might want to upgrade the video if he wants to play on it himself :p, but yeah awesome for a server.

As for taking it back with him, the only issue is with the power plugs for the power lead into the PSU, ie the plug that connects to the mains power needs to be one that fits into the socket in the UK. Thats the beauty of starndards, any PC can work anywhere in the world, as long as the power cord can fit into the mains socket. BTW the time settings in Windows will need to be changed to the right time zone, but that should be it.
 
The main thing is to remember to throw the switch. Other than that he'll just need a UK spec power cable.
Make sure the PSU is either auto-switching between voltages or has a switch on it. Any PSU sold in the US will almost certainly need to be switched before plugging it in in the UK is it has a switch. I've never seen one set to 230V out of the box.
After taking a quick look... My Antec 400W and True 550 PSUs have switches. My PC Power & Cooling TC 510 is auto switching. Well, sort of. According to the specs it's happy with anything between 90V and 264V.
Another thing to watch out for is anything with a power brick. Those tend not to like wide voltage ranges. In other words, laptops, LCD monitors, etc. will need a new brick to work in the UK.
 
zandor said:
The main thing is to remember to throw the switch. Other than that he'll just need a UK spec power cable.
Make sure the PSU is either auto-switching between voltages or has a switch on it. Any PSU sold in the US will almost certainly need to be switched before plugging it in in the UK is it has a switch. I've never seen one set to 230V out of the box.
After taking a quick look... My Antec 400W and True 550 PSUs have switches. My PC Power & Cooling TC 510 is auto switching. Well, sort of. According to the specs it's happy with anything between 90V and 264V.
Another thing to watch out for is anything with a power brick. Those tend not to like wide voltage ranges. In other words, laptops, LCD monitors, etc. will need a new brick to work in the UK.
Click to expand...
Ok thanks...

Any ways i can cut costs off that server? (processor is damn expensive, but my friend runs the 3rd largest server business in the UK so he needs good rigs, recommend me some setups that will be closer to $800 shipped?)

Thanks!
 
Pentium D maybe? Would a dual core 2.8 or 3.0 P4 be enough? They're a lot cheaper than the X2 4200.
 
And they require a separate run from your power company just for all that power they use, while providing nowhere near X2 performance
 
If its just running a CS Server it doesn't take much to run a dedicated at all. You could really cut those requirements down, but if he is thinking of using that comp, get something decent.

As for opting for a P-D solution, it will over decent performance for a lot less money, just be sure you have adequate case cooling. But in the ideal situation the X2 is a better performer, too bad the price is so high that it makes buying it a real question
 
Another thing to watch out for is anything with a power brick. Those tend not to like wide voltage ranges. In other words, laptops, LCD monitors, etc. will need a new brick to work in the UK.
Click to expand...

Actually, most laptops are just fine with worldwide voltages. Same with certain digital cameras/camcorders. You have to look at the brick and see what voltage it is rated for. If the brick is rated only for 100 volts, then of course, you don't want to use it in New Guinea or the UK. Probably not the best in the US either, but it won't explode. If it is for 90-240, you are fine.

I have a 3 year old Toshiba Satellite that will run on anything from 90-240v AC. The real concern about international power standards is how CLEAN your power is. You definitely will want to buy a surge protector at the very least, but I recommend a UPS or similar. But be sure to buy your surge protectors, etc locally. I had fun once with a US surge protector in a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Scared the shit out of my wife on our honeymoon, though.
 
4keatimj said:
For starters, thats a damn good machine there. He might want to upgrade the video if he wants to play on it himself :p, but yeah awesome for a server.

As for taking it back with him, the only issue is with the power plugs for the power lead into the PSU, ie the plug that connects to the mains power needs to be one that fits into the socket in the UK. Thats the beauty of starndards, any PC can work anywhere in the world, as long as the power cord can fit into the mains socket. BTW the time settings in Windows will need to be changed to the right time zone, but that should be it.
Click to expand...

yea that video card sucks
 
No hes going to run up to 25 instances (total) of CS, CS:S, HL2 deathmatch, and ut2k4...

Yea dual p4's should be good for that too, no?

And no, he wont be computing on it himself, just using it as a server...
 
Half of the crap I got (switches, PSUs, routers etc.) has them weird US plugs (two prong things), they work fine with the adapters (which are like £1.50 each).
 
switches and routers are NOT typically rated for 220-240v power. Using a Japanese router in the US (100v in a 120v environment) probably won't kill anything immediately (and might be just fine in the long term), but not double the voltage. CHECK the power bricks before you trust it. If the brick or PSU doesn't support 230v, then I see a power converter in your future, which could run in the range of $200 US for a 1500w converter. (that's 2-3 desktops worth of power).
 
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