Taking a American purchased Desktop to England

[Faustus]

Now this is my ASSUMPTION so if its wrong please let me know.

I always assumed that if you Power Supply has the switch on the back then all you have to do is switch the current and buy a different power cable. Is this true?

What would you need to do in order to get a LCD monitor to work?

[JohnnyMalaria]

You are correct, Sir.

Re LCD, many electronic goods these days come with automatic power supplies. If not, you can buy a transformer. If you have other equipment that needs changing, a 500W transform will serve you well (I have a couple since I did the reverse). They seem to be cheaper in the UK than the US (a rare thing indeed).

Cable: if you intend to come back (!), then buy a cable, otherwise you could cut the plug off and wire a big chunky UK one on (to save a couple of pounds)

[hech54]

Most monitors I've used come with an in-line power converter box...so all you(and the manufacturer) need to do is change the one power lead that goes to the wall.
Same with printers. The connection at the box is the same...just the "business end" that goes to the wall socket is different.
I can take my Dell to America and just change the power cord as long as I throw the red switch on the power supply to 110 vs. 220 volts. Same goes in reverse with my IBM PC in America. I could have brought it here with no problems.

[Faustus]

Sweet thanks guys. The PC in question is a Dell and so is the monitor. I'm asking for a friend who will be going away to college at the end of the year.

[ahhaa]

uhmmm.... not doubting you guys, just to be sure about this-
what about the 50 cycle vs 60 cycle difference?

also, pc accessories are a bit higher priced in the UK, so taking an extra HD or whatever might save some bucks.

also also, this site is great for UK/US Computer & TV advice:
http://ccgi.mgillespie.plus.com/liteon/smf/index.php

[Faustus]

uhmmm.... not doubting you guys, just to be sure about this-
what about the 50 cycle vs 60 cycle difference?

also, pc accessories are a bit higher priced in the UK, so taking an extra HD or whatever might save some bucks.

also also, this site is great for UK/US Computer & TV advice:
http://ccgi.mgillespie.plus.com/liteon/smf/index.php

This machine already has a ton of space (over 500 gigs in a RAID) and she also has a 160gb External Drive. But yeah I didn't even think about it stuff costing more over there.

What about blank media like CDs and DVDs?

[JohnnyMalaria]

uhmmm.... not doubting you guys, just to be sure about this-
what about the 50 cycle vs 60 cycle difference?

In all practicality, it isn't an issue. All modern electronic equipment uses DC, so the AC is converted anyway (except for really cheap stuff like radio alarm clocks). The only thing that will happen is that the transformers may run a little hotter than usual.

also, pc accessories are a bit higher priced in the UK, so taking an extra HD or whatever might save some bucks.

That reminds me of a safeguard I took when I moved from the UK to the US. Since my PC was being shipped by air (therefore out of my hands and in those of Customs), I was concerned about the hard drive/PC getting damaged/removed/other paranoid things). So, I cloned it and carried the clone with me on the flight. In the end, I needn't have bothered but you never know....


If you do take extra accessories, either install them in the PC or remove all their packaging, otherwise you may end up paying import duty when you arrive in the UK.

[RabidDog]

The "u" key on her puter will get a lot more use!

[AlanHK]

Might be useful to change "Regional Options" control panel to UK English.
Should change a few things like date format (DMY instead of MDY), and should also make your paper size default A4 (instead of Letter), but check that anyway.
Very irritating when your documents don't print or are distorted to fit the different paper size.

[edong]

Sweet thanks guys. The PC in question is a Dell and so is the monitor. I'm asking for a friend who will be going away to college at the end of the year.

Last December I sent a Dell Dimension desktop and Dell LCD monitor to the Philippines. I just switched the voltage to 230V on back of the PC. On the monitor, it says 100~230V on the back so I did nothing. The only problem is my nephew’s house has no outlets for three-pronged plugs so he had to buy an adapter. I was worried about grounding but the last time I heard both are still working. The same voltage conversion might also be true in the Dell you mentioned.

[Richard_G]

What about blank media like CDs and DVDs?

Marginally more expensive than in the US, but at least you know exactly what you are getting if you go to the right places ( like www.svp.co.uk ). None of this Made in Japan/Taiwan/India checking and hoping for the best. In fact, you will not see where blanks are made printed on the packaging. I looked at both Maxell and TDK discs and on both it gives an address for Maxell and TDK Europe as the distributor, but nowhere does it say where they are made.

[JohnnyMalaria]

The only problem is my nephew’s house has no outlets for three-pronged plugs so he had to buy an adapter. I was worried about grounding but the last time I heard both are still working.

Don't worry about it. Nearly every power supply for consumer items aren't even wired to ground. Most are "double insulated" which means the chassis etc are designed so that it can't cause an electric shock.

Look on the power supply (if for a laptop etc) or on the device itself (e.g, TV, DVD player) for the "double square" symbol - a square inside a square. This is the symbol for being double insulated.

Note: the symbol used to be very easy to find. Over the last few years, a plethora of other symbols have appeared so you have to look thoroughly!