Well, since my old pandapassport post about expensive real software in China is doing so fabulous on the newly created Chinalyst’s Popular Content page, I thought I’d balance here it with a new post dedicated to helping foreigners shop for cheap hardware in China.
Anyway, I’ve been talking to some of my “people,” discussing my future plans to buy a new ninja-fied computer. I bought my current excuse-for-a-laptop on ebay 3 years ago for about CDN$400, and I think it’s soon time to buy a desktop. About the only function my laptop can successfully perform these days is pressing waffles.
Those who are in-the-know (i.e. my friends who are even nerdier than me) seem to think that building a desktop computer from scratch is a good option, especially if you plan to be in China for more than a year. Apparently you can build one for about 4000RMB if you’re so inclined, though prices may vary from city to city. Most people agree that China’s many 电子城/diànzĭchéng (aka your local “Electronic City”) are a kick-ass place to start. For those of you who lack technical skills, or if you’ve been using your CD ROM drive as a cup holder, please read up some more on how to build your own computer from scratch.
Anyway, in true Dan Johnson fashion, here’s a computer hardware vocabulary list for you to take along with you on your Laowai shopping spree, if you choose to build a computer in China:
| Chassis | 机箱 | jī xiāng |
| Hard Drive | 硬盘 | yìngpán |
| System Board | 主板 | zhŭbăn |
| CD ROM | CD光驱 | CD guāng qū |
| DVD ROM | DVD光驱 | DVD guāng qū |
| CD/DVD-RW | 刻录机 | kèlùjī |
| Floppy Drive | 软驱 | ruănqū |
| Keyboard | 键盘 | jiànpán |
| Mouse | 鼠标 | shŭbiāo |
| Monitor | 显示器 | xiănshìqì |
| Laptop | 笔记本 | bĭjìbĕn |
| Printer | 打印机 | dăyìnjī |
| Processor | 处理器 | chŭlĭqì |
| Memory | 内存 | nèicún |
| Power Supply | 电源 | diànyuán |
| Video Card | 显卡 | xiănkă |
| Network Card | 网卡 | wăngkă |
| Sound Card | 声卡 | shēngkă |
| Speakers | 音箱 | yīnxiāng |
Now I know what you’re thinking. “Rick, how do I know that I’m not going to be anally raped by these shrewd electronic merchants?”
That’s a very astute question. I’m glad you asked.
You can check out the Zhongguancun (chinese) website for the latest prices of computer parts in China. Go to the drop-down menu in the top left, and click on the DIY配件/pèijiàn . There you can choose from a list of computer parts, and browse their low low prices in your nearest location. Click on the image below for a neato visual aid to show you where to click. As they say on South Park, Everybody loves aids!
Anyway I hope this word list is useful for someone out there. If anyone has any other suggested additions, I’d be glad to hear them.
Happy shopping!
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December 5, 2006
4:58 pm
Ryan,
Good post, just remember to let people know:
1) You need to bargain
2) Bargain
3) Shop around, there are plenty of people selling the same stuff in computer towns.
4) Buy from a slightly respectable looking storefront. At least make sure there is a storefront that looks like it has been there more than 2 hours.
Also – video card is not 网卡 but 显卡 or 显示卡. Your pinyin is correct, though!
December 6, 2006
12:10 pm
Hey TCE, credit for the post should go to Rick, not me.
Good advice all around though. Your number #4 particularly. Though it doesn’t take much to pull up stakes and leave e-town, it’s best to find a store/booth that looks like it might be there to honour that 3mo., 6mo. or 1 year warranty they claim to be giving you.
#3? Don’t they all sell the same stuff? China’s electronic cities are like Best Buy on crack, and I love it, but it gets boring pretty quick when they’ve all got the same damn knock off MP”4″ players and “Sony” infrared mice.
May 21, 2007
9:47 pm
Hi, I need to build a lot of Touch Screen Computers. The Touch Screen will show information (text and images) from a server. I need an economic model (I think we do not need a micro-procesor into the touch screen). Con you contact me to talk about my project ? Thanks
May 31, 2007
2:57 am
Hi Alfred.
You can reach me at rick { at} pandapassport.com
August 28, 2007
2:00 am
November 29, 2007
9:03 pm
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Проверенно!!!
January 2, 2008
11:10 pm
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January 24, 2008
5:35 pm
[...] stuff in Chinese like “upgrade the system BIOS” or “hard drive partition.” Learning such advanced words certainly gave me a sense of pride about how far my Chinese study has [...]
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11:23 am
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January 28, 2008
7:10 am
Good site
http://www.google.com – xamasapa
October 3, 2008
9:25 pm
Hey guys, im going to be in Harbin for the next 7months or so and am looking to build a computer since I left my desktop @ home.. well I brought my GPU but the rest is out of date.
Any information regarding shops, lists, where I can buy parts around/in Harbin would be awesome. Email me @ hiddindragon08@hotmail.com — Thanks
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12:35 pm
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May 12, 2009
5:42 pm
Hi,thanks for the info..DO you know about building own laptop in china?Thanks alot…