# Importing Personal Computer (PC) to Dubai?



## Nightshadow (Sep 21, 2010)

I have a massive gaming / entertainment rig (pc) that Ive built from scratch, with 2 monitors and would like to ship this to Dubai. 

1. Are there taxes for bringing in a personal computer & a laptop? The computer would be shipped separately via UPS or something as its too large to bring on the plane with luggage and all of that. 

2. I asked this in another question but just to double check, would they need to check the content of the hard drives? I have tons of video games, work files, movies, music, etc on there... Nothing illegal by American standards. If so, how would they go about checking the content? 

3. Any suggestions on cheap shipping? My PC tower is huge, together with the sound system and 2 monitors, lets just say I need a very large box or many large boxes. 

4. Assuming I choose not to bring the PC and just rebuild it in Dubai, am I allowed to bring in hard drives on their own?

5. Are you allowed to just bring external data drives?


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## paisleypark (Mar 9, 2010)

I fly a lot of the time and usually have about 1-2 TB of stuff on me, external disks, dvd's etc...never been checked in UAE.

A few friends have shipped containers in with personal PCs and no one has had issues.

However do note that piracy is one of the issues in the UAE - so just make sure things are legit, and leave behind things like the anarchists' cookbook, flying manuals and porn ;-)


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## Nightshadow (Sep 21, 2010)

paisleypark said:


> I fly a lot of the time and usually have about 1-2 TB of stuff on me, external disks, dvd's etc...never been checked in UAE.
> 
> A few friends have shipped containers in with personal PCs and no one has had issues.
> 
> However do note that piracy is one of the issues in the UAE - so just make sure things are legit, and leave behind things like the anarchists' cookbook, flying manuals and porn ;-)



Awwww no porn? Hehe. Just kidding.


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

Would suggest seeing about just putting it in a box packed carefully and bringing it over as extra luggage. 

You can attempt to ship ups but its going to be quite expensive. Had a aquarium pump and a few other items sent ups that ended up costing me 180$ for a medium size box.


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## Barbalee (Mar 26, 2011)

*So glad to see this thread!*

I really, really want to hear what you decided! I'm having the same struggle as I sit here at my desk with dual monitors and my surround sound Logitech rockin'! I don't mind selliing my desk, but I do mind losing my own computer ! 

What did you do??


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## Nightshadow (Sep 21, 2010)

Barbalee said:


> I really, really want to hear what you decided! I'm having the same struggle as I sit here at my desk with dual monitors and my surround sound Logitech rockin'! I don't mind selliing my desk, but I do mind losing my own computer !
> 
> What did you do??


I decided it wasn't worth the effort and boy do I regret that decision. I had the 5.1 setup as well, also logitech, hehe, gotta love their speakers. It was just too much hassle for me at the time to ensure everything was packaged safely and the shipping costs are expensive. Now that Ive been here 5 months I can tell you the following: 

1. If you are staying an extended period of time, do it. Its definitely worth it. Especially if like me, you do everything via your PC. I do my day-trading, gaming, music sessions, movies, social networking, etc... from my PC. (Now Im stuck on a laptop I bought right before coming here, its not bad...but watching movies with the little speakers just doesnt compare)

2. If your concern is more the content on your HDs but can do without the sounds and graphics, just bring that and rebuild here. Things here are a bit more expensive however and from what Ive seen, they are not as sophisticated in Dubai when it comes to offering an abundance of options with which to build an amazing rig. Internet speeds and reliability here are ... "still evolving" but again, if youre going to stay for a long time, chances are their speeds will catch up to ours eventually. 

3. Definitely leave the monitors at home. Nice HD wide-screen monitors are so cheap everywhere, its just not worth bringing those. (Unless youve got the Apple 30" one...hehe) 

Best of luck!


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## w_man (Apr 16, 2010)

I won't comment on the decision of bringing it or not as NS is more qualified to answer that but I agree with Jynx - I would also suggest putting everything in to one box and bringing it along as extra luggage. We did this with some of our stuff when we made our official move. It was cheaper and I liked the idea that it travelled with me rather than the uncertainty of knowing where it's sitting (customs, another country etc).


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## Nightshadow (Sep 21, 2010)

Jynx / W_man : Thats actually an excellent idea. Youd probably pay an extra $100 but who cares, you get it on the plane and right off when you land. 

My rig is so darned heavy that I couldnt do that option... I really do regret not bringing my stuff though, honestly.


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## Moe78 (Oct 29, 2010)

What kind of case did you have? I found the most heaviest part would be the case, the other stuff is just a couple of KGs (minus the monitor). Unfortunately Dubai is pretty crap for decent cases as they are either very expensive or hard to find.


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## Nightshadow (Sep 21, 2010)

My case, fully loaded is not only extremely heavy but its massive. 

Maximum PC | Antec Twelve Hundred

With 2 large monitors and those Logitech subwoofers are pretty big in size and also heavy with all the individual speakers, just made it a complete nightmare and very unrealistic for me to work out how to pack stuff and making sure it didnt break or get lost. Ive even got a glass mousepad...  - Then theres the UPS, the "special" power strips, blah blah... just did not work for me. 

Depending on the setup of the original poster though, I do agree though that one large box, is an excellent solution.


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## Moe78 (Oct 29, 2010)

most good cases are heavy! If they're made of light aluminum they create extra noise due to vibration so many are a mixture. That Antec's about the size of mine 

Cooler Master HAF X Review | bit-tech.net

I usually get most of my stuff second hand, with only a few weeks or months used. Prefer not to deal with computer stores here, they're terrible at sales and even worse at after-sales!

They usually don't charge customs for personal items but sometimes they do so the best thing would be to provide an estimation of the whole box/package as under 1000dhs


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## Barbalee (Mar 26, 2011)

*Importing Personal Computer (PC) to Dubai*

Awesome thinking on all fronts. I think the move will challenge me enough that I won't want to do a build right off the bat, so I'm going to take the box suggestion for my tower. But I'm going to leave my monitors and speakers behind and buy there. 

Your thinking was definitely what I needed. Thanks!!!:ranger:


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## HarryK (Aug 31, 2010)

I'm relocating to Dubai in 3 weeks and shipping all my kit in a container, not sure about costs as my company are picking up the bill. Regarding my data... It's all legit and nothing illegal, however I'm uploading it all to the cloud (drop box) and removing it from my HD that way it's safe, backed up and accessible from any device any where in the world.


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## Nightshadow (Sep 21, 2010)

Barbalee said:


> Awesome thinking on all fronts. I think the move will challenge me enough that I won't want to do a build right off the bat, so I'm going to take the box suggestion for my tower. But I'm going to leave my monitors and speakers behind and buy there.
> 
> Your thinking was definitely what I needed. Thanks!!!:ranger:


No problem! Thats what this community is here for. Cheers!


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