Building a PC CHEAPER in CHINA?! feat. Strange Parts 

It was a blast showing you around Huaqiangbei, Linus! Thanks for taking time out of your insanely busy schedule. Turns out my editor already has a decent editing rig, so I'll be giving this PC away to a lucky fan in an upcoming video. If you're interested in winning this PC (and some cool and rare Strange Parts swag) definitely keep an eye out for that video.

As a Chinese, I can tell you that all the products in these stores are all dynamically priced, meaning that the shop owner usually make up the price on the spot based on the perceived buying power of different customers. Simple put, they're overcharging you guys.

Man wearing Razer backpack complains about hardware prices in oddware shop.

2018 linus: "I hate this, I want to go back to shopping online." 2020: **"As you wish."**

I love how in the thumbnail Linus Towers over Scotty but Linus is shorter in the video

"It looked like plastic garbage, it's actually aluminium garbage" I died

Linus looks like a pain in the arse to shop with

Honestly I've been there multiple times, I guarantee you, if you knew Chinese and are determined to haggle, you can build that exact same PC for 1/6th the price.

I love how at 16:52 the “imacs” on display are casualty running windows

Chinese fan here! So I'm gonna try and explain things a little bit here. First about component price, Comparing China and the US, the things u can get cheaper in China are: CPUs: In this video Linus bought a OFFICIAL CPU with stock cooler, however, a local Chinese who know his ways would be choosing something different for CPU. Shop in China actually sell CPUs that we call“散片”, which are CPUs that got produced in China but DIDN'T pass the quality test and therefore should have been thrown away, but we the "tricky" Chinese would pick from those imperfections and sell those still in fine but not great shape. Those "散片" CPU would end up 0.1 or 0.2 GHz lower in performance and have less stable overclocking abilities, but still it would fit for daily use. Typical thing with these "散片" are that they don't come with a box and stock cooler, but they are usually 100 Yuan(20 USD) cheaper. Also it is also a performance-per-dollar choice to purchase SERVER CPU and motherboard combo like intel xeon E3 or G4560(of course it is not entirely legal for individuals to purchase these, so isn't "散片" deals, but that is the "grey" area for the current law.) Cases: Unlike other components, computer cases do not require any high-tech to build, so here you can see many small brands selling all kind of bizarre cases, that are cheaper and, probably, use cheaper and lower-quality materials. About the mall, 华强北 in Shenzhen: Even though I live in Beijing, the great name of 华强北 is still famous to anyone interested in computer DIY. I think it's fair to say that it is the largest of its kind in all of China. And as you can see in the video, people there have things beyond imaginations in stock, and I'm pretty sure there are even more wired and less or more illegal products hidden in the back of their store. You can dig up pretty much anything in your wildest dreams, literally. As one last reminder, I suggest STRONGLY that Strange Parts find a more stable power supply by a bigger brand. Because the best expert on computer DIY in China can save money in every way for better preformance, but NONE of us ever dare to save money on power supply. Because those cheap products from tiny brands don't have very strict quality test and you don't know what key components they've replaced. In short the cheap power supply is VERY LIKELY to go KABOOM(I mean it) in the future. Let's try not to risk that, like seriously.

that guy at the end tho... his friend was so happy to talk to him and all he cared about was the camera and gave it a death stare while ignoreing his friend

3:29 You know it's legit when it has 90+ gold certification

Imagine scrapyard wars between Strange Parts and Linus in Shenzhen

Worker: sees one of the biggest tech youtubers Worker: “do you need a computer”

Almost three years in and YT figures it's time to recommend this video to me. I've actually seen this already, and I love both Linus (all LMG included) and Scotty so much! Thank you for making videos!

That was a really dangerous situation with the lady selling the lasers, those looked powerful enough to cause blindness just from looking at the beam hitting an object. Really made me anxious even though this is 3 years old lol.

Prices have been automatically increased when some weird guys walked in, especially none of them can speak local language.

I feel like linus is having prolonged panic attack in this.

Feels weird watching old videos where ppl are roaming the streets without masks

He looked so stressed out and having internal panic attacks every few second 💀

Scotty really was patient throughout the time, he earned my respect

Nothing says China like a Ferrari power supply

linus is visibly really really stressed out, especially at the assembly part like he didnt want to disrupt the place by assembling the computer there. absolutely endearing

0:51 "Two boys one market" I see what you did there.

Who else noticed the lady who tripped😂 7:45

Linus : build a computer without wooden desk Verge : what a minute , thats illegal

I’ve seen this video about 4 times now, and I’m just now realized that the “1800W” power supply has a label on it that says “90 plus gold.”

Lived in Guangzhou for 10 years and that looks like the IT district in Gangding MRT station. An aerial view is needed to give you the scale of the IT district. Fantastic place to shop for IT gear and unbelievable repair resources. From data recovery to finding a faulty chip in my Dell laptop and replacing it on the spot for RMB50 (AUD10). There is another 7 storey building where they do the repairs. Even if you cannot speak Chinese, they are perfect doctors! They find the problem and fix it. If you do not know your way around just go to a small PC centre and let them build it for you. The IT district is ok for pros and techno-savvy people who know what they want. The customer support is excellent.

Imagine shopping with ur GF. But your GF is Linus, it's like 10x more worst

16:51 a mac with windows

4:50 that noise made me go crazy for a sec cux i couldnt find my fricking phone

That place looks super fun as a hardware nerd, I wish I knew chinese

The Verge: "first you need a table" Linus: builds a PC in a Bench / Garden bed

3:09 imagine that you're that guy with the white shirt,you greet someone who's just walking into your shop,then he just leaves

What world do we now live in that my first thought was "they look weird not wearing masks"... Can we go back to these simpler times now?

What's interesting about 华强北 though is that it's one of the few places left in the world that you'll still find PCB troubleshooting.

Feels like you could have made more out of this colab. I dont mean this in a bad way, but you go to Shenzhen and meet the guy who successfully brought back the headphone jack to an iPhone 7 and all you do is building a PC with aweird case? So much potetial...

Are we just going to ignore the fact that all those iMacs were running windows at 16:45

I still remember I ever joined my mother when I was younger around buildings like this in the video but the experience I had is very boring since the shops were selling clothes. The experience in this video is really fun.

I wish we had something like this in America. I always love watching this video, it's astounding the amount of parts and nic nacs for tech. I would fall in love if I went here.

I like how he naturally talks in a not very good chinese-english accent when he asks for something edit: why are people so offended? I was pointing out how he speaks in a weird accent with people who have a similar accent, even if he has a natural "american" english accent... Thanks Linus for hiding the negative comments! Unless y'all retracted your statements, in which GG

Scotty is a great bloke. Very warm and very kind. He’s an ideal expat.

Waiting for another five years, and tell us that if it did save him with two dollars

wishing you the best scotty

5:00 Nothing says China like an old lady shining high powered lasers off reflective surfaces in the middle of the mall with no protective eyewear.

wow i cant believe they did all that cgi and editing to get dennis in so many times, it looks so real too

Scotty was so patient throughout the video but Linus LoL 😂

at least he did this in 2018 and not 2020 or he might have been stuck there for a while

scrapyard wars shenzen edition. DO IT LINUS

I feel like Linus was a bit too rushed with this. Scotty seemed so calm and quiet, and Linus was getting stressed out and walking all over what this collab could've been. It was an alright video, but I think he needs to slow down once in a while.

3:02 linus just going away with a smile on his face, and the manager behind at the saddest moment of his life

I wish I had seen this before I went to Beijing & Shanghai in Aug 2018! I explored a similar-looking tech mall in Beijing, looking at all sorts of wicked stuff. I bought a foldable wireless keyboard that is still serving me well and have not seen it anywhere else, though I definitely overpaid after seeing just how much markup there is to Laowai's (foreigners). I do hope to go to Shenzen or Huaquangbei at some point since my travel visa is good until 2027

As a Linus fan from China, I want to say that: 1. It is EXTREMELY important to have a good translator in this case. 2. You can save at least 30% cost with more accurate communications and more clear objectives. 3. Please inform us before the next time you come to China!!!! I see some of the people arguing your attitude to the strangers, but I can somehow to understand people's feeling when they first time go to this kind of marketplace. Even as a native Chinese, it is easy to be tricked out at the place like Hua Qiangbei without a clear objective. The retailers is actually prepared to bargain with you, but you just accepted that ridiculous price... There's like 2k comments under this video in the Chinese video websites that are suggesting better purchase plans and calculating how much extra money he spent in his tour.

The long awaited collaboration!!!

that "1800 watt" power supply had a "90 plus" logo on it lmao

Oh i remember watching this video years back..🤣 never knew that it was linus..coz it was before i knew him lol

Linus did a better job building and setting up a PC than the crew at The Verge....In China...Outside....with random parts

I won't complain going shopping with my girlfriend after watching this video, thank you

I'm saving to go to China just to experience this store! I would be in geek heaven!

I can tell by watching the video the second Linus got back to the place he was staying and shut the door he screamed at the top of his lungs for a good minute or two and I respect that

Normal person: I assembled my pc, i'm an expert Chinese person in these places: I'm going to build every component from scratch and assemble it.

_eveybody gangsta till coronavirus spreads through pc parts._

I love Strange Parts. Haven't watched his videos in a while but definitely enjoyed all the content he released that I saw.

4:47 lol my school has an lga 775 mobo on display in the IT department as an example of what a motherboard is. Every bit of hardware on display is from pre 2005

This is a really odd collaboration, Linus is all over the place while Scotty is super chilled as usual. Being a westerner creating a spectacle in this situation is not going to help you get a good deal and was actually quite painful to watch.

I’m so disappointed you didn’t buy the wheel case

I have been binging Linus Tech Tips for weeks now, and he seems like a nice guy, but I get the impression that a bad temper tantrum short fuse is simmering under the surface with him at all times.

5:20 Linus already mastered the art of bargaining five minutes into this video

Next Scrapyard Wars: In this Mall

Best anime crossover in RU-vid history.

The problem with 华强北 is that you can't get hardware from many of the shops that you'd find low cost items that arent knockoffs or repairs. I did get my Mavic 2 Pro from the DJI store there though. It was about $200 USD less.

Its first time I'm watching the whole video. And it's the first video I've ever watched in this channel without any unwanted stuff. Every time I skip half part of the video

For a first trip to China, Linus did right by getting someone who helped. Would have been better to bring a bilingual native with him and have them help, not another foreigner - unless that foreigner can say (for example) laptop in Chinese. My recommendation [that worked very well with me] is to learn Chinese (including how to say SSD or memory stick, etc. in Chinese), and then develop a good relationship with one (back-of-the-mall) vendor. Foreigners earn more money than locals in China, and helping the local economy is actually a good thing. I would negotiate a 50rmb price down to 20rmb but still pay the vendor 50rmb anyway - and tell her or him to pocket the extra. I would also bring other mono-lingual Americans to the same vendor for their computing needs, and that went a long way to develop a trust relationship. After a year, my vendor would go out of their way for me to do right: Telling me things like, that is fake or that is too expensive or that is a good price. If my vendor didn't have it, they would find it from others that did, and not disappear for a half hour, but actually bring me along. That relationship with one vendor was key, and that is what Linus or his friend didn't have.

sadly, foreign people in an Asian market are probably 99% likely to get scammed with pricing! definitely just shop online LOL as an Asian, even I don't go to shops like this for tech. can't trust the people at the stores, always just looking to upsell, rarely ever actually trying to help you.

Need another one of this

1:03 5yrs ago -USB 2.0 ports on front. Man I love the future!

I do love that you guys met up and made this video but couldn't you have done a cool project together instead of using Scotty as a tour guide? I did enjoy the video but maybe you could have done a cool phone/PC modding video instead with Scotty's technical help.

21:37 "I actually like this screwdriver. -You compensating for something?"

Wish I could’ve gone to that place in that year, to get that GYX1050ti I saw XP I’d wonder if it would be the equivalent of $160 cad, which was the usual price for a listing of those. (But well, I wasn’t actively looking for parts, because I had no idea I could switch out parts on my old PC.)

I like how he can just trash talk the seller's pricing with no regrets or consequences

Do a scrapyard war in China....

2:45 look at the confused guy eating his noodles thinking "someone is filming me"

here is what you should do next. make a couple of pc's that have all the fans removed, and place it in a vat of mineral oil, then make a mineral oil circulation pump, and push it to its absolute maxx. and see what happens. or something along those lines, that's what i would do if i was a tech working on the haldron colliders.

PLS do it again but this time try to get a native to buy it, i just wanna know what happens and what kind of brands he will use.

20:47 "being an idiot doesn't help." Feeling like I should write that down...

Linus: "I actually like this screwdriver" Scott: "Are you compensating for something?" 21:35

I like the Among us Reference, great shit Linus 23:59

12:15 Dear Linus, you know, what country u in right ?

21:36 "I actually like this screwdriver" "You compensating for something?" Holy shite

I love that they're building a PC in the middle of the street and no one cares.

4:48 ”i mean they still have socket 775 motherboard here, like brand new!” Well socket 478 board next to it 😂

This was the first video that i've watched from LTT. Till then i followed him on facebook. And watch his videos on my freetime. Wondering if LTT can do the same thing here in the philippines. Rigging a gaming pc then compare the price to this video. Looking forward to it.

How to get ripped in china Have a western face Run around and speak english Have huge backpacks Get followed by a cam

21:36 "I actually like the screwdriver" "You compensating for something?"

4:42 those cards have like 8 transformers each (ive had those tiny things they can input 3.6 volts and output abt 500 they hurt bad)

Feels weird seeing everyone without a mask

Linus was so rude...unbelievable. It's so annoying to be around someone stressed out for no reason, bad company. It's supposed to be all in good fun, Strange Parts was so chill.

Marvel: infinity war is the most ambitious crossover event in history Linus : hold my Beer

i just realized after 2 years thet you can just walk in there, grab a gpu, and walk out. No security there, i think i saw one guard.

Always watched Linus build a pc in the studio. This is the first I saw he done it in the middle of the street.