Buying a desktop PC (and also a question about language schools)

[TonyBe]

Hi,

This is my first post here. I found this forum as I was looking for information about Universe Club and Seeking Arrangement in Tokyo.

Anyway, I don't know if this is the right place to ask but I guess that most of you guys already live in Japan so might be able to help.

I'll be moving to Japan in February for about 5 or 6 months for a project that I'm involved with and I'll need a desktop (no, a laptop won't suffice) with some very specific capabilities in the CAD area. I've got two options, either bring one with me (and trust it not to be damaged in transit) or to buy one in Japan when I arrive.

I'm British and, in the UK (as I assume also in the USA, Australia, Canada etc), there are companies that will build bespoke PCs to the exact specification that you need.

So, my question is what similar companies are there in Japan that anyone here could recommend? I've tried searching online but, just using Google Translate, it's difficult to find companies that do this - especially given that I need a very specific type of graphics card that isn't commonly used in typical retail PCs.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Also, I'll be looking to take language lessons whilst I'm in Japan. There seem to be quite a lot of language schools of varying quality. One that was recommended to me in Tokyo was Coto Academy near to Iidabashi Station . Does anyone have any opinions on this or other language schools?

 

[cabbie]

I've always gone directly to the HP or Dell sites and purchased towers or low end servers, allowing me to choose the specs I want.

I was quite happy with the Meguro Language Center. Though I can't speak about the price, since my employer paid for lessons.
http://www.mlcjapanese.co.jp/

 

[jhingy567]

I think a fully built desktop PC on the plane is unlikely to be damaged, just pack it well to be safe? And use SSDs rather than regular hdds?
That's what I'd do rather than trying to source one locally in Japan.
I've abused my desktop PC like giving it a good kick or slap when the casefan makes funny noises, also dropping it etc - they are quite robust. If any damage, it's likely gonna be cosmetic.

 

[AMcguyver]

+1 to building & bringing the desktop instead of sourcing it in Japan. I've had PCs go through my check in luggage many times in the past and never had issues with it. At most, I've had maybe one or two cables come dislodged in transit and it was a simple matter of opening up the case and reseating the connections.

 

[BB0523]

Ditto... Get what you need at your local site and bring with you. Especially since your requirements are so specific. To be able to get what you need in Japan and have them understand it could be very difficult - even Japanese/English computer words almost same... Save yourself some headache and have it done proper. as for transport to Japan.. I'm not sure what's the best option.. checked like luggage ? Airline wont take responsibility if damaged or pay airline cargo rate for freight with insurance in case it get's damaged don't know these rates however. or use outside freight company with insurance - again I don't know rates... But it sounds like this PC is going to be critical to your assignment in Japan, so make sure you give it proper attention... don't try to be thrifty and end up in the shitter... Just my opinion...

As far as language schools... it's best to sort out after your arrival and speaking with some people. They are all over the place - geographically and ability wise. I've heard some are good and some are not - like everything else.. Do your own interview process at the school to see if it meets your needs. I mean do you need N1/N2 level or just help you live in Japan level.. Depends on your needs/desire/dedication.... If you want classroom setting or one on one style.. What is the budget for the lessons, your time commitment, etc.. Who know you may be working on that new PC so much you have little time for long lessons at a fixed location
Good luck and let us know when you arrive..

 

[Ken1988]

Just write down the spec and go to Akihabara. There are several shops there that assemble PC parts for you. For details, google "BTOパソコン"

You may want to email some of the shops to see if you can get what you are looking for.

 

[just4fun]

I know an American guy here in Tokyo that builds great machines and a super fair price

 

[sohelpmegoat]

Desktops are more durable than you think, find a bigger box than your case and use foam padding, old clothes to fill up the empty spaces, remove fragile parts like your GPU and your hard drive (if it's not a SSD), wrap them up in anti static bags and bring it along in your hand carried luggage.

Brought my desktop with me all the way from London back to Malaysia and it's fine, I sold off the monitor and brought an upgraded one after I moved but I strongly advise against storing your monitor in a checked in luggage.

 

[TonyBe]

Thank you everyone for your replies.

It seems that the general consensus is to bring it with me and I think that I probably will end up doing that. I really wasn't looking forward to having to deal with this with a basic "Pimsleur" level knowledge of Japanese.

find a bigger box than your case and use foam padding

A friend of mine suggested this as well and I think that's what I will probably do - get plenty of bubble wrap.

Once again, thanks very much and I'm sure that I'll be making more use of this site when I move to Japan in a few months time.

 

[MossBoss]

Anyway, I don't know if this is the right place to ask but I guess that most of you guys already live in Japan so might be able to help.

I'll be moving to Japan in February for about 5 or 6 months for a project that I'm involved with and I'll need a desktop (no, a laptop won't suffice) with some very specific capabilities in the CAD area.

You won't be able to transfer your CAD software from your existing machine - so it will be a pricey operation. But as its for work you have no choice.

 

[Desktop]

Do not ever put a desktop computer in checked in luggage. My last desktop died that way.

 

[rb25]

Are you comfortable building your own machine? Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara have a huge selection of components. I'm sure there's others too but I'm very sure they have everything you'll need. Not sure about workstation class graphics cards but a good gaming card usually eats CAD work anyway at a fraction of the cost.

Why can't the CAD software be transferred MossBoss? Should be very easy.

 

[jiraiyajiraiya]

Maybe you can just bring the exotic parts and find the more common parts at Akihabara.

 

[AMcguyver]

Thank you everyone for your replies.

It seems that the general consensus is to bring it with me and I think that I probably will end up doing that. I really wasn't looking forward to having to deal with this with a basic "Pimsleur" level knowledge of Japanese.

Another resource for learning Japanese is JapanesePod101.com they put out a free daily podcast that can help you get up to speed rather quickly.

 

[meiji]

I brought a 4-drive NAS to Japan once in my carry-on, and aside from security wanting to look through it, it made it through fine. I also checked it once with no problems either. The biggest concern for me is that it's a massive hassle to deal with heavy/bulky items. I'm just not in the mood after a trans-continental flight to have to lift/move stuff like that, even if it's just putting it on a cart and taking it over to Kuroneko.

 

[foobarxyzabc]

Personally, I would bring CPU, GPU and SSD drives with me and buy everything else in Akihabara ( for example, https://tenpo.tsukumo.co.jp/ ).
Assuming you were able to find proper shops/vendors and get that tower desktop pc assembled. What are you going to do with it once the project is done and you have to leave the country?

 

[Coda87]

This past summer, I built my nephew who lives in Japan ,a PC for his birthday. I brought with me to Japan, the cpu, hard drive, motherboard, ram, and graphics card. I bought the case and power supply in Akihabara. There is a great pc store not too far from the train station (i think is was called Tsukumo) with 6 floors, each floor was for certain components, floor 6 for cases & fans/cooling, floor 5 power supplies& mother boards, and so on. They had everything there. I didn't want to bring a case, because of the hassle of bringing something that bulky. I would have brought the power supply, but I wasn't sure if the power cord plug would fit (many japanese homes don't have the third ground plug).

 

[meiji]

I would have brought the power supply, but I wasn't sure if the power cord plug would fit (many japanese homes don't have the third ground plug).

Most power supplies these days are auto-switching, and you can just get a different power cable. Also, you can buy 3-prong surge protectors at most Tokyo electronics stores if needed.

 

[MikeH]

Someone used Tsukumo and great PC store in the same sentence. Times they truly are changing.

 

[e-smile]

Someone used Tsukumo and great PC store in the same sentence. Times they truly are changing.

do you know a better pc store in tokyo area ?

 

[MikeH]

do you know a better pc store in tokyo area ?

Pretty much everywhere else is better. Tsukumo will sell you processor, motherboard and memory combination which don't work together and then refuses to exchange them because it's your fault.

I don't buy much parts anymore but when I do I usually go first to Pasokon Kobo (パソコン工房) in Akihabara. Dospara is also a decent place.

 

[TonyBe]

Thank you again to all of you that have replied recently.

I really am in two minds about this at the moment.

I've always gone directly to the HP or Dell sites and purchased towers or low end servers, allowing me to choose the specs I want.

Thank you for this suggestion.

I had a look at the HP website and I was surprised to find that I could actually configure the sort of workstation that I wanted - to be frank, I'd only thought about their desktops before, not the workstations so thank you very much for making me consider this. The only trouble is that they do seem to be a lot more expensive when ordered through the Japanese website than the UK website (and I'm guessing that they're even cheaper if you're in the US) and there's also fewer choices as well.

On the UK website of HP the cost of the workstation I'm looking for is £2,600 + tax (390,000 Yen + tax) the nearest equivalent on the Japanese HP website is 600,000 Yen + tax. The one on the Japanese website is slightly higher specced due to fewer choices; if I wanted exactly the same spec as the Japanese version then it would cost 450,000 Yen + tax in the UK.

Now, I must admit that the specs of this system are rather better than what I currently have and I'm treating this as an excuse to get myself some better equipment than I've currently got.

The other alternative is, as some have said, to bring the graphics cards and processors with me or buy them in Japan however, given how much more expensive HP computers are in Japan compared to the UK am I likely to find the same issue with components in Japan, ie It would be cheaper to build it in the UK and bring it with me?

Anyway, thank you everyone for your replies, it's certainly given me a lot to think about.

 

[Babaram]

Computers: I have moved between continents with tons of machines many times, and they survived. Pack well with bubble. I usually take the drives out, more as a security precaution. Disassemble big GPUs and coolers to avoid shear effect. Leave CPU and memory.

Buy: I recommend Dospara. Pretty decent.

 

[e-smile]

Thank you again to all of you that have replied recently.

I really am in two minds about this at the moment.



Thank you for this suggestion.

I had a look at the HP website and I was surprised to find that I could actually configure the sort of workstation that I wanted - to be frank, I'd only thought about their desktops before, not the workstations so thank you very much for making me consider this. The only trouble is that they do seem to be a lot more expensive when ordered through the Japanese website than the UK website (and I'm guessing that they're even cheaper if you're in the US) and there's also fewer choices as well.

On the UK website of HP the cost of the workstation I'm looking for is £2,600 + tax (390,000 Yen + tax) the nearest equivalent on the Japanese HP website is 600,000 Yen + tax. The one on the Japanese website is slightly higher specced due to fewer choices; if I wanted exactly the same spec as the Japanese version then it would cost 450,000 Yen + tax in the UK.

Now, I must admit that the specs of this system are rather better than what I currently have and I'm treating this as an excuse to get myself some better equipment than I've currently got.

The other alternative is, as some have said, to bring the graphics cards and processors with me or buy them in Japan however, given how much more expensive HP computers are in Japan compared to the UK am I likely to find the same issue with components in Japan, ie It would be cheaper to build it in the UK and bring it with me?

Anyway, thank you everyone for your replies, it's certainly given me a lot to think about.

I have about the same issue, I have a work station in Morocco that I'd like to take to Japan but considering I'd have extra weight fee to pay (because I won't travel with only the station) + the discomfort + the risk to damage it ... I decided to bring only my hard disc and buy something newer (higher specs) in Japan.