Job Discussion Forums

merc007 · Joined: 30 Sep 2003 Posts: 14

Hi just to add my cents worth, incase anyone else has the same question:

1. I am financially constrained.
If you buy a PC (not laptop) in Japan, it will probably cost you about the same as a laptop, but with newer technology. especially for gaming 3D video card, cool. Also, sometimes you can get really cheap monitors, or people are willing to give theirs away when departnig. I got one for free, 17inch.

2. Cannot speak or write Japanese but wish to use the internet in Japan.
Net is no problems. JCom offer a fantastic internet service, plus you don't need a landline. You can choose between 8M or 30M? I chose the more expensive one, which cost me 5775yen a month. Plus you can get it with cable TV

3. Still in Canada and willing to bring a laptop overseas.
I brought a laptop from home, but then decided to buy a PC while I was here. My laptop lacked the ability to play some of the latest games. I also wanted to watch DVD's, so I bought an external DVD player/CD writer from BicCamera. Also, you can buy some good cheap speakers over here...then it becomes a home entertainment system.

4. Have traditionally used PC's and have no experience with Apple computers at all.
You can buy a PC from BicCamera, that is not Apple. Some assistants can speak English.

5. Not very qualified at repairing or troubleshooting my computer.
PM me if you ever have problems with your PC

6. Overall power is not essential so long as the computer can perform effectively.
The more newer the laptop the better technology it might have for gaming.

Congrats on the Toshiba, they are an extremely good brand. If you buoght a new one, doublecheck how you would go about getting it servied overseas.
If you run low on space, you can always buy an external hard drive.

Sody, I think Primepc is pretty good, if you want ease of purchase. But I would recommend a desktop. You can get a better one, with the same price. Oh yeah, the technology here is amazing. I built my own box, and chose things that suited my budget. I will be taking my PC home, minus the monitor. The PC is compatible overseas and in Japan. It was pretty fun designing my own PC to the specs I wanted.

Oh yeah, my friends laptop got stolen, out of her apartment about 5 months ago. They broke in, and that was the main item they took. They didn't take any other big furnishings like TV.

Got to go, any questions feel free to msg me, and I'll reply soon.

Willy_In_Japan · Joined: 20 Jul 2004 Posts: 329

I went to Akihabara, and bought an IBM thinkpad from some street vendor for 17,000 yen. It was a PII 266 Mhz, 800x600 and has a CD drive and is surely Internet capable,....has a USB port on it too. I added an external USB hard disk because it only had 3 gig.

Now, if DVD capability is important to you, I would suggest you get a cheap laptop in Canada or Japan and then pick up an "Intitial" or similar brand DVD portable player at Future Shop or similar company. Any North American DVD's are "region 1" and MOST players in Japan are not regionless and only play region 2 DVD's. The portable has the added advantage of being able to plug into a TV for a larger screen.

Of course, if you intend to play Japanese DVDs, wait until you get over here to buy a player. You can buy a portable DVD player for about 250 Canadian.

Sody · Joined: 03 Oct 2003 Posts: 55

Thanks for the great advice shmooj, merc007, and Willy! You guys should be getting a commission I swear! I have decided the wisest and smartest thing to do is wait until I get to Japan and build a desktop from scratch.

Sody

Mike L. · Joined: 28 Feb 2003 Posts: 519

There are places in Akiharbara that do it for you. You go in there, fill out a form on their comuter.

I got mine at Mouse computer..

It tells you how much it will cost and they'll have it ready in a few days. Loading English software may void trhe warranty but is totally do-able!

They also have apckage deals.

A monitor can be bought seperately though sometimes the deals they have are pretty good!

Sody · Joined: 03 Oct 2003 Posts: 55

Great advice Mike, thanks for the info.

I have another question I was hoping someone could help me with. I plan on buying a desktop when I go to Japan this summer and I was just thinking if I by a PC used or new, will the BIOS be in English? If it isn't in English can I change it from Japanese to English?

Sody