Computer Store in Chiang Mai

[beb]

I've searched the forum with no luck so apologies if this has been covered already. I am looking for a decent shop I can find an external hard drive, specifically a Western Digital My Cloud and so far have not had much luck. I shopped around Pantip but apparently the shops I expected to carry it have stopped selling drives or severely cut back. Several shops seem to be shifting their business quite a bit.

I can get this online but would rather pick one up locally if that's an option.

Anybody have any suggestions?

Thanks!

[DaamNaam]

The two computer plazas on the east side of the moat.

[Frank James]

I saw a 1 TB external drive at Icon (one of the small shops in there) today for 2400 baht. It was a recognizable name brand, but I've blanked it out, as I was not currently in the market. Seems like an incredible good deal. I bought a 500 gb big clunky external drive a few years ago in the US and that was a "deal" at the time.

[FolkGuitar]

I know that you're looking for Western Digital, but 'GoodSpeed' carries Seagate externals up to 4 terabytes, and two major brands of external Solid State drives up to 500gig if that helps you. The Seagate externals have a three-year extended warrantee available for complete replacement PLUS data recovery for an extra $39.95. To me, that seems a smart investment.

[elektrified]

1. Computer City

2. Computer Plaza

3. Icon Plaza

4. Panthip Plaza

Not in any particular order. They all have the WD My Passport Ultra. I think that is what you mean. I just bought 2 X 500 GB a month apart...prices are dropping. 1780 THB was what I paid about a week ago. 1 TB are not that much more, perhaps 2300 THB.

[qdinthailand]

The two computer plazas on the east side of the moat.

You might want to consult a compass; your sense of direction is a tad off.

[northernjohn]

The two computer plazas on the east side of the moat.

You might want to consult a compass; your sense of direction is a tad off.

He is only 90 degrees off. The two he is talking abiout are on the North side about a 5 minute walk from the Ram hospital.

Haven't been looking for any lately as I have a 2 terabyte one I got on sale at the Airport Mall. There is a It in there that might have some also the new Central Mall has shops that might have them.

Seems to me I saw a shop in the Airport mall on the third floor by the escalators close to Robinsons that had some. There is a repairman on the second floor of Pantip who might be able to give you a good tip.

Good luck

[noise]

I have found that the stores tend to want to sell you what they have. But if you can find it on line at, say, Invade IT Products, the stores can and will order it for you.

When I was selecting components for my computer over a fairly long period of time, I was perplexed when one shop would recommend motherboard X today and then some time later it would be motherboard Y. After several iterations of this for all components and doing a lot of on line Bangkok IT store research, I figured it out. Since I told them time was not a limiting criteria, they agreed they could get me anything I wanted.

[alant]

chi chang at promenada has western digital drives.

[elektrified]

I have found that the stores tend to want to sell you what they have. But if you can find it on line at, say, Invade IT Products, the stores can and will order it for you.

When I was selecting components for my computer over a fairly long period of time, I was perplexed when one shop would recommend motherboard X today and then some time later it would be motherboard Y. After several iterations of this for all components and doing a lot of on line Bangkok IT store research, I figured it out. Since I told them time was not a limiting criteria, they agreed they could get me anything I wanted.

Agreed. A company like J.I.B. has massive stocks in Bangkok. If you want something and it is not stocked in one of the numerous C.M. locations (there are five J.I.B. stores between C.M Ram and Chang Phueak!), then they will get it for you (cca 1000 THB deposit) in 3 days. I just ordered some things from their Computer City location about 10 days ago and everything was here in 3 days just as promised.

But the WD My Passport drives are in practically every computer shop in town.

[haybilly]

Another vote for Invade-IT-if you want to go the online route--I bought a 2TB drive from them and it arrived, by EMS in very protective packaging in around 2 days.

Otherwise--as has been said--the Computer Plaza round the corner from Chiang mai Ram Hospital.

[Thighlander]

16 gb thumb drives are going for 7 usd in the States, and they get a lot larger than that. I don't think Snowden carried more than 64GB.

[orang37]

A recent (Jan. 21) review of popular brand (Western Digital, Seagate, Hitachi) consumer hard-drive reliability:

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/175089-who-makes-the-most-reliable-hard-drives

Western Digital is a good choice, Seagate is not.

The data summarized in the link above comes from BackBlaze:

http://blog.backblaze.com/2014/01/21/what-hard-drive-should-i-buy/

~o:37;

[beb]

Thanks for the suggestions. I am specifically looking for the wireless MyCloud by WD so alternatives won't work for me. I'll check out some of the suggestions today.

Thanks again!

[beb]

Any help on locations of JIB?

edit: Oh, figured out that's the place in Pantip I visited. They had a very slim selection (the store has been severely pared down) and not what I wanted.

Edited January 25, 2014 by beb

[mowgus]

Any help on locations of JIB?

edit: Oh, figured out that's the place in Pantip I visited. They had a very slim selection (the store has been severely pared down) and not what I wanted.

There are a few JIB's around. There is one in ICON plaza near CM Ram hospital (north west outside part of the moat). You'll find a lot of shops there (check both plazas that are beside each other) and you're bound to find what you're looking for. The Chi Chang place that used to be in Panthip moved out to Promenada.

M.

[seedy]

A recent (Jan. 21) review of popular brand (Western Digital, Seagate, Hitachi) consumer hard-drive reliability:

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/175089-who-makes-the-most-reliable-hard-drives

Western Digital is a good choice, Seagate is not.

The data summarized in the link above comes from BackBlaze:

http://blog.backblaze.com/2014/01/21/what-hard-drive-should-i-buy/

~o:37;

Wow !! Helium filled HDD !! Who woulda Thunk It !!

[unclueng]

As a foreigner with limited language skills I have found this company very good.

Chiang Mai

Advice Distributions

At Wise Company Holding Group Co., Ltd. Branch 66.

104/5, Chiang Mai - Lampang Rd, Muang, Chiang Mai 53000. All coordinates
Tel. 053 217555, 053 410662 Fax. 053 217555, 053 410662 Mobile. 089 8518630 Email. [email protected] Website. branch066.advice.co.th Facebook. www.facebook.com / Advicechiangmai

At Wise Company Holding Group Co., Ltd. 67 stores.

32 (the square icon) T.Sriphum Hasdieswi Road, Muang, Chiang Mai 50200. All coordinates
Tel. 053 287155 Fax. Mobile. 082 7660008 Email. [email protected] Website. branch067.advice.co.th Facebook. www.facebook.com / Advicechiangmai

Advice Shop

Smart IT Advisors Company Limited.

293 Moo 3, Mai - Hang Dong Road, Hang Dong, Chiang Mai 50230. All coordinates Tel. 427450,053 427 450 053 Fax. 053 427450 Mobile. 083 2001704 Email. [email protected] Website. www.smartitcm.com

The gearbox computer (Fang) Limited.

7 Moo 3, Tambon Wiang Chiang Fang, Chiang Mai 50110. All coordinates Tel. 053 382898 Fax. 053 382898 Mobile. 087 1844545 Email. [email protected] Website. www.advicefang.com

Advisors Company Limited Phone Thong

39/5 Moo 11, Chiang Mai - Hod T.Khuangpao Chom Thong district, Chiang Mai 50160. All coordinates Tel. 053 826371 Fax. 053 341692 Mobile. 081 7649787 Email. [email protected] Website. www.advicect.com

[JimGant]

The Chi Chang place that used to be in Panthip moved out to Promenada.

They, and almost everyone else (not necessarily to Promenada, but to somewhere).

I went to Panthip the other day for the first time in awhile, and couldn't believe the vacated spaces. What's been their problem? Location? Parking? Great for the tourists, I guess. But this is not a good target market for selling hardware, which doesn't pack nicely (unless maybe a thumb drive). Plus, no real cost advantage over Farangland hardware prices. And I guess selling questionable DVDs no longer pays the rent. Didn't even see the two hearing aid stores that used to be there, nor the Japanese restaurant........

Too bad. It served my purposes, with Anusarn as my parking area.

[beb]

Well, went to all the shops at the northwest corner and no luck. The model I want is fairly new and large so I guess it's not in big demand. But I did find the bluetooth mouse I wanted so that was good. I'll try Promenada and if no luck there, it's online shopping I guess. Thanks.

[Frank James]

16 gb thumb drives are going for 7 usd in the States, and they get a lot larger than that. I don't think Snowden carried more than 64GB.

Wouldn't it be cool to see Snowden in a commercial for, say, a Kingston 64 GB thumb drive.

"When you're gathering up masses of top secret data in a big hurry, you just can't beat the Kingston Traveler."

Mister Reese on 'Person of Interest' likes those too.

[MMan]

Yes Pantip Plaza is a sad sight these days. Chi Chang closed when their megastore opened in Promenada. The office supply store closed when their store in Central Festival opened. It's a trend seen all over Thailand - small IT shops are closing and the big stores are taking over, similar to the IT scene in the US. Was probably inevitable - I was always surprised by the number of small shops here anyway.

[northernjohn]

I was amazed at the lack of English spoken there given the fact it is in a high density tourist area.

It still has a great repairman on the second floor.

[beb]

I see a lot of Farang in there but I never get the impression it's a tourist spot. The area probably became "tourist" long after Pantip was there.

But what do I know? I hear a lot of people complain about the lack of English in Thailand but that's kind of to be expected I think.

[Frank James]

Yes Pantip Plaza is a sad sight these days. Chi Chang closed when their megastore opened in Promenada. The office supply store closed when their store in Central Festival opened. It's a trend seen all over Thailand - small IT shops are closing and the big stores are taking over, similar to the IT scene in the US. Was probably inevitable - I was always surprised by the number of small shops here anyway.

I hope it stays alive, because there are guys working in the small shops upstairs who are absolute wizards when it comes to fixing computer and other device problems. The corporate shops are interested in nothing but sales, and will grudgingly send your machine to an "authorized" repair facility, taking much time and money. There are also lots of great small shops in Icon Plaza and Computer Plaza next door, well worthy of our continued patronage and support.

[beb]

Just an update. I ended up buying what I wanted from http://www.tohome.com/ today. I was tempted to pick up an alternative but glad I just waited for the right thing. My first time to order online with a Thai credit card so was a bit nervous putting the order in. I'll let everybody know how it goes.

[khwaibah]

Yes Pantip Plaza is a sad sight these days. Chi Chang closed when their megastore opened in Promenada. The office supply store closed when their store in Central Festival opened. It's a trend seen all over Thailand - small IT shops are closing and the big stores are taking over, similar to the IT scene in the US. Was probably inevitable - I was always surprised by the number of small shops here anyway.

I hope it stays alive, because there are guys working in the small shops upstairs who are absolute wizards when it comes to fixing computer and other device problems. The corporate shops are interested in nothing but sales, and will grudgingly send your machine to an "authorized" repair facility, taking much time and money. There are also lots of great small shops in Icon Plaza and Computer Plaza next door, well worthy of our continued patronage and support.

Computer sells are down in Thailand and expected to drop more..

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/info-tech/idc-another-challenging-year-in-store-for-pc-sales-in-2014/article5601393.ece

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/technology/IT-retailers-turn-focus-on-smart-devices-30217806.html

Edited January 27, 2014 by khwaibah

[beb]

Wow! Ordered it yesterday and have it hand delivered today. Exactly what I wanted. This is awesome.

[Thighlander]

Thailand has approx. a 40% market share of global hdd sales, so it would make sense that you could get a good deal.

[beb]

Actually the price was higher than in the US but I'm happy it wasn't too much more. Even products made here retail at a higher price.