One of my relatives is going to Bangkok soon. He wants to buy a laptop for me.

[Hamif]

Hello, I'm from a south asian country. One of my relatives will visit Bangkok for a 5 days. He wants some recommendations for laptop shops.

I had already settled on which laptops to buy. I'm looking for a shop that'll sell one of these two laptops:

 

1.Acer predator helios 300.

Or,

2.Dell Inspiron gaming 7577 (The new model, NOT inspiron 7567 or other ones from the inspiron 7000 line)

 

Or anything with similar specs.I intend to use it for gaming and app development. Money is not an issue.I have looked online but I'm not sure about the best place to buy them. I've checked several online stores and they do not even seem to have the 7577 model. In that case,I am  willing to accept recommendations for other similar laptops. I've heard that shops from pantip mall are overpriced and sometimes sell older models (which could definitely happen for the dell laptop I mentioned). Some people have recommended Fortune City/tower but I'm not sure if that's better. Please, I need your help. My relative is staying for a short amount of time and I don't want confuse him. Thanks in advance.

Edited November 23, 2017 by Hamif

[KittenKong]

I dont know how bad your home country can be but Thailand is rarely considered to be good place to buy high-tech equipment. Prices tend to be high and choice tends to be small.

 

Also prices here tend to be very negotiable, and you may find that you are sold something that is not exactly what you expected. Caveat emptor.

[tonray]

The only time it is advisable to buy a laptop in Thailand is to get a custom build for gaming which can be spec'd out at any  number of specialty shops located in the IT sections of just about any mall, Fortune Town etc.

 

Standard off the shelf laptops are expensive here and usually limited by not having an OS installed and a small amount of RAM standard. Malaysia is a better deal

[henry15]

ZEER Rangsit. The biggest IT Mall in the world. Not so far from Dom Mueang Airoport

[SiSePuede419]

You should buy a laptop in the country where you want the warranty.

 

If something breaks, you need to take it back to the country where you bought it for the warranty to be valid.

 

 

[Altalake]

SiSePuede419 is spot on. You need some comeback, and you will not get any if you are not here.

[pauleddy]

I just bought new MacBook 2017 in KL.

 

The shop price was 5% less than BKK. Also you claim 7% at airport. So it paid my plane and my hotel.

 

Im no gamer or coder, but all the top specs are there.

 

Mac is probably not what you want but the support is good. I called Chicago and Auckland in recent years for tech help.

 

Here in BKK seems good for Cracks. My Office for Mac Full Suite cost 120b AND gives me the updates. Lunacy!

Edited November 24, 2017 by pauleddy

[atyclb]

bangkok can be cheaper than some other countries like cambodia, vietnam perhaps burma .

[PerkinsCuthbert]

If the OP is from S Asia as stated, then Thailand IS likely to be cheaper than his home country, but not as cheap as other regional countries. If he knows exactly what he wants, and his relative is only visiting Thailand and not, for example HK or Singapore, then Thailand may be the best and only choice available to him.

But very important that his relative makes sure that:

• The model and spec are exactly as desired
• The OS is OEM and not pirated
• Check the warranty conditions
• Compare prices around Bangkok, both online and in shops
• Go for a reputable/well-recommended vendor
• Be sure to get a receipt to claim VAT back at the airport on exit from Thailand.

 

IMO Fortune Town is the place to go for choice. 

Edited November 24, 2017 by PerkinsCuthbert

[Oztruckie]

First up go check out Dell online,they have their own website where you can purchase direct with all prices,specs warranty info,I believe some Dell models offer 2 year international warranties,not sure about Acer. 

[Grumpy Duck]

1 hour ago, PerkinsCuthbert said:

If the OP is from S Asia as stated, then Thailand IS likely to be cheaper than his home country, but not as cheap as other regional countries. If he knows exactly what he wants, and his relative is only visiting Thailand and not, for example HK or Singapore, then Thailand may be the best and only choice available to him.

But very important that his relative makes sure that:

• The model and spec are exactly as desired
• The OS is OEM and not pirated
• Check the warranty conditions
• Compare prices around Bangkok, both online and in shops
• Go for a reputable/well-recommended vendor
• Be sure to get a receipt to claim VAT back at the airport on exit from Thailand.

 

IMO Fortune Town is the place to go for choice. 

All good points

[Grumpy Duck]

1 hour ago, pauleddy said:

Here in BKK seems good for Cracks. My Office for Mac Full Suite cost 120b AND gives me the updates. Lunacy!

What are/is Cracks.

Where do you get Office for ฿120? Are you sure it has Word, excel, access, one note, power point, outlook, & publisher 

I pay $9.99 a month for the full Microsoft Office Professional 365 Suite complete with all updates directly from Microsoft includes all the above plus 1Tb One Drive cloud storage for up to 5 pc's

[tonray]

1 hour ago, Grumpy Duck said:

What are/is Cracks.

Where do you get Office for ฿120? Are you sure it has Word, excel, access, one note, power point, outlook, & publisher 

I pay $9.99 a month for the full Microsoft Office Professional 365 Suite complete with all updates directly from Microsoft includes all the above plus 1Tb One Drive cloud storage for up to 5 pc's

Cracks are software that has been relieved of it's licensing protection and sold by copyright criminals to other copyright criminals.

[lagavulin1]

I was just on the Dell Thailand website. A search foe Dell Inspiron 7577 only throws up the 7567.

[Hupaponics]

I would be careful to not buy computer in person, especially in Thailand. If the seller sniff that the buyer is not knowledgeable, he will sell something you did not want. 

 

Also so my experience is that if one want to buy something better than "standard" than they have to order. Rarely they hav it in stock. 

 

Another thing is, you can not order computer online and have them shipped abroad. It's prohibited to send computers (and I think phones) through mail. 

I once needed to have my old laptop sent to Europe but it never made it through the border and returned to sender. 

 

Buy online but from different country, that's my advice. 

However I don't know your country's import laws. 

[krabi local]

Make sure you are happy with the Thai keyboard that most are supplied with.

I really struggle with my wife’s laptop with Thai letters on it.

Edited November 24, 2017 by krabi local
Clarification

[mogandave]

You can order dell and hp to spec online


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[Grumpy Duck]

14 hours ago, tonray said:

Cracks are software that has been relieved of it's licensing protection and sold by copyright criminals to other copyright criminals.

Ah, we usually refer to such as pirated software. I stay away from it, as it usually has viruses, worms or other malware 

[steven100]

1 minute ago, Grumpy Duck said:

Ah, we usually refer to such as pirated software. I stay away from it, as it usually has viruses, worms or other malware 

You can scan it for any viruses before using.  I always buy copies as it is usually cheaper than an original.

Nothing wrong with getting counterfeit goods .... it keeps many thai's employed,  a street sweeper will never be able to buy a real rolex but he may get a copy.  just my two cents worth ...

I don't like multi national conglomerates ... they are scum run by CEO scum.

 

[Grumpy Duck]

2 minutes ago, steven100 said:

You can scan it for any viruses before using.  I always buy copies as it is usually cheaper than an original.

Nothing wrong with getting counterfeit goods .... it keeps many thai's employed,  a street sweeper will never be able to buy a real rolex but he may get a copy.  just my two cents worth ...

I don't like multi national conglomerates ... they are scum run by CEO scum.

 

I agree with you on the CONglomerates

but i also do a virus scan of any such data, however, remember Kaza? I downloaded music there before scanned it and I remember downloading Inna Godda Davida full version in like 10 seconds. I scanned it, no malicious code, yet, the CD would not play on my car CD player. I called my Internet security provider (I think it was Norton) (yes, I learned in my A+ repair class Symantec protection is worse than none at all.) anyway the tech guy stated that record companies plant undetectable viruses thru such sites. And my fast download plus the fact music would not play on car CD indicated I was hit. I had to do a clean install of Win 98 555 (yea long ago). It ran good, till I tried playing Kaza music again, then whoopsie crash again. An opportunity to upgrade to XP.  A friend once gave me a bootleg copy of the $800 Quark program. Same thing, except it took a couple of months to crash, and none of the files I created would open in regularly licensed Quark programs. No thanks I 'll stay away from pirated stuff. 

[Grumpy Duck]

26 minutes ago, steven100 said:

You can scan it for any viruses before using.  I always buy copies as it is usually cheaper than an original.

Nothing wrong with getting counterfeit goods .... it keeps many thai's employed,  a street sweeper will never be able to buy a real rolex but he may get a copy.  just my two cents worth ...

I don't like multi national conglomerates ... they are scum run by CEO scum.

 

Oh yea, I also inherited a counterfeit Rolex. The face rotated about 2 minutes off took it to a Thai watch repair guy, he opened the back, closed it back and said, "counterfeit, no one will touch it" 555. 

[mogandave]

Yes, if you don’t like corporations you should be able to steal from them.

Nothing wrong with that.


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[Hamif]

 

On 11/24/2017 at 1:09 PM, lagavulin1 said:

I was just on the Dell Thailand website. A search foe Dell Inspiron 7577 only throws up the 7567.

Yeah, I don't think that the new model is available in thailand. Maybe I should go for the acer one then.

On 11/24/2017 at 2:14 PM, Hupaponics said:

I would be careful to not buy computer in person, especially in Thailand. If the seller sniff that the buyer is not knowledgeable, he will sell something you did not want. 

 

Also so my experience is that if one want to buy something better than "standard" than they have to order. Rarely they hav it in stock. 

 

Another thing is, you can not order computer online and have them shipped abroad. It's prohibited to send computers (and I think phones) through mail. 

I once needed to have my old laptop sent to Europe but it never made it through the border and returned to sender. 

 

Buy online but from different country, that's my advice. 

However I don't know your country's import laws. 

Maybe I'd be better off buying stuff from my own country then. The price is even higher but I won't have to worry about warranty.

 

Since you seem to be knowledgeable about import laws, could I ask another question? I have another relative in USA. He's living there permanently. I could handle the payment via credit cards but he wont be able to visit my country soon. He could send it via mail but I don't know how long that'll take and whether it is safe to do so. Would it still be better to buy the laptop from US and have it mailed to me instead of buying directly from Thailand?

[TrueOrNothing]

Big companies change all their computers every few years because they have the budget for it and they need to use it .

You can buy those refurbished computer at Pantip plaza in shops where they have piles of those (HP, Dell, Lenovo ...).

They are professional series and will last much longer than the consumer ones, for a fraction of the price. 

I would recommend minimum pocessor i5 2.4Ghz + 8Gb RAM +  SSD  (ideally  SATA6Gb/s, check also the computer SATA interface type)

[mogandave]

Big companies change all their computers every few years because they have the budget for it and they need to use it .

You can buy those refurbished computer at Pantip plaza in shops where they have piles of those (HP, Dell, Lenovo ...).

They are professional series and will last much longer than the consumer ones, for a fraction of the price. 

I would recommend minimum pocessor i5 2.4Ghz + 8Gb RAM +  SSD  (ideally  SATA6Gb/s, check also the computer SATA interface type)

They generally lease them for three years and trade them in. While the laptops are “professional” they are usually mid-range, not higher end units.

They also typically see heavy use and frequent travel....

[NanLaew]

On 11/24/2017 at 12:59 AM, KittenKong said:

I dont know how bad your home country can be but Thailand is rarely considered to be good place to buy high-tech equipment. Prices tend to be high and choice tends to be small.

 

Also prices here tend to be very negotiable, and you may find that you are sold something that is not exactly what you expected. Caveat emptor.

I think it's a case of knowing exactly what you want and having a very narrow limit on what will be an acceptable alternative. Mate of mine bought an HP i7-based gaming laptop in Pattaya and was pleasantly surprised to find the same model, exact same specs, for only about 3000 baht less at Simlim in Singapore, primarily because the newer model had just come out in Singapore.

 

On 11/24/2017 at 7:30 AM, henry15 said:

ZEER Rangsit. The biggest IT Mall in the world. Not so far from Dom Mueang Airoport

Best bet for both bargains in recently superceded models as well as being as close to the newest stuff on the market in LOS.

 

On 11/24/2017 at 9:29 AM, SiSePuede419 said:

You should buy a laptop in the country where you want the warranty.

 

If something breaks, you need to take it back to the country where you bought it for the warranty to be valid.

 

Or make sure that what you buy has a global warranty. I have been using ASUS bricks for years and always had the international warranty. Only needed to use it once.

Edited December 9, 2017 by NanLaew

[pauleddy]

All of the big programmes/apps which you see in Fortune T or Pantip costing 130b (not 5,000b) are cracks.

 

My MS Office for Mac (with excel, word , PP and the whole lot) cost me 120b five years ago and is still going like a trooper. It even gives me the upgrades or tweaks issued by MS.

 

I don't have 87,000,000,000$ like Mr Gates, so I am quite happy.

[mogandave]

Yes, if people are rich it’s okay to steal from them.


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