What Is The Best Lap Top To Buy?

[Jessi]

I am hoping there maybe someone on TV that might be able to advise me which would be the best Lap Top to buy.

I don't need anything fancy and I have a small budget. I only need it to check my email and look things up on google etc. Please reply with kindness as Im am computer Stupid and this will be my first computer.

Thank you for any help you may be able to give.

Kind Regards Jessie.

[JohnC]

As with all PC s it depends what you want to use if for, does it have to be a laptop? do you travel etc , Laptops are traditionally more expensive

Where in Thailand are you? no point in recommending a shop in Pattaya if you live in Krabi!!

You can get a desktop that will do the basics you seek for around 17,000baht and there are always second hand laptops on sale but of course its the old buyer beware as you dont know the history of the machine!

Work out exactly what you want to do and then shop around when you buy make sure its somewhere that has been around for a while so if you do have a problem you can take it back! Any basic machine desktop or laptop will be able to provide internet access for e mail and searching the net but remember you will need a modem of sorts unless you buy a laptop with wireless then spend your time in starbucks or similar that have free wireless access!

[nikster]

I am hoping there maybe someone on TV that might be able to advise me which would be the best Lap Top to buy.

I don't need anything fancy and I have a small budget. I only need it to check my email and look things up on google etc. Please reply with kindness as Im am computer Stupid and this will be my first computer.

Thank you for any help you may be able to give.

Kind Regards Jessie.

If that's your picture then don't worry - you will always be surrounded by computer-savy guys only too happy to help out

If you are on a small budget, buy a cheap computer. Kinda stating the obvious, isn't it Well but what I am trying to say is that even a cheap computer will be well able to handle internets and emails. 20K baht should do it. Just buy a brand name that has reasonably good service, lenovo, acer, asus come to mind but i am sure there are others...

[Jessi]

As with all PC s it depends what you want to use if for, does it have to be a laptop? do you travel etc , Laptops are traditionally more expensive

Where in Thailand are you? no point in recommending a shop in Pattaya if you live in Krabi!!

You can get a desktop that will do the basics you seek for around 17,000baht and there are always second hand laptops on sale but of course its the old buyer beware as you dont know the history of the machine!

Work out exactly what you want to do and then shop around when you buy make sure its somewhere that has been around for a while so if you do have a problem you can take it back! Any basic machine desktop or laptop will be able to provide internet access for e mail and searching the net but remember you will need a modem of sorts unless you buy a laptop with wireless then spend your time in starbucks or similar that have free wireless access!

John, As I travel a lot it must be a L/T. 2nd hand NO way!!!

What is a good Brand at a cheap price with world warrenty?

I am in BKK most of the time so Panthip Plaza would be stop #1 but not before I can get some advice on which Brand.

Jessie

[Jessi]

I am hoping there maybe someone on TV that might be able to advise me which would be the best Lap Top to buy.

I don't need anything fancy and I have a small budget. I only need it to check my email and look things up on google etc. Please reply with kindness as Im am computer Stupid and this will be my first computer.

Thank you for any help you may be able to give.

Kind Regards Jessie.

If that's your picture then don't worry - you will always be surrounded by computer-savy guys only too happy to help out

If you are on a small budget, buy a cheap computer. Kinda stating the obvious, isn't it Well but what I am trying to say is that even a cheap computer will be well able to handle internets and emails. 20K baht should do it. Just buy a brand name that has reasonably good service, lenovo, acer, asus come to mind but i am sure there are others...

That Picture is a few years old now but thank you for the remark.

How about Dell computers are they any Good?

Jessie

[Donnyboy]

As with all PC s it depends what you want to use if for, does it have to be a laptop? do you travel etc , Laptops are traditionally more expensive

Where in Thailand are you? no point in recommending a shop in Pattaya if you live in Krabi!!

You can get a desktop that will do the basics you seek for around 17,000baht and there are always second hand laptops on sale but of course its the old buyer beware as you dont know the history of the machine!

Work out exactly what you want to do and then shop around when you buy make sure its somewhere that has been around for a while so if you do have a problem you can take it back! Any basic machine desktop or laptop will be able to provide internet access for e mail and searching the net but remember you will need a modem of sorts unless you buy a laptop with wireless then spend your time in starbucks or similar that have free wireless access!

John, As I travel a lot it must be a L/T. 2nd hand NO way!!!

What is a good Brand at a cheap price with world warrenty?

I am in BKK most of the time so Panthip Plaza would be stop #1 but not before I can get some advice on which Brand.

Jessie

check out ACER as its number one in thailand and so it will have tons of support here with a world wide warrantee, price wise its usually good as well with some promo out there, like anything shop around

[naka]

Acer is the best selling laptop in Thailand, then comes HP.

Plenty of Acer service centers around.

Dell are not well supported here.

Naka.

[jackr]

I wouldn't get another Acer. The Aspire I have likes to malfunction - ie, HDD (second HDD nearly dead), screen died, and generally runs like a dog compared to my four-year-old Toshiba even. It's totally clean and up to date and never abused. I'd go for a Dell next time. Good quality and service record.

[lopburi3]

I have bought two Toshiba laptops, with legal software, for grandchildren in the last year and both are operating without need for me to fix every other day (which was often the case with the previous desktops with local operating system loads (and virus). At about 24K each believe they have saved me the extra cost between them and desktops. If they do fail, being portable, maybe I will actually take to shop instead of trying to fix myself.

[Boksida]

I've tried may different brands but my Chinese one has been the most reliable. I've had for so long though the manufacturer's name has worn off.

[Taggart]

I only need it to check my email and look things up on google etc.

Kind Regards Jessie.

If that's all you need it for, then the new Asus Eee should be released either next month or in September. It's a small screen (7 inch), very light at only 2lbs., and projected selling price is U.S. $250.

[nikster]

I wouldn't buy a Dell - Dell has dropped in quality / service in the last few years, and no service in Thailand as of now.

Ok some recommendations:

- Lenovo ThinkPad - the most indestructible, best quality, good service. Only the ThinkPad branded machines though, not the other Lenovos.

- Acer - quality can be hit or miss, but excellent service in Thailand, service centers all over the place. 3yr extended warranty available.

- Asus - no personal experience, but I hear only good things about Asus machines.

- Apple MacBook - good quality and excellent service as well as Mac OS X. No viruses. The only problem is that there are much fewer people around who know Mac OS vs Windows. Nevertheless, I'd recommend it any day

- HP seems to be making nice machines + also has good service. Not enough experience with them to judge the quality though.

Specific model will depend on your budget... cheers

Edited July 27, 2007 by nikster

[dekka007]

I would second Apple Macbook. Good support and the dealers in BKK (Especially Thonglor) are always helpful post sales.

[Firefoxx]

I've had bad things go wrong with pretty much every brand out there, so basically going by any brand will be hit and miss. This includes hardware failures on supposedly tough brands like Thinkpads and Macs. If I were to the take the path of "once bitten, twice shy" that people prefer, then I wouldn't be able to buy any notebook brand, since all have failed me badly at least once. There is no guarantee (absolutely none) that buying a $$$$ machine will get you good results, and that buying a cheap machine will give poor results. The trend might be that way, but it's still up to personal experience, which varies from individual to individual. Buying a $$$ machine might net you better after sales service, since the margins are huge, but you could also use that money to get a cheaper and much better spec'ed machine with an extended warranty. When you pay 2x-4x as much for practically everything, a shop can afford to have tons of helpful staff.

Modest requirements mean a modest machine. Just get something which you're comfortable with, as in easy to type on, ports are accesible, screen is big and bright enough, etc.

[johnong]

I would second Apple Macbook. Good support and the dealers in BKK (Especially Thonglor) are always helpful post sales.

I would agree with this! last year the apple re-seller in pantip was selling ibooks very cheaply (might have run out now). The new macbooks are likely to be more than you want to pay, but are very easy to use and perfectly suited for what you want.

I would say though that if you are going to be surfing for a lot of Thai language websites then a windows notebook would be better as a lot of Thai websites seem to be (badly) written exclusively for microsoft explorer

[dekka007]

Yeah the websites with Safari can cause a problem but not too many now. I usually run Firefox to resolve 99.9% issues.

I just got my Macbook Pro - its a lot of cash but the best laptop I have ever owned (Been through A LOT). Especially now with Bootcamp for those must play Windows XP games and of course Parallels in Coherence mode best of both worlds.

The new apple LED screens (NOT LCD) are just stunning...

[nikster]

Yeah the websites with Safari can cause a problem but not too many now. I usually run Firefox to resolve 99.9% issues.

I just got my Macbook Pro - its a lot of cash but the best laptop I have ever owned (Been through A LOT). Especially now with Bootcamp for those must play Windows XP games and of course Parallels in Coherence mode best of both worlds.

Just got one as well, it's fantastic. Love the keyboard, it feels so much better than my Acer.. I've had it only for 1 month but so far it's been perfect. I have a few friends with MacBooks and they seem to be pretty good now too.

Firefoxx, I don't agree. I had two business class Acers - e.g. the more expensive models w 3 year warranty - and one low end model. Lots of friends also have low end models. There is a distinct difference in quality between these, the business class ones are most certainly made to last longer. The first one, the TM 803, never had any problems (pretty amazing). The second one an 8204, had very minor problems (fan noise, replaced under warranty). The consumer class 4600 had problems to no end and spent a lot of time in the service center. So I'd say there is a clear difference between these. There is a reason Acer sells the 8204 with 3 year warranty vs 1 for consumer laptops.

Thinkpads and Asus are also known to be relatively trouble-free. Maybe you just had bad luck with yours. I generally check the forums at forums.notebookreview.com to get a feel for overall quality.