Hi,

My employer asked me to buy a new laptop for me next month. 

My requirements are compact size, low weight, robust frame and not too expensive.

I have an external screen at my office workplace, so the screen size of the laptop doesn't really matter.

Also for performance, I'm really only doing two things with this laptop: MS Office and web browsing.

 

Any advice on brands and models would be appreciated 

Anything interesting here for you? I have an ASUS Vivobook Go 14 (E1404G) which I bought over an year ago from Dubai, and its working fine.

Not a super high-end model (i3), but compact & light

 

https://www.asus.com/th/store/laptops/for-home/

 

...and down here you will find a wider choice of brands & models

 

https://www.powerbuy.co.th/en/category/computers-and-offices/laptops

Brand ... I'm an ASUS fan, and never let me down.  Only buy new ones as upgrades.  

Model ... depends on budget.   I'm a thrifty shopper, all I need is unshared graphic card, as I edit photos & vids.  New ones of late have cost ฿25k +/-. and this one is 3 yrs old.  Specs of ...

 

 

I bought from Greece a used laptop Dell Precision 4600 - 1tb ssd hard disk - 16 gb ram and its very good condition. Almost new.

So if in Thai exist market of used laptops (not refurbished) you can check out the price.

I have already bought a second used laptop Dell Inspiron 1tb hard disk where I replace it with a new SSD 250 gb (€70) - 4 gb ram which I can add 6 gb -8 gb ram and it was very cheap.

Dell Inspiron laptop I use it everyday 8 hours for 7 years and it works nicely.

Τake a closed look in used market for better prices and my suggestion is do not buy new laptop in order to avoid to pay double prices.

Buy from Chineses a cooling computer base for your laptops and take way (get rid off) all your stafs around of your iaptop at your office.

 

 

On 8/10/2025 at 10:12 AM, CLW said:

Hi,

My employer asked me to buy a new laptop for me next month. 

My requirements are compact size, low weight, robust frame and not too expensive.

I have an external screen at my office workplace, so the screen size of the laptop doesn't really matter.

Also for performance, I'm really only doing two things with this laptop: MS Office and web browsing.

 

Any advice on brands and models would be appreciated 

I'm a very heavy user, since the 1990s, and have had an extremely reliable experience with Lenovo. I replaced a power supply once (cheap) and recently paid for an overhaul - but this is a unit I have used many hours every day for the past four years. I've also found the Lenovo parts and service access to be superb (I'm in Indonesia).

 

It's amusing because Lenovo purchased the ThinkPad business from IBM, and their laptops were real p.o.s. When I worked for the CEO at PT Semen Cibinong we bought three IBM laptops: one for him, one for his son ($7000!) and one for me to use. All had problems - the so-called "butterfly keyboard" on the unit I had was spongy and flimsy. The laptops were clear evidence of Big Blue's contempt for PCs. When they sold off the business to the Chinese I expected the brand would continue to sell crap. Happy to say I was dead wrong about that. 

I will let my own experience be your cautionary tale..

Do not buy a Microsoft Surface. Under any circumstances, ever.

That is all.

I'm an Asus Fan too, but Lenovo are worth a look. Their Thinkbook is acclaimed as the best business laptop.

2 hours ago, Cameroni said:

I'm an Asus Fan too, but Lenovo are worth a look. Their Thinkbook is acclaimed as the best business laptop.

+1 for Lenovo ThinkPads

 

They're not the cheapest but they're among the best.

 

Currently I have 2 X13 (one supplied by my employer, one personal). Before I had X230 and X260. I still have the X230 I bought in HKG.

Consider the swift lite range for the lightest at a reasonble price.
I had an acer swift 15 SF515 before that lasted nearly 5 years but was falling apart because at about 1kg, it was far too light and not strong enough.
I searched for a while and recently bought a newer model, acer swift lite 14-51M. Heavier at 1.7 kg but far more sturdy.
Its a slightly smaller screen than what i had before, but IMHO sufficient.
I bought the LCD screen version, not the more expensive OLED, and it is ok.
You have the external monitor , so no issue anyway.
I think i paid about 24K THB in january. Its cheaper now.
16GB RAM ok, but SSD only 512GB and I wanted much higher.
Bought a separate 1 TB SSD drive to keep my older data. I find the data transfer very good.

Beware when you get a laptop with Windows 11 and free 365. Its a nightmare, you can only store to the cloud.
Windows 11 also takes a lot of effort to stop it doing a lot of things you may not want.
If your employer wants the 365 and cloud then thats what you have to get.
I want my files on my laptop. I had to find out how to delete the 365 to get back to normal life with MS office software and home storage.
It took several days with a few efforts until i found out how to do it.
They give you Outlook free, but again its in the cloud. You cannot export to save records (or import old pst files) until you find out how to revert to outlook classic.  

just grabbed this the other day for my wife  Acer Aspire Lite 16  THB 15,990 from BaNANA

and they included a wirless mouse ( had to buy my own AAA batteries ) and a backpak style carry bag

Specification

Screen Size	16.0 inch
Processor	Intel Core i5
Processor Speed	Intel Core i5-1334U, 1.30 GHz up to 4.60 GHz, 10C(2P+8E)/12T, 12MB Intel Smart Cache
Display	WUXGA (1920 x 1200) IPS Acer ComfyView
Memory	16GB
Storage	512GB SSD M.2
Graphics	Intel Graphics
Operating System	Windows 11 Home
Camera	Acer webcam
Optical Drive	No
Connection ports	1x USB-C, 3x USB-A, 1X HAMI, 1x Headphone
Wireless	Wi-Fi 6E(802.11ax) (MU-MIMO) 2*2 + Bluetooth V5.1 or above
Battery	58 Wh, Lithium Ion 3 Cell
Battery Life	Up to 4 hours
Color	Steel Gray
Dimensions W x D x H	35.34 x 24.6 x 1.8 cm
Weight	1.7 Kg
Warranty	2 Years Onsite
Option	Keyboard TH/EN//Microsoft Office Home & Student 2024

Any brand other then Apple will do the job, unless you like being ripped off in their overpriced goods. 

Op, not much difference between standard laptops nowadays, and most come out of the same 2-3 Chinese factories. On Monday they are making Acer, on Tuesdays they are making Lenovo, dell etc. Branding doesnt mean much, and all the internal components are identical.

Just go with the cheapest, and look for things like warranty, local service center etc

3 hours ago, Luuk Chaai said:

just grabbed this the other day for my wife  Acer Aspire Lite 16  THB 15,990 from BaNANA

and they included a wirless mouse ( had to buy my own AAA batteries ) and a backpak style carry bag

Specification

Screen Size	16.0 inch
Processor	Intel Core i5
Processor Speed	Intel Core i5-1334U, 1.30 GHz up to 4.60 GHz, 10C(2P+8E)/12T, 12MB Intel Smart Cache
Display	WUXGA (1920 x 1200) IPS Acer ComfyView
Memory	16GB
Storage	512GB SSD M.2
Graphics	Intel Graphics
Operating System	Windows 11 Home
Camera	Acer webcam
Optical Drive	No
Connection ports	1x USB-C, 3x USB-A, 1X HAMI, 1x Headphone
Wireless	Wi-Fi 6E(802.11ax) (MU-MIMO) 2*2 + Bluetooth V5.1 or above
Battery	58 Wh, Lithium Ion 3 Cell
Battery Life	Up to 4 hours
Color	Steel Gray
Dimensions W x D x H	35.34 x 24.6 x 1.8 cm
Weight	1.7 Kg
Warranty	2 Years Onsite
Option	Keyboard TH/EN//Microsoft Office Home & Student 2024

I have had dreadful experience  with Acer, and great experience with Asus.

6 hours ago, Luuk Chaai said:

just grabbed this the other day for my wife . . . . .

 

Fair swap I would say.

 

😁

Can't beat the MacBook Air.....but the price might kill it.

On 8/10/2025 at 10:12 AM, CLW said:

Hi,

My employer asked me to buy a new laptop for me next month. 

My requirements are compact size, low weight, robust frame and not too expensive.

I have an external screen at my office workplace, so the screen size of the laptop doesn't really matter.

Also for performance, I'm really only doing two things with this laptop: MS Office and web browsing.

 

Any advice on brands and models would be appreciated 

Try Dell or Acer. Both good quality and you can get something for what you will use it for quite cheap..

4 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

Can't beat the MacBook Air.....but the price might kill it.

 

Those in the know disagree:

 

https://www.technewsworld.com/story/lenovos-thinkpad-x1-carbon-has-me-rethinking-my-macbook-pro-179565.html

4 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

 

Those in the know disagree:

 

https://www.technewsworld.com/story/lenovos-thinkpad-x1-carbon-has-me-rethinking-my-macbook-pro-179565.html

 

 

Too late for me.....maybe in another ten years.

What's your budget?

 

Then buy the one with the best processor* and RAM available at the price. 

 

Copy the processor's names and type compare in google. 

23 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

I have had dreadful experience  with Acer, and great experience with Asus.

understood ..    I'm partial to Dell myself ..   and I won't let the wife anywhere near mine !

*joke*

 

 

I might go for Asus. It caught my attention by being tested military grade for drops and the hinges. Also the price of Asus is good. Second contender is Lenovo. Acer swift looks nice, slim and lightweight, but overpriced (double than a similar Asus with just 200 g more weight)

On 8/14/2025 at 9:44 AM, NoshowJones said:

I have had dreadful experience  with Acer, and great experience with Asus.

Thanks.

1 hour ago, CLW said:

I might go for Asus. It caught my attention by being tested military grade for drops and the hinges. Also the price of Asus is good. Second contender is Lenovo. Acer swift looks nice, slim and lightweight, but overpriced (double than a similar Asus with just 200 g more weight)

 

I'm an ASUS fanboy since forever. Broadly the same reasons as you noted as my employer were looking for a reasonably rugged laptop for field work without paying top-dollar for a mil spec machine like Toshiba. I only had one that disappointed, bought while I was working in the US, but the global warranty allowed their Bangkok service center to replace the mobo at no cost.

 

I bought a 14" core i7 ZenBook about 3 years ago in the UK for about £770. Upgraded the SSD to 1Tb, but I overlooked that the RAM was solder-in and non-expandable. Unless it cacks, it will probably be my last laptop. I just replaced the battery though as I was lucky to get 45 minutes unplugged. Now back at several hours of battery life.

 

Also, just replaced the battery on my oldest boy's Acer Nitro-5, which is about 2 years old. It's core i5 and he's very happy with it for gaming and college work.

 

My 'new' desktop is a refurbished Lenovo M700 core i5 ThinkCentre that I bought for about 3000 baht last year. I spent another 5000 baht on SDD, RAM and Wi-Fi upgrades. Really solid performance.

Acer Swift 14" and Lenovo Ideapad 14" are my choices.....has Asus previously and they,re fine also 👍