Buying A Computer In Los

[jackie45]

Moving to Pattaya and I can bring an older laptop with me or I am considering purchasing a desktop in Thailand for email and browsing. No games or elaborate music capabilities required. Any counsel on where a unsophisticated buyer would have some recourse if the contraption is defective? Any advice appreciated.

[cutethaigirl]

Any counsel on where a unsophisticated buyer would have some recourse if the contraption is defective? Any advice appreciated

Sorry we only speak Thai and English here

The biggest place in Thailand is Panthip Plaza in Bangkok.

A bit nearer to Pattaya is Computer Plaza in Si Racha.

There is a new huge place opening a month ago!! but not finished in Pattaya.

as with anywhere in the world you will get a guarantee from the shop.

Check a few places, easy in Panthip and make a pyrchase based on YOUR needs.

Should be cheaper here too.

[terdsak_12]

Figure 15K for something decent to do the job you want.

[paulfr]

Buy your computer at home in US/UK before you

come. It will be more expensive here in LOS.

[Highwayman]

Buy your computer at home in US/UK before you come.

...and if you need after sales service?

[lopburi3]

Bring the old laptop if you have no other use for it. They are still rather expensive here and you might want it at some point.

I would not buy a desktop to bring. For what you want the price here is very competitive (software excluded - you buy that yourself).

If you are concerned about service/repair buy local from an established shop. Most things will be fixed or replaced for two or three years and shops are often willing to help you get things going if you run into troubles.

[stumonster]

don't buy a desktop and bring it here.

you can buy an excellent second hand machine plus a brand new 17 inch monitor for under 10k baht.

was looking at stacks(literally) of p3 1ghz, 256 meg ram, 20 gig hard drive onboard video and sound for 6k baht, in the micro desktop box..the are in pantip plaza.

3500 baht will buy you a brand new 17 inch monitor and 500 baht for a keyboard and optical mouse...perfect for internet and office..just install win2kpro ( 100baht) on it.

new 40 gig hard drive is 2k to 2500 baht if you are worried about hard drive failure.

bring your laptop...it would have to be very old not to be used as an internet machine.

just buy a keyboard and mouse and use it as a desktop.....and if you want put a new 30 gig laptop drive in it for 3500 baht.

[cutethaigirl]

Buy your computer at home in US/UK before you

come. It will be more expensive here in LOS.

Where do you get your information from??

1. do not think you are correct.

2. What happens to the guarantee?

3. What do you say when Customs require VAT duty on imports.

4. What a waste of luggage allowance.

and that is just a start

[joka]

hello,

i would definitely buy the computer here, they are cheaper if you look around and buy a locally assembled machine. i bought mine for 10k baht. 1.8, 128mb, 15'monitor. cd-rom. lan. etc. ready to go. 1 year guarantee. name is frok hyundai. decent looking setup, black and silver case and monitor, black keyboard. msi mainboard, 40gb hard drive. etc. comes with linux, but for 500 baht , go to the shop around the corner and get xp with 4or 5 games, 5 or so adobe programs, autocad 2000, and all the other goodies that come with xp pro.

plus i put another 4k baht in added memory, cd-rw and a cheap video card. has video built in, but not very good for 3d games.

so, here in thailand you can buy a decent desktop for 10k baht, or 250 dollars in real money.

[Firefoxx]

Buying a desktop in the US to bring here is not recommended. Biggest issue is transport/customs, then you have the voltage difference, and then the warranty issues. Buying a notebook, OTOH, is recommended, since then you only have warranty issues.

I say get a new laptop in the US. It does all you want, with the added bonus of mobility and a built-in UPS. If your budget is tight, you could buy a desktop here, and get a 1 year warranty. Or buy a notebook here, paying a bit more than the US, and get a local warranty. IMHO, buying a used computer is for the computer-savvy.

I really don't recommend going to Pantip. It's way too crowded, in the middle of the city, and hard to get go (or leave). There are tons of alternatives that are just as good, like IT Mall which is right next to a subway station.

[cutethaigirl]

like IT Mall which is right next to a subway station

A what???

Which one please?

CT

[Highwayman]

Fortune IT Mall, Phra Ram 9 MRT subway station

[cutethaigirl]

Thank You

Will have a looky

[RDN]

I brought my 2 year old Dell lap top from the UK which had a 3 year international next business day warranty. I also brought an identical spare hard drive as I thought it would be the most likely part to fail in the future.

About 3 weeks before the warranty ran out, the keyboard started to play up. So I called Dell, they asked me to connect an external keyboard to see if the problem went away - it did - so they agreed to fix it. Two days later a guy arrived at my home (Phuket) and installed a new keyboard. Excellent service from Dell.

But now I, too, am looking for a desk top, so will be watching this forum for advice.