Buying A New Laptop

[zorro1]

My old Toshiba is dying and need a new Laptop. Am off to pantip tomorrow but thought I might run it past you guys first

What I need

Widest screen available

weight not an issue

memory , well I only need it for emails, surfing and Trading the stock market

High screen resolution would be nice

Price would be flexible but it will be a base station so cheaper end would suffice

Thats it, anyone make a recommendation?

[garyh]

If it is mostly used as a desktop you probably will save money by buying a cheaper model with a small screen and get a separate monitor, say 23" or above.

[Capealava]

Buy a Mac. No viruses, easy to use, high quality.

[garyh]

Buy a Mac. No viruses, easy to use, high quality.

Also most Share market/ stock market trading software does not run on apple. Don't waste your money.

[Capealava]

Buy a Mac. No viruses, easy to use, high quality.

Also most Share market/ stock market trading software does not run on apple. Don't waste your money.

Stock Market trading with Apple Computer. http://www.trade2win.com/boards/forex-discussion/28244-forex-trading-mac.html

[zorro1]

thanks for the replies. I have a laptop stand on my lazy boy chair so needs to be a portable. Mac looks great but but I prefer what Im used to. Will check it out tomorrow

[garyh]

Buy a Mac. No viruses, easy to use, high quality.

Also most Share market/ stock market trading software does not run on apple. Don't waste your money.

Stock Market trading with Apple Computer. http://www.trade2win...rading-mac.html

As per your link you need to run windows.

[lazygourmet]

As Sek Loso used to say:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSRw3EwxX34

Don't go to Pantip!

[marvinberry]

Simple - Macbook Macbook Macbook! You will never look back!!! :jap:

[bangkockney]

Make sure it's got GENUINE software installed. A friend of mine bought a new PC from top floor in Tukcom Pattaya and later found out his Windows was not genuine.

Lol, genuine OS in Thailand? Bet your friend didn't pay for a licence though, did he? Hence why he doesn't have genuine software.

I've bought several laptops over the years in Thailand and never had problems with cracked OS - they have always passed authentication.

[Digitalbanana]

As Sek Loso used to say:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSRw3EwxX34

Don't go to Pantip!

Yeah but that was because Loso didn't like his music being pirated, nothing to do with buying hardware.

[filingaccount]

I'll paste what I wrote a while back. After the quote is my suggestion, based on your short list of requirements.

First, consider the 3 most important things on any computer. Keyboard, Monitor and Mouse.

These are the 3 things you will always use. Always. Every single time.

Keyboard.

How does it feel when you type on it? (I suggest trying several different keyboards in quick succession. Try to type the same short message.)

Are the keys solid? Does the keyboard "flex" when you press down on any key? (Try pressing "G" and "H" and see if there is any "give"). Is there any "cracking or creaking" noises when you put a little more pressure on the keys from normal typing?

Do the keys seem "loose"? eg. They rattle when you type. Put your finger on a key and without pressing it down, move your finger left to right a few times. Is the key moving a lot with your movement? If it is, you might want to think about the extra wear this puts on the keys over time. (yes, you will always have sideways movement even though you think you press straight down when typing).

Traditionally IBM and now Lenovo keyboards have been the best. This has changed with Netbooks though and they are more or less on par with others.

Monitor. (LED backlit LCD's use less power, and are thinner.)

There are 2 main types of screens and they are easily identifiable. Glossy and Matte.

A glossy screen will always reflect a varying amount of the "scenery" around you. This is particularly noticeable with darker colors on screen.

A Matte screen will not reflect much of anything at all.

Some people do not mind the glossy screens as they like the little extra color vibrancy/contrast given. Drawback is that in Thailand, during daytime, the ambient luminance (eg. sun light) is very high, and so you have about a 50/50 chance of seeing whats on screen and whats behind you.

Matte screens seem "dull" when presented side-by-side with a glossy screen. Don't be fooled, the Matte screens are in no way inferior and in fact might be considered far superior to glossy screens due to the simple fact you will never have to worry about reflections, and thus you will actually see what's on screen...

Mostly sold today are glossy screens for some reason.

Mouse.

Oh-boy. There are as many touchpads as there are laptop/netbook models. I suggest looking for a touchpad that allows your finger to move effortlessly and without you having to press down or other wise make an effort to move the cursor. How does it react when your finger is a little damp? Cursor not moving or moving slowly? Are the mouse keys easy to press? Does it have the features you need (eg. scroll bar)?

It should not be a pain or an effort when you use any of the 3 above. In a good scenario you should not even recall how it was to use the keyboard and mouse. It should be automatic. If it is not, try another. You should not have to strain your eyes trying to read whats on screen because of a blurry screen, reflections, glare or any other issue. If it's difficult to read now, imagine how it will be when you really use it 3-4 hours at your home/office.

Ok, so now the very basics are cleared.

On to the specs.

Nowadays you can get a hold of almost any sort of performance in a laptop/netbook. From the painfully slow, to the ridiculously fast.

The first question you should ask yourself is "What am I going to use it for?". If you know how to answer this, you already are 90% of the way to the correct purchase.

There are way too many variables for me to even begin to explore what would be good for what purpose. Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to programs, all of which have different requirements.

I can offer you a few guidelines though.

Longevity comes from 2 things mainly. CPU speed and amount of RAM. The more, the better. But more power comes with a big drawback, less battery time. It also means it will run hotter, and quite likely noisier.

Batteries generally last 1 year with 80-90% of full capacity, then they tend to decline rapidly. Few batteries make it past 3 years and are still usable. Take any manufacturers claim of battery time and cut it in half. Yes, half. That's what you are going to get in a real life scenario. A good practice is to try and keep the battery fully charged as much as possible. This reduces wear.

Do you want to take advantage of the Windows 7 fancy Aero effects? Then you need to purchase a laptop with a more powerful GPU (aka VGA card). This means you'll end up spending a few thousand Baht more.

Do you absolutely need an optical drive? Can you switch to USB flash memory?

Does it have a media card reader (eg. SD card reader)?

Make sure it has all the USB/firewire/pc card/other expansion port that you need.

Does it offer Gigabit (1000 Mbit) LAN and 802.11n WiFi? (traditionally LAN's are 100 Mbit and WiFi 802.11g).

802.11n WiFi is backwards compatible with .11 b/g. To fully take advantage of .11n you need a .11n WiFi router. The benefit is higher speeds, up to 300 Mbps, instead of 54 Mpbs with .11g. Practically it means you get about 4-5 times the transfer speed. This is particularly beneficial if you transfer large files over your WiFi network between PC's.

Sound generally is quite bad on a laptop. The hardware might be decent, but most speakers are bad.

Make sure it has good headphone/external speaker jacks if you need to use the sound for any media/communication.

Warranty.

Most cheaper laptops/netbooks offer a limited 1 year local warranty.

If you need anything different please ask if they have an extended warranty program or an alternative laptop/netbook with longer and/or international warranty.

Buy from a reputable dealer. If the shop seems shoddy, it probably is.

I personally like Matte screens due to the simple fact I can use it during day time. There is nothing worse than sitting down, and seeing your own face on the screen and have to struggle to see text. Glossy screens are ridiculously bad for real work, particularly work involving text, numbers and graphics.

I type a lot, so I like to use robust keyboards. The best ones, by far, are Lenovo Thinkpad keyboards.

I would seriously consider chaging the slow HDD for an SSD. Yes, SSD's are smaller and pricier, but they are hugely superior in terms of speed.

If you need extra storage, consider adding external storage. If you have your workplace well designed, adding a couple of large external 3.5" HDD's will not be a bother.

High resolution LCD's on laptops are good, but not really practical for anything less than 17" screens. I would consider getting a 14" laptop, and adding a large monitor. This gives you a bigger screen with even higher resolution, dual screens, and should you need it, portability.

For the Operating system, I would choose the one that all your applications run on. If your apps run Win7, choose the 64-bit O/S. It runs both 32 and 64-bit applications.

If you do not have to, please do not use WinXP.

MacOS, although people tend to go over the top praising it, is not suitable for your operations.

I suggest getting as much RAM and as powerful CPU as you can afford. Your battery life will suffer, but I doubt you will trade stocks while on the go...

Security, malware etc.

If you use common sense while online you will never even see a hint of a virus near your laptop. There really is no need to install intrusive and resource hogging software (that many times do more harm than good).

There are a few software that are of use though. What they are depends on the O/S you choose.

Do not choose Acer, Dell, Compaq, HP, MSI, Samsung nor Gateway. You need reliability.

So anyway, this is a lot longer than I expected it to be... I'll snip it short. PM me if you want more details and suggestions.

[siamect]

Security, malware etc.

If you use common sense while online you will never even see a hint of a virus near your laptop. There really is no need to install intrusive and resource hogging software (that many times do more harm than good).

Excuse me? You recommend windows and no antivirus?

Edited July 29, 2010 by siamect

[Digitalbanana]

Do not choose Acer, Dell, Compaq, HP, MSI, Samsung nor Gateway. You need reliability.

So pretty much rules out 90% of the Thai market then :-)

[garyh]

Security, malware etc.

If you use common sense while online you will never even see a hint of a virus near your laptop. There really is no need to install intrusive and resource hogging software (that many times do more harm than good).

Excuse me? You recommend windows and no antivirus?

Agreed, more and more often getting alerts on web pages, especially Thai Web sites. If you don't use protection.... you know the rest.

[sbk]

i too am in the market for a laptop but plan to buy mine in the US on my annual trip home.

Just curious what people think of Toshiba? Asus?

My last one was an Acer and I was happy enough with it until the mainboard died and was expensive to replace (and no point, anyway 80gb hard drive that was full and it ran the awful dreaded vista).

And what about refurb? A few friends recommend it but I am just not sure about that. Amazon offers some refurb and I know their customer service is good but are there any others out there known for good quality refurbs with good service?

[sammycic]

i too am in the market for a laptop but plan to buy mine in the US on my annual trip home.

Just curious what people think of Toshiba? Asus?

My last one was an Acer and I was happy enough with it until the mainboard died and was expensive to replace (and no point, anyway 80gb hard drive that was full and it ran the awful dreaded vista).

And what about refurb? A few friends recommend it but I am just not sure about that. Amazon offers some refurb and I know their customer service is good but are there any others out there known for good quality refurbs with good service?

Bought an Asus A42J 4 months ago and very happy with it.

[filingaccount]

Security, malware etc.

If you use common sense while online you will never even see a hint of a virus near your laptop. There really is no need to install intrusive and resource hogging software (that many times do more harm than good).

Excuse me? You recommend windows and no antivirus?

No. Please go back and read again.

[higgy88]

In doing my own research on what laptop to buy, I came across this report from a company that offers third party warranties on laptops. Very interesting reading.

An analysis of reported laptop failures from malfunctions and accidental damage.

Synopsis:

SquareTrade analyzed failure rates for over 30,000 new laptop computers covered by SquareTrade Laptop Warranty plans and found that one-third of all laptops will fail within 3 years. SquareTrade also found that netbooks are 20% more unreliable than other laptops, and that Asus and Toshiba are the most reliable laptop brands.

http://www.squaretrade.com/pages/laptop-reliability-1109/

[siamect]

Security, malware etc.

If you use common sense while online you will never even see a hint of a virus near your laptop. There really is no need to install intrusive and resource hogging software (that many times do more harm than good).

Excuse me? You recommend windows and no antivirus?

No. Please go back and read again.

You are underestimating the importance of security and protection against malware and your advice in this matter is jeopardizing peoples data ind integrity.

What exactly is it that you want to say with your statement? For what reasom do you write this at all?

Do not choose Acer, Dell, Compaq, HP, MSI, Samsung nor Gateway. You need reliability.

You say this based on what?

Do you have personal experience with all these or you read a test from somewhere?

[filingaccount]

You are underestimating the importance of security and protection against malware and your advice in this matter is jeopardizing peoples data ind integrity.

What exactly is it that you want to say with your statement? For what reasom do you write this at all?

Where do I say anything what you seem to imply?

I clearly state

"If you use common sense while online you will never even see a hint of a virus near your laptop. There really is no need to install intrusive and resource hogging software (that many

times do more harm than good). There are a few software that are of use though. What they are depends on the O/S you choose."

The break down by sentence is as follows:

Sentence 1. If you are careful online then you should not be near viruses.

Sentence 2. Carefully choose good software.

Sentence 3 & 4. Clearly states there are good software for the purpose of protection BUT it depends on the O/S.

I understand that English might not be your strongest language, but making thinly veiled attacks when you clearly do not understand what you read is, at best, ignorant and at worst could be considered willful trolling.

Do not choose Acer, Dell, Compaq, HP, MSI, Samsung nor Gateway. You need reliability.

You say this based on what?

Do you have personal experience with all these or you read a test from somewhere?

This is based on decades of experience repairing, testing and using all brands. It is also backed up by world wide statistics supplied by the various vendors. I also have direct connection with several brand authorized central repair centers world wide who do not mind sharing their repair numbers privately with me. What are your experiences?

I would appreciate you stop the attacks, and provide something constructive instead. Nobody likes someone who attacks other peoples suggestion and advice without providing any in return. At least provide something of value....

[Digitalbanana]

You are underestimating the importance of security and protection against malware and your advice in this matter is jeopardizing peoples data ind integrity.

What exactly is it that you want to say with your statement? For what reasom do you write this at all?

Where do I say anything what you seem to imply?

I clearly state

"If you use common sense while online you will never even see a hint of a virus near your laptop. There really is no need to install intrusive and resource hogging software (that many

times do more harm than good). There are a few software that are of use though. What they are depends on the O/S you choose."

The break down by sentence is as follows:

Sentence 1. If you are careful online then you should not be near viruses.

Sentence 2. Carefully choose good software.

Sentence 3 & 4. Clearly states there are good software for the purpose of protection BUT it depends on the O/S.

I understand that English might not be your strongest language, but making thinly veiled attacks when you clearly do not understand what you read is, at best, ignorant and at worst could be considered willful trolling.

Do not choose Acer, Dell, Compaq, HP, MSI, Samsung nor Gateway. You need reliability.

You say this based on what?

Do you have personal experience with all these or you read a test from somewhere?

This is based on decades of experience repairing, testing and using all brands. It is also backed up by world wide statistics supplied by the various vendors. I also have direct connection with several brand authorized central repair centers world wide who do not mind sharing their repair numbers privately with me. What are your experiences?

I would appreciate you stop the attacks, and provide something constructive instead. Nobody likes someone who attacks other peoples suggestion and advice without providing any in return. At least provide something of value....

Pot calling the kettle comes to mind with all the drivel written here. Thanks for the clarification NOT.

[seanocasey]

this is nice wide-screen and easy to carry around

My link

[filingaccount]

Pot calling the kettle comes to mind with all the drivel written here. Thanks for the clarification NOT.

I agree that sometimes there are people who like to "find faults" in others without offering anything constructive, and it is somewhat of a bother.

I normally try to clarify what I write in a polite and hopefully non-complicated manner should it be required (English, after all, is only my 3rd language so sometimes I might not be 100% clear), but I do take offense when I am singled out and "attacked" wrongfully (specially when it happens more than once).

I would appreciate if you would try to refrain from replying inside threads should you disagree - if off topic - and send me a PM. I don't mind discussions at all...

I don't much like to clutter threads with off topic posts, but I will respond in kind to any post targeting me.

..........

And to get back on topic. My personal favorites right now are the Lenovo Thinkpads. The build quality and support gotten for the price asked is quite fantastic. ASUS is normally not far behind, but they lack in the software support area. They stop tend to stop supporting their laptops within a couple of years. This can be a good thing, they free up resources for the next iterations of laptops. Or it can be a semi-bad thing, ASUS laptops last much longer than a couple of years... Repairs and hardware support seems to be top notch.

Sony seems to have decent laptops when they get their act together, but sadly they are somewhat inconsistent with their product lines. And they are a bit pricey.

Toshiba and Fujitsu make good laptops, but they do not have as strong presence in Thailand as others so local support might not be the best. And they seem a bit more expensive compared to the other brands.

Edited July 30, 2010 by filingaccount

[sbk]

Thanks for gettng back on topic for those of us actually interested in purchasing new laptops.

I was wondering about the Toshiba factor, are parts pricier than most or are these things all pretty interchangeable? A friend of mine swears by Asus while another one wouldn't touch Lenovo with a ten foot pole.

So, is it really all subjective?

I do appreciate the earlier link to squaretrade's report on laptop reliability so I do get there are varying degrees of "good" laptops.

And does anyone have an opinion on refurb?

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Thanks for gettng back on topic for those of us actually interested in purchasing new laptops.

I was wondering about the Toshiba factor, are parts pricier than most or are these things all pretty interchangeable? A friend of mine swears by Asus while another one wouldn't touch Lenovo with a ten foot pole.

So, is it really all subjective?

I do appreciate the earlier link to squaretrade's report on laptop reliability so I do get there are varying degrees of "good" laptops.

And does anyone have an opinion on refurb?

I bought a Toshiba in the UK and then bought an extended 3 year International Warranty via the Toshiba website for another £50(2500 baht).

[ajarnfalang]

Buy a Mac. No viruses, easy to use, high quality.

He said: I need a cheap laptop with a big screen. and you say buy a Mac. What planet are you from? 17" Mac starts at 80,000 baht, 15" Mac starts at 62,000 baht. Same PC specs, but pay double to use OSX. Yea right. Only gay hi-so Thai guys buy Macs. It's a waste of money.

BTW, I have always used WIndows and never had a virus. Also, AVIRA or Avast doesn't "hog" any resources. I have AVAST and 2 tabs (this page and the Apple store) opened in Chrome. Chrome is using 4 times more memory than AVAST.

and when I close them all, I notice 0 difference in performance. My computer still rocks.

And for that guy that bought the ASUS A42jV, I just bought it last weekend. K42JV or A42JV, same model. It has the exact same performance and specs as the 15inch Macbook Pro COre i5 and it is half the price. That's after upgrading to 4GB Ram and buying a legit Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit.

I have used the Macbook Pro Core i5 before, and other than the cute little dock at the bottom, I can see absolutely no difference in speed and performance. You are just paying 2 times the price to use OSX. Not worth it.

Windows 7 is rock solid, fast and has a great user experience. Nothing to envy fro OSX. I said that at the Mac forums and got banned in about 10 minutes. Don't give your money to Apple. This thing about Macs have better build quality and all that is bullshit. Go to the Mac forums and see how many problems they have. It is stupid to buy a Mac.

and about Macs not having viruses, thats another Myth. It's like Apple saying the iPhone 4 has no antenna problems. Propaganda. There are less viruses for Mac, of course, because almost every computer in the world runs Windows. When you make a virus, you are aiming to infect the biggest number of people. There is a nice Mac trojan piggy backing in pirated iWork cd's.

Anyway, there is no way to fight with a Mactard. It is a cult. If you need a cheap laptop with a big screen, then you have to look at Acer or Compaq. As the guys said, quality is questionable, although there are people that have had Acer laptops for a long time with no problems. I bought an Acer for someone else for 15,000 baht. 14", AMDII, 1 gig Ram.

If you want higher than that, I can't recommend ASUS enough. Every time I build desktops I always use ASUS. Been using ASUS parts for 10 years and they never fail (motherboards kick ass, rock solid), and I can tell you after a week, that this is the best money I ever spent. My ASUS laptop rocks.

Edited July 31, 2010 by ajarnfalang

[sammycic]

Buy a Mac. No viruses, easy to use, high quality.

He said: I need a cheap laptop with a big screen. and you say buy a Mac. What planet are you from? 17" Mac starts at 80,000 baht, 15" Mac starts at 62,000 baht. Same PC specs, but pay double to use OSX. Yea right. Only gay hi-so Thai guys buy Macs. It's a waste of money.

BTW, I have always used WIndows and never had a virus. Also, AVIRA or Avast doesn't "hog" any resources. I have AVAST and 2 tabs (this page and the Apple store) opened in Chrome. Chrome is using 4 times more memory than AVAST.

and when I close them all, I notice 0 difference in performance. My computer still rocks.

And for that guy that bought the ASUS A42jV, I just bought it last weekend. K42JV or A42JV, same model. It has the exact same performance and specs as the 15inch Macbook Pro COre i5 and it is half the price. That's after upgrading to 4GB Ram and buying a legit Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit.

I have used the Macbook Pro Core i5 before, and other than the cute little dock at the bottom, I can see absolutely no difference in speed and performance. You are just paying 2 times the price to use OSX. Not worth it.

Windows 7 is rock solid, fast and has a great user experience. Nothing to envy fro OSX. I said that at the Mac forums and got banned in about 10 minutes. Don't give your money to Apple. This thing about Macs have better build quality and all that is bullshit. Go to the Mac forums and see how many problems they have. It is stupid to buy a Mac.

and about Macs not having viruses, thats another Myth. It's like Apple saying the iPhone 4 has no antenna problems. Propaganda. There are less viruses for Mac, of course, because almost every computer in the world runs Windows. When you make a virus, you are aiming to infect the biggest number of people. There is a nice Mac trojan piggy backing in pirated iWork cd's.

Anyway, there is no way to fight with a Mactard. It is a cult. If you need a cheap laptop with a big screen, then you have to look at Acer or Compaq. As the guys said, quality is questionable, although there are people that have had Acer laptops for a long time with no problems. I bought an Acer for someone else for 15,000 baht. 14", AMDII, 1 gig Ram.

If you want higher than that, I can't recommend ASUS enough. Every time I build desktops I always use ASUS. Been using ASUS parts for 10 years and they never fail (motherboards kick ass, rock solid), and I can tell you after a week, that this is the best money I ever spent. My ASUS laptop rocks.

have to agree with everything you wrote. My Asus rocks too.

[ajarnfalang]

^ Yep. and I spent days, DAYS looking at every single laptop. Nothing better out there for the price and quality.

Here are my specs:

ASUS A42JV-VX040D

14" HD (1366x768) LED backlit

Corei5-450M 2.4 GHz L3 Cache-3MB turbo boost 2.93GHz

2GB DDR3 SO-DIMM (upgraded to 4GB)

NVIDIA GT335 (CUDA) 1GB DRR3 RAM

WLAN 802.11b/g/n

Bluetooth2.1 + EDR

320GB HDD

0.3M Pixel Web Cam

3 in1 card reader, SD,MMC,MS

8xSuper Multi-Dual DRW

HDMI

VGA

3USB

1 YearsGlobal Warranty

Battery & Adapter 12 months warranty

Power4Gear with self-adjusting fan speeds for quiet computing and saves battery at the same time

Intuitive Multi-touch Touchpad (best touchpad in a PC notebook I have ever used)

Sunken Hinge

The Chiclet keyboard features wider key-caps for dust prevention.

Without windows, this computer runs you 27,000 baht. Throw in 2,000 more for an extra 2GB of RAM, and you are up to 29,000 baht. Throw in an original OEM Windows 7 64bit Home Premium (why not go legal and not worry about them patching and sending updates to catch illegals) runs 4,300 baht at IT City where they install everything for you.

Total: 33,300 Baht

Computer comes with all software and drivers CD's, which is rare here in Thailand, but that's because ASUS is an established awesome company.

Not to mention, this is the quietest laptop I have ever used. It it wasn't for the screen being turned on, I wouldn't know the computer was on.

The extra 30,000 you saved because you didn't buy a Macbook Pro, well, you can just buy your girlfriend another one of these ... paying 62,000 baht for the same computer, when you think about it and sit down and use this laptop, is absolutely ridiculous.

Edited July 31, 2010 by ajarnfalang

[sammycic]

I too spent weeks checking every laptop, nearly bought an Acer and then this Asus came on the market. the differences are it came with 4gb ram,win7 pre installed and 500gb 7,200rpm HD for 35,000bht which was 10,000 baht under a Sony with same specs. ATI graphics card instead of Nvidia.Plays HD movies on TV thru HDMI awesome.

2 year warranty as well.