Should I Buy A New Laptop In The U.s. Or Thailand?

[tomx2]

Hi.

I am planning to buy a new laptop (HP - ENVY m4-1015dx) within the next 2 weeks.

This would be my first laptop. I have mainly been a desktop user.

In about 2 months I plan to arrive in Pattaya for about an 8 months stay.

In the past when visiting Thailand, I would utilize the internet café for all my online use.

Here are some of my concerns/questions maybe you can help me with.

If I buy a new laptop now(here in the U.S.) works fine before I leave. Then after 2 months living in Thailand I encounter some technical problems. HP customer support then informs me(by phone) I may need a new part or must bring my laptop in for evaluation/repairs.

Is there a HP customer service booth/office in Pattaya that would assist me with my technical problems?

If the answer to the above question is No, are there replacement parts available specific to HP brand at Tukcom or some other computer parts/accessories in Pattaya?

Should I just wait until I arrive in Pattaya to purchase a new laptop, and then use the support help from the vendor I purchased the laptop?

My price for this HP laptop model(I stated above) cost $800.00 from Best Buy.

Would this new laptop if purchased in Thailand cost more than in the U.S.?

Anyway to verify the cost online from the U.S.?

From your experience, Are there other Brands i.e. Acer, Dell, Apple in Thailand, having customer service

readily available to fix laptop problems(if any) as oppose to HP?

Meaning should I look into purchasing a laptop in the U.S. where I will be guaranteed support help from the same brand in Thailand.

I am just concerned about bringing a new laptop to Thailand, being unusable after 3-4 months of use, and having to wait until I return to the U.S. for repairs. I realize there are repair shops in Pattaya, and If necessary I probably would utilize their services, but since I will have a 1 year warranty on my new laptop, using Heward Packard service centers would be more useful.

Thanks.

TC.

[lomatopo]

Maybe try to get a feel for the local price of a comparable laptop? There are many on-line source for this.

Then research if the H-P warranty, for the U.S.-purchased model, is global, and if it can cover warranty service/repair during your "trip" to Thailand?

Where do you go after 8 months in Thailand? Back to the U.S.?

There will be some trade-offs you'll have to measure/weigh once you have all the details.

Assuming I could get a better laptop in the U.S. for less money, and I was returning to the U.S. after Thailand, I would probably lean towards purchasing in the U.S., and maybe even consider an expanded/extended warranty. Shake the unit out for the two months before your trip, and then it should be fine. If I had a problem in Thailand, assuming H-P would not service it here locally, I might pay to get it repaired then try to get H-P to reimburse, or ship ip back to family/friends in the U. S. for warranty repair.

[Crossy]

For such a short trip I would buy in the US, it's almost certain to be cheaper and the exact model may well not be available here.

Moving to the main tech. forum for better coverage.

[bendejo]

If you buy a laptop here it will have Thai characters on the keyboard as well as Roman. If this bothers you there are options, like overlay stickers, blocking the foreign characters with an indelible marker, or in an extreme case getting a new keyboard (cost maybe less than 1000b). You will have a souvenir/conversation piece when you return home ("wassat there, some kinda Chinee?")

I would suggest buying in the US. Do some burn-in time when you get it -- keep it running a few days at a time, turning it on and off several times a day, do some disk-intensive things (defrag, copy large files, etc). If it does go to sh_it while in Thailand consider your options if and when. You may want to hold off on repairs until you return to the US. They have a great excuse for rejecting your warranty -- you didn't buy it here. This is not a comment on the manufacturer but more like anticipating what the clerk you deal with come back with. It works the other way around too, the US contact might refuse service of your Thai-bought machine.

Aside from the little doors to swap out the disk drive or extend RAM, opening a laptop is tricky business, the real challenge is putting it back together properly, never to be the same again.

[JSixpack]

They have a great excuse for rejecting your warranty -- you didn't buy it here. This is not a comment on the manufacturer but more like anticipating what the clerk you deal with come back with. It works the other way around too, the US contact might refuse service of your Thai-bought machine.

Heard that excuse in Japan when Panasonic said they couldn't repair my laptop because it was bought in the USA!

[Nowhereman60]

I would buy in the US. I just went back to NY and purchase a Dell Inspiron. Buying it in Thailand you may get a copy OS and copy software. The price will be cheaper in the US. Plus my computer is under warranty here. I was in a IT shop where I live and ask them and they went on-line and told me it was under warranty here and any work to fix a problem would be under the warranty.

[WhizBang]

Regardless of what brand you buy, I would buy in the USA as it will be almost certainly cheaper.

You can check HP prices on the HP Thai web site. Your exact model may not be available, but something very similar will be.

http://www8.hp.com/th/en/home.html

[tomx2]

Thanks all for your replies.

The consensus seems to be, buying the laptop in the U.S. That is what I will do.

I’ll put it through a heavy stress test and identify (if any) problems prior to my departure.

I will email their office here in the U.S. and in Bangkok to ask if HP honors warranties for accessories/repairs in Thailand.

One quick question for those who have shopped at Tukcom in Pattaya. do the vendors include replacement parts/accessories from major brand names i.e. Acer, Apple, HP…etc. Or do they only sell parts built by 3^rd parties?

TC.

[Ticketmaster]

When I replaced my Dell last April, I spent hours researching notebook computers on the Internet. I wanted performance, sure, but my first consideration was the repair history: I wanted a problem-free computer. My research showed the best choice in the size and style I wanted (excluding ridiculously expensive models like the high end Sony Vaio) was the Toshiba Portege R835-P81 13.3-Inch LED Laptop. It is not available here. They do have the R830, but it is labeled a "business model" and costs 20,000 baht more with few added usable features. I bought the R835 on Amazon for $750 and had a friend ship it by post in a plain box - no duty, no taxes.

A year on, this has been the best, most problem free computer I have ever owned -- by far. It is as fast today as it was out of the box. I have never had a single problem. It's also got a huge hard drive and USB 3 ports. The only thing it is really missing is Firewire and Bluetooth. Firewire is rather passe anyway -- especially with the advent of USB 3. Although I use a Bluetooth MP3 player with Bluetooth headphones, I found that on previous computers, I never used the Bluetooth function, so no loss there.

As far as potential need for repair here, I never let a Thai touch my computer. The first thing a shop will do is reformat your computer, wipe everything off, then reinstall pirated software. That was the beginning of the end for my Dell. Like my motorcycle, if my computer needs repair, I research the heck out of the problem on the Internet and fix it myself. Every time I have let a Thai expert touch my computer, it has led to grief. I just don't do it, period. So that ceased to be an issue for me.

By the way, I was strongly considering an HP -- especially since I have a US connection that could get me the employee discount. But my research revealed that HP had a lot of problems and I scratched it. Read the reviews before you buy. Amazon and Newegg are great sources for reviews.

Edited January 18, 2013 by Ticketmaster

[Digitalbanana]

Thanks all for your replies.

The consensus seems to be, buying the laptop in the U.S. That is what I will do.

I’ll put it through a heavy stress test and identify (if any) problems prior to my departure.

I will email their office here in the U.S. and in Bangkok to ask if HP honors warranties for accessories/repairs in Thailand.

One quick question for those who have shopped at Tukcom in Pattaya. do the vendors include replacement parts/accessories from major brand names i.e. Acer, Apple, HP…etc. Or do they only sell parts built by 3^rd parties?

TC.

Last time I checked HP ENVY brand was supported by the HP concierge service for this premium brand of products. So you'll get 1 yrs tech support via a special hotline. They do not support sending parts to outside your point of purchase. The ENVY product brands are usually 2 or 3 times the price in Thailand if they are available at all so I bought in US. Once when I was in a pickle with one of my ENVY's purchased in US the HP concierge service said I could take my unit to Rama 4 service point to get it checked. I didn't bother as I have been to Rama 4 before and know the service I can expect there. Slow if none at all. I am basically sucking it and seeing how long my latest ENVY runs for, so far its still going as do most notebooks I buy. Would I buy another ENVY? No. Each time I have bought one, admittedly for its shallow good looks alone and higher specs on paper, I have been annoyed by small annoyances and failures on either the graphics cards out output ports. The price one pays for high spec products and made in China prices methinks.

[4evermaat]

what about buying compatible model in Malaysia? You'd have to double-check for world-wide warranty compatibility, but has anyone done any electronic device purchases in malaysia?

[candypants]

personally i would not purchase an HP computer again, I have 2 HP laptops and one compact media PC kicking around that all gave it up after around a year.

[Shurup]

HP carries international warranty so you could get it repaired in Thailand, Bangkok, not sure about Pattaya. A battery failed on mine during the first year and I had it replaced on a warranty in BKK, glad I didn't have to leave my laptop there.

I would not buy a laptop here, like other's said you will get Thai keyboard, you might get pirated software on it it it more than likely would be more expensive.

Regarding the HP brand, I would never ever ever buy another one ever again, but it's just personal preference, they look good and have lots of features but for f**ks sake I can cook on it when doing processor demanding tasks, battery failed twice, once during the original warranty, second time at the end of the second year extended warranty (bought at Costco so the second year was through them), just waiting to see when it's gonna fail again, should be pretty soon as it's been over a year already on that last battery. On top of everything battery charge never lasted long and laptop is as heavy as a brick. I was wrong thinking I could ignore its weight in favor of a larger screen, huge processing power and dozens of fancy features (some of which I never even used). It's still blazing fast and suites my needs but I hardly every use it now away from the wall socket. Bought my GF an ACER ultra book last year for her BD, its' smaller screen size I found I don't mind at all (it's 13.3"), it weights just a quarter of my laptop and it's just as fast and even faster. It's missing a few features but the battery lasts amazing 8+ hrs. HP - never again.

[KKvampire]

I wouldnt anything of value in the country of the worst customer service on gods earth

[raviishoo]

I would NEVER EVER buy in the US - the customer service there is horrendous - and of the 2 laptops I did buy there - BOTH needed extensive repairs and we had to ship it to the relevant companies - 4 yrs ago it was a toshiba and 1 month ago a fujitsu.

BY FAR the worst is fujitsu!! Customer service no existant - productive seriously defective - within 1 month I have had the network card malfunction consistently - today it functions tomorrow it does not etc - the trackpad is no longer working (using a mouse now) - the two USB3 ports are malfunctioning - the num lock is erratic and when the pointer device was working it was jumping all over the screen!!

So - buying in USA - a definete NO NO even if somewhat cheaper.

buying a Fujitsu - specially NO!!

and windows 8? - dont do it! This OS is horrendous - trying to be apple which it is not and so messing up in the process.

So - my suggestion is - buy in Thailand! Excellent customer service and definitely non defective products.

Products in Thailand are made in Malaysia.

Products in US are made in china -

now you know why..

thanks

[Digitalbanana]

But you pay in Thailand for the spec downgrade. 17inch 1080p screen Core i7 Ivy Bridge laptop is around 1300USD in US. Try getting anything like that spec in Thailand for twice the price.

[aguy30]

I would NEVER EVER buy in the US - the customer service there is horrendous - and of the 2 laptops I did buy there - BOTH needed extensive repairs and we had to ship it to the relevant companies - 4 yrs ago it was a toshiba and 1 month ago a fujitsu.

BY FAR the worst is fujitsu!! Customer service no existant - productive seriously defective - within 1 month I have had the network card malfunction consistently - today it functions tomorrow it does not etc - the trackpad is no longer working (using a mouse now) - the two USB3 ports are malfunctioning - the num lock is erratic and when the pointer device was working it was jumping all over the screen!!

So - buying in USA - a definete NO NO even if somewhat cheaper.

buying a Fujitsu - specially NO!!

and windows 8? - dont do it! This OS is horrendous - trying to be apple which it is not and so messing up in the process.

So - my suggestion is - buy in Thailand! Excellent customer service and definitely non defective products.

Products in Thailand are made in Malaysia.

Products in US are made in china -

now you know why..

thanks

If I ever need advice and ask you, please remind me to look elsewhere.

[Pomthai]

I would NEVER EVER buy in the US - the customer service there is horrendous - and of the 2 laptops I did buy there - BOTH needed extensive repairs and we had to ship it to the relevant companies - 4 yrs ago it was a toshiba and 1 month ago a fujitsu.

BY FAR the worst is fujitsu!! Customer service no existant - productive seriously defective - within 1 month I have had the network card malfunction consistently - today it functions tomorrow it does not etc - the trackpad is no longer working (using a mouse now) - the two USB3 ports are malfunctioning - the num lock is erratic and when the pointer device was working it was jumping all over the screen!!

So - buying in USA - a definete NO NO even if somewhat cheaper.

buying a Fujitsu - specially NO!!

and windows 8? - dont do it! This OS is horrendous - trying to be apple which it is not and so messing up in the process.

So - my suggestion is - buy in Thailand! Excellent customer service and definitely non defective products.

Products in Thailand are made in Malaysia.

Products in US are made in china -

now you know why..

thanks

Its common for those that are inept or computer illiterate to assign blame to the equipment as opposed to looking at themselves. Baring your frustrations with the customer service, I'm pretty sure Fujitsu sold the world over come from the same production line as do Toshiba the world over.

As for your suggestion,

[candypants]

if it is an HP, get it wherever you are most likely to make the inevitable warranty call.

3 hp laptops dead in a year, one sony vaio going on 6.

i know which brand i would buy again.

[rijb]

I would NEVER EVER buy in the US - the customer service there is horrendous - and of the 2 laptops I did buy there - BOTH needed extensive repairs and we had to ship it to the relevant companies - 4 yrs ago it was a toshiba and 1 month ago a fujitsu.

BY FAR the worst is fujitsu!! Customer service no existant - productive seriously defective - within 1 month I have had the network card malfunction consistently - today it functions tomorrow it does not etc - the trackpad is no longer working (using a mouse now) - the two USB3 ports are malfunctioning - the num lock is erratic and when the pointer device was working it was jumping all over the screen!!

So - buying in USA - a definete NO NO even if somewhat cheaper.

buying a Fujitsu - specially NO!!

and windows 8? - dont do it! This OS is horrendous - trying to be apple which it is not and so messing up in the process.

So - my suggestion is - buy in Thailand! Excellent customer service and definitely non defective products.

Products in Thailand are made in Malaysia.

Products in US are made in china -

now you know why..

thanks

Actually most of the customer service in the U.S. is outsourced to India. So, don't buy a machine from India.

[prestburypark]

I would NEVER EVER buy in the US - the customer service there is horrendous - and of the 2 laptops I did buy there - BOTH needed extensive repairs and we had to ship it to the relevant companies - 4 yrs ago it was a toshiba and 1 month ago a fujitsu.

BY FAR the worst is fujitsu!! Customer service no existant - productive seriously defective - within 1 month I have had the network card malfunction consistently - today it functions tomorrow it does not etc - the trackpad is no longer working (using a mouse now) - the two USB3 ports are malfunctioning - the num lock is erratic and when the pointer device was working it was jumping all over the screen!!

So - buying in USA - a definete NO NO even if somewhat cheaper.

buying a Fujitsu - specially NO!!

and windows 8? - dont do it! This OS is horrendous - trying to be apple which it is not and so messing up in the process.

So - my suggestion is - buy in Thailand! Excellent customer service and definitely non defective products.

Products in Thailand are made in Malaysia.

Products in US are made in china -

now you know why..

thanks

Did you sign up especially to make that rant? Sounds like totally crap advice, cheaper in the States, more likely to get your exact spec. and consumer protection, it is a no-brainer as they like to say there.

[Digitalbanana]

if it is an HP, get it wherever you are most likely to make the inevitable warranty call.

3 hp laptops dead in a year, one sony vaio going on 6.

i know which brand i would buy again.

This is not an exact science. 3 Hp laptops Vs a Sony, were the specs/prices for each compatible? HP make some cheap crap as well, so my expectations there would be low, but they also sell high end stuff, albeit not easily available in Thailand.