Computer

[TOQ]

I am thinking of buying either a laptop or desk computer when I arrive in Sept. Since this will be a new Thailand experience for me any suggestion for the best prices and possible service might be.. I really dont want to buy one here and lug it to Thailand.


Thanks,

john

Remember that if anything goes wrong with your purchase you will not have the consumer rights that are extant in more developed economies. I was sorely tempted to purchase a laptop in Thailand a few weeks ago, especially as the old one is playing up with frequent "recoveries from serious errors" and I'll be back in LoS in a few months, but I was in John Lewis, Oxfords Street, London, a few months ago taking my Sagem digiital video recorder back which they refunded so I bought the Humax when this Korean guy with his girlfriend was incredulous that they were replacing his HP laptop with barely a murmur.

Yep - we pay a bit more, but I reckon the extra is worth it especially for significant outlay items.

[TOQ]

That seems like a point very well made. I wonder if Tukcom has a service department there for computers purchased from them.. Of course that might be a hassle..

Maybe I should buy a laptop here and if i want a bigger screen just buy a flat screen there..


Humm, that might work.

Thanks for the input.

john

I am thinking of buying either a laptop or desk computer when I arrive in Sept. Since this will be a new Thailand experience for me any suggestion for the best prices and possible service might be.. I really dont want to buy one here and lug it to Thailand.
john

As well as the excellent advice already offered you would do well to bear in mind that a warranty for one region of the world will not necessarily be honoured in another region even by the top manufacturers.

Often it will mean shipping the item back to an authorised repair/service centre in the region of purchase.

I always buy items such as cameras and laptops back in the UK and should anything go wrong with it I return them on my next trip. I am in the postion where I travel to the UK from Bangkok at least once a month (often more) so it does not present a problem for me.

Unless you are planning to stay in Thailand for a long period I would always suggest buying the item in your home country. You may save a few ┬г┬г┬г┬г┬г┬г┬г's by buying in Thailand but that is no real consolation if the thing can't be repaired.

When I looked at Laptops in Bangkok a couple of years ago I was very surprised how cheap some were compared to others until I discovered that many were offered without an Operating System. This meant no royalty had been paid to Microsoft. Some were offered with a Freeware copy of a Linux based Operating System but the obvious answer was that you were meant to buy a "Copy" of a Microsoft Disk for about 150 baht, usually from a stall around the corner.

That's not an idea I liked at all given all the problems of installation of dodgy disks, different versions, getting service etc. I've only looked at software recently so I don't know if this practice still goes on.

Best to buy when you are on a visa run in Hong Kong or Singapore. You will pay 15% to 40% less (depending on brand), and they will tell you about warranty coverage up front. Major vendors such as IBM and HP seem to look at Thailand as a place to get rid of their old inventory at full price, and with the stupid (because no computer products are made locally) import tax and high margins, it is quite expensive to buy current hardware.

because no computer products are made locally

Don't be absurd. AMD, Seagate, etc., etc., all have huge factories in Thailand, and Thailand is one of the world's largest producers of computer monitors.

If you're going to buy a laptop, you won't get it any cheaper in thailand for most brands. Also, you don't say where you're from, but if it's anywhere other than the US you will not get the keyboard you need in Thailand (you will have to press @ to get a " and vice versa, for instance, or have to put up with US formats for dates etc).

For desktops, you'll have to buy locally anyway. And you will make a substantial saving of at least UK costs. A desktop will be way cheaper than a lap top and will perform much better. In fact, you could buy a good desktop and a good PDA for less than the price of a laptop. If you do get a desktop made for you though, get it made where you live. Most companies sling the components together without a care. You will almost certainly need to take it back to the shop to have them fix the problems this causes (though they always seem quite happy to do this). If possible, though, go to a local shop that someone you trust recommends.

because no computer products are made locally

Don't be absurd. AMD, Seagate, etc., etc., all have huge factories in Thailand, and Thailand is one of the world's largest producers of computer monitors.

Okay fair enough -- each make some PCB's in Thailand - but the notebooks and desktops from Dell, IBM (Lenovo), and HP are manufactured in Malaysia and China, and some decent local Asian brands such as Samsung and Acer in Korea and Taiwan. So Thailand has no manufacturing industry to protect by imposing in import tariff on these electronics.

You are still absurdly wrong. Thailand has lots of home-grown computer manufacturers (Powell and Atec are the first two that pop into my mind), of which nearly 100% of the end product is locally produced. Get your head out of your ass, and if you don't know what you're talking about just don't say anything.

If you have to have a foreign brand, yes they are going to be imported.

You will almost certainly need to take it back to the shop to have them fix the problems this causes (though they always seem quite happy to do this). If possible, though, go to a local shop that someone you trust recommends.

This is as good an argument as there as there is for "slinging it together" yourself. There are simple books and magazines available in English to help you decide the build sequence and compatible components. You can probably get all the components in Panthip Plaza. The advantage is that it will have been built by someone who cared while he "slung it together" and will know which bit needs replacing when you want more space or speed.

I can't recommend buying pirate software. The sources in Panthip and Ratchadapisek seem to be under pressure anyway so look at getting an OS before you leave Nevada. If you're retiring, I expect you'll have the time.

You are still absurdly wrong. Thailand has lots of home-grown computer manufacturers (Powell and Atec are the first two that pop into my mind), of which nearly 100% of the end product is locally produced. Get your head out of your ass, and if you don't know what you're talking about just don't say anything.

If you have to have a foreign brand, yes they are going to be imported.

Exactly the sort of language that I would expect from a lower form of being such as yourself. Don't worry -- I wasn't expecting that they taught politeness or manners in the trailer park school, and am content that at least you have learnt not to wipe your nose on your sleeve.

If you read the thread carefully, we were discussing real brand computers and not clones made in the Thai equivalent of a basement.

And having been offered the job to run some of these local manufacturing operations, I believe that I am hardly "absurdly wrong."

Now go clean up the floor silently and understand that your sort are meant to be seen but not heard.

no computer products are made locally

If the above is not "absurdly wrong", I don't know what is.

Why not just admit you put your foot in your pie hole? I know it's difficult for higher forms of life such as you to admit when you're wrong...but why not give it a go?

I'm sure you are both very nice guys in real life, but currently you are using the words "make" and "manufacture" in different ways in the global manufacturing context. If you define "manufacturing country" as the home nation of it's group holding company then few computers are made in most South East Asian countries but if we define "manufacturing country" as the country where the finished computer is assembled, packed and shipped from then of course a large slice of the worlds computers are "manufactured" in SEA.

It rather points up the absurdity of thinking that a particular product comes from a single country though doesn't it, but we all do.

If you are in pattaya check out Liberty Computers. I have bought from them several times and have always been satisified with the service. I have heard no negative reports on them.

I am thinking of buying either a laptop or desk computer when I arrive in Sept. Since this will be a new Thailand experience for me any suggestion for the best prices and possible service might be.. I really dont want to buy one here and lug it to Thailand.


Thanks,

john

If you live or intend to live permanently in Thailand buy here. Otherwise buy in your home country. As other people have pointed out, a lot of computers in Thailand come without software and copied or pirated versions of OS cause all sorts of problems, not least in getting updates. The same goes for virus software.

You will struggle to find a reputable and reliable servicing outlet here if anything does go wrong with a computer, or for that matter most other electronic goods (including mobile phones) and there are some right cowboys in the Tukcom centre in Pattaya - if you do go there get a Thai boy to take the item for repair as they see a Farang coming and rub their hands with glee at how much they can rip the guy off for.

In the end, although you may well save on the original purchase, softare, servicing and maintenance costs will probably eat up any savings you make.

[TrongpaiExpat]

I baught a Sony Vaio laptop at Panthup last year. All the software included, thai and english windows . It came with a one year warantee through Sony of Thailand.

I had a very minor problem and went to the Sony repair center. It's a very nice place on Petchaburi. They fixed it while I waited, no problems.