Savittre Posted February 27, 2010 Report Share Posted February 27, 2010 Greetings, Brethren! How much does it cost to buy a laptop in Bangkok, and where should I go to get it? I want a 17 inch screen, 100 GB Hard Disk Drive, 2 GHz processor, Windows XP SP3, Windows 7, or Vista SP2- whichever is the least screwy and pain in the butt. And I'd like a good name brand, currently I'm using a Toshiba. What I want from a computer is to do email, watch movies (DVD's), download MP3s, make online purchases such as airplane tickets, and make hotel reservations. Is Bangkok the best place to get a PC these days, or could I do better elsewhere, e.g. Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, or Singapore? In the past (2002), Pantip Plaza was the place to go, for software at least. Can anyone give me an update? Can anyone give me a recommended store where I could go to buy a new PC? Many Thanks! Savittre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Munchmaster Posted February 27, 2010 Report Share Posted February 27, 2010 I doubt there's a laptop made today with a 100GB hard drive. 250GB is probably the minimum now and 500GB is probably the norm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 27, 2010 Report Share Posted February 27, 2010 If at all possible, avoid buying computer hardware in Bangkok. Don't know where you are from, but in the US, for instance, you get a much larger selection, newer stuff, and prices 30-50% lower than Thailand for almost all hardware. when I lived in Thailand I would schedule hardware purchases to take place on my periodic trips home whenever possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savittre Posted February 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2010 rachada, thanks for the info, that's very useful for me to know. So far as HDD size goes, yeah 100 GB is low nowadays, that doesn't surprise me. Getting a bigger HDD is not a problem. Thanks! Savittre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shygye Posted February 28, 2010 Report Share Posted February 28, 2010 Get one with a discrete graphics (not integrated) card. Then you will have enough graphics power for HD video. Maybe a HDMI connector so you can hook it up to your HD TV. Maybe like this ONE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 28, 2010 Report Share Posted February 28, 2010 Get one with a discrete graphics (not integrated) card. Then you will have enough graphics power for HD video. Maybe a HDMI connector so you can hook it up to your HD TV. Maybe like this ONE Damn! That is a decent machine, especially for so low a price! It wasn't long ago one would pay 3k for specs similar to those...it's a monster at 7.69 lbs, though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shygye Posted February 28, 2010 Report Share Posted February 28, 2010 You aren't going to find a "light" laptop with a 17" screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekong Posted February 28, 2010 Report Share Posted February 28, 2010 You aren't going to find a "light" laptop with a 17" screen. I am on my second HP Pavillion DV Series, my current one being 2 1/2 years old now and IMHO they are more of a "Portable Desktop Replacement" than an actual laptop, portable but not something I would like to carry around all day. Perfect for me since when I go away to work its usually for a few weeks at a time and I want (need) a decent PC in the room for when I am away and the DV Series fits the bill. Chuck it in the backpack fly to some stinking god forgotten place in the world, chuck it on a table and power up, use it for the duration, power down and lug back home. For short trips / day to day mobile computing I carry a netbook, I can go without the processing power for 2-3 days and for movies I just load them onto the iPhone before I travel and hook up to TV in Hotel room to watch them. Bottom line, DV Series are great bits of hardware but not practicle for day to day portability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekong Posted February 28, 2010 Report Share Posted February 28, 2010 You aren't going to find a "light" laptop with a 17" screen. I am on my second HP Pavillion DV Series, my current one being 2 1/2 years old now and IMHO they are more of a "Portable Desktop Replacement" than an actual laptop, portable but not something I would like to carry around all day. Perfect for me si Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manaomaiminam Posted February 28, 2010 Report Share Posted February 28, 2010 17 inch are at a premium in LOS, most offerings are 14 inch. Certain brands are premium as well, HP for instance costs much more than USA, usually 40,000 baht or more. Gateway (now purchased by ACER) commands a high price in LOS while in USA it is a discount brand. The most prominent brands you see are Acer (which are pretty good, IMHO), also ASUS, which I bought in the USA and are excellent as well. You can find HP, Toshiba, Hitachi (big premium), Lenovo as well, but all will be more expensive than say USA, although I don't think they are the 30-50 percent quoted before (now), but more like 20-25 percent. Most places do not preinstall the OS unless you go to some of the larger chain stores like Power Buy. Stores will install a pirated copy of XP or Vista, while windows 7 is more problematic. Most will come with DOS or a Linux preinstalled (they are free). Also, you will find little difference in a store to store comparison of any certain brand/model. It might vary 1000 baht, so if you find the PC you like, don't go chasing around the city to find it just slightly cheaper. You know Panthip is a good place to look, and it has 2 major large chains, IT City and Power Buy, you can find these outlets a most large malls: Cental World, MBK, Paragon. In addition to Panthip, Fortune is a large PC shopping center and can be reach via the subway (MRT) exiting on Phra9. The PC mall is on the 3rd and 4th floor of the Fortune center there. Same as Panthip without the crowds, the touts, and better transportation (the MRT). You can get "cheap software" there too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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