Buying a new laptop

[Dannie Boy]

I’d be surprised if the quality in Thailand is any different than in Europe, assuming you buy from an official dealer - they’re probably all made in China in any case. So price is likely to be the decider - Google should answer that question.


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[buksida]

Yep, quality will be the same as they're all off the same production line but prices and specs are probably better in Europe/UK.

[Dannie Boy]

Yep, quality will be the same as they're all off the same production line but prices are probably better in Europe/UK.

As I had mentioned in a separate thread, I’ve recently bought an iPad 10 from Banana and it was more than £100 cheaper than buying in the UK so it’s definitely worth checking.

[buksida]

Maybe so, but the laptop I bought in the UK was a good 20% cheaper than the same model in Thailand, and the camera I bought in Japan was 30% cheaper. Its worth checking, but chances are tech stuff is dearer here.

Edit: had to check that claim DB as its rarely the case ...

iPad 10 UK price 499 GPB (22,213 THB)
https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/buy-ipad/ipad

iPad 10 Thai price 20,900 THB (469 GBP)
https://www.bnn.in.th/en/p/apple/apple- ... rch-result

So you're right, marginally cheaper here (but warranties may vary) ... and a change in exchange rates could flip that!

[Dannie Boy]

All I said, is that it’s worth checking!!


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[joelle]

Thanks for your answers, I will just have to check it and compare

[buksida]

Moved the Apple discussion into the iThings thread, this one is about buying new laptops. https://www.huahinforum.com/viewtopic.p ... &start=268

[pharvey]

Moved the Apple discussion into the iThings thread, this one is about buying new laptops. https://www.huahinforum.com/viewtopic.p ... &start=268

Yep - sorry. But then again, look at Lenovo and an Android operating system.

[thecolonel]

If I bought a new laptop(not Apple) is there someone who offers a paid service to set it all up as per existing with e mail I-map settings etc?

Thanks

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[Dannie Boy]

Like a lot of people I’m sure, these days the most I use my laptop for is to hook up to my TV to stream UK TV programmes. Although my laptop is quite old (2017) when I bought it, it was a top of the range HP Spectre and still works fine, but only operates on Windows 10 and can’t be upgraded to W11. Microsoft have said that they will stop supporting W10 from October next year, after which users will be at risk. Do I need to upgrade and if so, what are the minimum specs I should be looking at? Thanks

[404cameljockey]

Do I need to upgrade and if so, what are the minimum specs I should be looking at? Thanks

Specs depend entirely on what you use your machine for. No-one can advise you without knowing your needs, and even then it's your own impressions that count. You don't need a high end machine unless you're an avid gamer or work/hobby with video. My desktop PC is well over 10 years old, maybe up to 14 or 15. Windows 10 Pro, built to my spec from parts I chose. It still easily plays the latest high end graphics games. I can produce and edit my own short videos on it quickly. It may be upgradable to Win 11, I haven't checked yet but of course it may not be possible. Do you have these needs? If not then any midrange machine with reasonable reviews and good manufacturer support is fine for you. I've been surprisingly impressed with Lenovo's support for my laptop, both online and home visits.

I could buy a new PC running Win 11 some time early in 2026, after Win 10 support is withdrawn (not my major concern within the next 18 months or so, I admit, I won't frightened into upgrading). Saving 5,000 Baht a month until then is doable and I'll be in a good position to buy a top of the range machine or more excitingly get one built to my own spec cheaper. I won't consider Linux or (heaven forbid) Mac, but you have those options too.

For my money the Micro$oft bullies are the only game in town, others I know feel differently.

[Dannie Boy]

Thanks for the reply - as I mentioned I mainly use the laptop for streaming UK programmes onto my TV using a VPN. I’m definitely not into gaming and nowadays rarely bother with downloading the latest films from the torrent sites, so don’t need a huge memory (my HP Spectre is 8GB ram and 512 GB storage) but I’m sure that 8+256 would be sufficient?

Looking at “recommendations” on the internet comes up with a complete myriad of conflicting advice!!


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[404cameljockey]

You'll get plenty of recommendations from HHF users and be even more confused!

In Sept 2022 for 22,000 Baht I bought a Lenovo Ideapad, 11th Gen Intel i5 processor (Intel is definitely my preference), it sounds like you don't need to pay for a particularly fast one. 8 GB RAM and 475 GB data storage. 4GB onboard graphics which even handles low to mid-level gaming (I prefer named graphics card, Nvidia for example, but I didn't want to pay more). I wish I'd spent a bit more and gone for a touch screen which I've had before and liked, but 20k was the budget I set myself.

3 USB ports, I often use two but it's good too have a third for redundancy, one full-sized HDMI port (not mini, I think they break too easily). And I thought I wouldn't buy a lappy without a LAN port, ever, but using a USB dongle is OK if you ever need wired connection (wifi cards/drivers do sometimes fritz, also speed/connection checks are best done via LAN). I think a numeric keypad too the right of the keyboard is useful, at least I use it. Dual band wifi. Bluetooth 5.2 is the latest and backward compatible. 15" screen is great, but 13" if you're not bothered and prefer a smaller unit. Screen resolution 1920×1080, accept nothing lower, because Full HD is best, as not may people will spend the money for an Ultra HD or 4K laptop!

I've owned several Dell and HP lappies and even a huge desktop replacement (fun in airports), and my son had a dog of an Asus. My Very Expensive Sony was great, astonishing, years back, but I like Lenovo these days, this is my second. You'll get a serviceable machine of whatever brand for between 15 and 20k I'm sure. 15k didn't get me the spec I wanted is all. Just read a few reviews of the one you choose to identify whether there are considered any major problems with it. I prefer to spend a bit more to get what I like, but within a budget.

PS - I just checked for you as processors are confusing:
https://www.windowscentral.com/intels-c ... h-best-you

[Dannie Boy]

Thanks for the update - a number of the reports have recommended Lenovo or Asus and I was thinking of i5 CPU - my old HP has an i7 but it’s 7 years old so no doubt inferior to a current day i3!!

As I still have a year before Microsoft switch off their support for Windows 10, I’ll probably keep looking over the next 6 months or so and hopefully choose the right spec.


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[buksida]

If all you want it for is casual internet use and TV, you don't need an i7 or a thousand dollar Mac. A basic machine with a 12th or 13th gen i3 or i5 Intel CPU and a standard of 16GB of memory should suffice and cost less than 20K. Have had issues with Lenovos, Acer, and Asus, everyone's experiences are different.

W10 will work for years after M$ turns the switch off, its another money grabbing ploy.