I bought this laptop 1-2 years back: AMD Turion 64X2 1.6 GHz, RAM 950 Gb, 32 bit OS running Vista. WiFi (IEEE802.11) built-in. Will it be worth bringing it to Udon? Will I be charged import duties?
I only need a basic laptop for internet access and word/spreadsheet. Will I be better off buying one in Udon? How much?

Bring it with you, you will not be charged any duties unless you try and claim vat back in your home country

Thanks, I will then.

since a year or 2 old, you may want to consider upgrading to a new one. i've seen some really nice ones, 17" 2 gig process 3 gig ram, 320 hard drives w/all the perks, 1000 dollar range, give or take. never need to upgrade again. HP has international service warranty and service center here. bring both, this way the gf/w/kids have something to destroy.

just a thought, they''ll both fit in carry on and no duty as for personal use.

Will take a look at the new one before I return. Can bring two for personal use without paying duties!

once again, who the heck goes to the red line opens their bags and declares they have things to declare?
thats absurd

If you are bringing in things to sell, then maybe you should do that.

volunteering too much information will only get you unwanted attention

Can bring two for personal use without paying duties!

of course, as mentioned, you're not going to claim anything. if they doe check, simply tell them one is for gaming, one is for work. for your personal use and you travel back and forth with them all the time. shouldn't be a problem. just take out of the shipping box, use that new laptop bag you bought and your set. but much better to buy a laptop from states, they are so much cheaper with more bells and whistles. 1/2 price to anything comparison over here. when i got mine a year of so ago, it was 27,000 baht, couldn't touch it here for less than 65K. very few even offered 17 " screen then.

Thank you all. I decided to buy my laptop here in the States direct from HP. You can read the specs and the price below. A larger monitor wasn't that much more expensive. Now I have a 14.1" monitor, 4.8lbs. I thought 15.4" is enough at 5.5lbs. The bigger monitors are even heavier, of course.
What are my choices for internet service? I would live in Mubon Hansa, a couple of Kms west out of the Ring Road toward Kut Jap.

- HP Pavilion dv5z Entertainment PC
- Onyx
- Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (32-bit)
- AMD Turion(TM) X2 Dual-Core Mobile Processor RM-72 (2.1GHz)
- 15.4" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
- FREE Upgrade to 3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 1GB DDR2 System Memory (1 Dimm)!!
- ATI Radeon(TM) HD 3200 Graphics
- FREE Upgrade to 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
- Webcam Only
- HP Color Matching Keyboard
- Wireless-N Card
- No Modem
- SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
- No TV Tuner w/remote control
- 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- $30 OFF! Microsoft(R) Office Basic 2007
- Norton Internet Security(TM) 2009 - 3 Year Subscription
- HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

for $832.99