Currently abroad, thinking of buying a new laptop

E: I just realised that this thread does not belong in this sub forum. I am sorry about that, I just asked to have it moved!

Hello everyone, I am a new member on these forums!

I couldn't really find any proper answers to the questions I am having (or rather, I want to hear some real feedback from actual people), and since I've relied on this website for many other things as well, I thought it would be a good idea to try and get help here!

My situation:

I moved to Japan last August, and I will stay here for about another four months. I had brought my own gaming laptop, but it was somewhat old and it stopped working. Getting the repairs done would have been almost as expensive as buying a new laptop, so I am now considering getting a new one (especially since you can get some pretty sweet deals here).

As I said, I will only be here for another four months, after that I will move back to Europe (Germany/France).
I was thinking of buying a laptop from a Japanese brand which has been recommended to me, however this brand only exists in Japan (guarantees tend to be a problem with international companies as well, so I might as well go for a local one). This also means that I won't be able to buy a secondary charger which adheres to European standards.

So, finally my question: Is it a bad idea to use a laptop in a foreign country for a long time? Keep in mind that I will have to use a plug adapter all the time (can these things hurt your electronics over extended periods of use? They seem so flimsy).
Voltage in France and Germany is at 230V 50HZ, whereas in Eastern Japan I am at 100V 50HZ. I know laptops/chargers tend to have transformers which allow them to use different kinds of voltage safely, but what I am worried about is whether this holds true for extended periods of time - if I were to buy a laptop in Japan, I will be using it for years to come in Europe.

Thank you guys for reading, and I hope you can help me! Cheers!

 

I moved this to accessories instead, since it's also a good place to put.

Now, what brand are you talking about, it may be a brand that has a large presence in Japan, but very little presence internationally like Fujitsu for example. Anyways, it remains a likely possibility that the charger will be rated for both whatever cycle count/voltage that electricity in Japan follows and 240 V 50 Hz. In that case, all you would need to do is buy a second cord that goes from the charger to the wall plug and hook that to the actual charger when you get back in europe. Another decent option would be to find an adapter that has the same type of power plug and is rated at the same voltage and equal or higher amperage. By that, I mean the output from the charger, i.e. 19.5 V 6 A or whatever output voltage and amperage your new laptop's charger would have.

 

Hey, first off thank you for moving it And thank you for the helpful response!

The company is called Dospara and the laptop model I consider buying is called either Galleria or Critea. I don't think they sell anything abroad.

I assume that parts such as the second cord from the charger to the wall plug as well as the kind of adapter you have described are quite easy to come by, then? The thing I am worried about is that certain problems might arise from using accessories from secondary companies, and that it might shorten the laptop's lifetime in the long run.
In the same vein, are there any companies who produce such accessories which I should most definitely avoid?

Thanks again!

 

I would be extremely surprised if the charger did not conform to international norms and couldn't work on 230 volts.

All you need is either a simple adapter or a new cord from the wall to the charger. Super easy to come by and very cheap. Don't sweat it.

 

Hey Qing Dao, thank you for your reply as well!

This is great news, now I have one less thing to consider in regards to my purchase!

 

There isn't that many actual laptop manufacturers in the world, so it could very well be a rebranded MSI, Clevo or similar. I'm just thinking that if the seller knows or you can find out what the actual model is, then your options to self repair and upgrade later are much wider.

 

I'm not 100% sure, but I think they predominantly use MSI Barebones for their builds. Here's a link to MSI's Barebone models. MSI Notebook Website Maybe asking them more information about the BIOS that they use, might turn out to be a bit helpful.

I remember way back when a friend who came from Japan sold me a Toshiba, I guess you could say, JDM model as it was quite a challenge finding the model due to the language barrier even through the use of an online translator. But this model turned out to be where I would learn the most given that it was like I was blind and had to really research things, which did take some time.

The Japanese tend to make better models for their own domestic ones, hence the acronym JDM. It's more widely used for cars as most people would shy away from a laptop or gaming laptop for that matter with an English/Japanese language keyboard and system. Oddly French was among the choices in language that was preset and I honestly don't know why.

I've also been fortunate enough to be able to visit Japan several times in the past, and all I can say is that I salute their honesty and their integrity. I guess if you decide to get from them, then you'll be in good hands when it comes to service. The only challenge would be the language barrier between you and them.

Do let us know if you do decide to get from them and if they use the same BIOS used on the U.S. and European counterparts whom also sell MSI Whitebooks.

xD