Something off the Costco shelf should do the job right? Keep reading and find out what you are actually getting from big box manufacturers these days.

CD/DVD/Optical: This technology is on life support. When was the last time you popped a disc in your computer? IT support teams never rely on this technology.
Processor: You’ll get pretty good deals at Costco regarding this. Only a few manufacturers make what we use in our everyday machines and there’s not even really an option to go rogue. The new Microsoft Surfaces use Qualcomm processors and even as a San Diego resident I can see these causing problems for IT support.
Chassis/Case: The chassis from big box manufacturers are often slick looking and are getting smaller over time. You’re locked into buying a custom power supply if you need a replacement and if you damage a USB port there’s a chance you can brick your whole machine. But they do look pretty good in they are really cheap when comparing to a custom build because they can buy in bulk.
RAM: You’re going to get cheap RAM. It’s not really that big of a deal though. Your RAM speed is miniscule in comparison to your RAM amount and the big names can pack in a lot for cheap.

Here’s where it gets bad:

Storage: Nowadays, storage performance is the number one factor in determining overall computer performance. CPUs don’t matter much unless you are using Photoshop or Premier. CPU’s get better every year like clockwork and are years ahead of what storage has kept up with. Moreover, Dell, HP, Lenovo, or whoever is going to give you the cheapest storage that meets their specifications bid. These drives have poor performance, poor reliability and this is the most important component of the modern computer. It often is the performance bottleneck and dictates the likeliness of sudden disasters. The crazy thing is that in your $1500 computer purchase this often comes down to about a $30 discrepancy. Why do they do this? Because your average consumer sees storage as capacity and nothing more. Why pour money into something that won’t influence purchase decision? I get it, but this is why your IT support people don’t buy these.
OS: Don’t like Windows 11? Me neither. You can use a Windows 11 license to activate Windows 10 though. Most custom builders and IT support teams are still getting requests for Windows 10.
Power supply: A bad power supply disables a machine to the point where nothing happens when you push the power button. It’s another component that the average consumer doesn’t think of, so you’re going to get the cheapest thing available. And since it will be a proprietary component, you’re going to overpay for a subpar replacement. Custom builds offer a good IT solution since they only use a handful of form factors, all of which are easy to replace.
Warranty: With big box names, a 1-year warranty is standard, and an extended warranty can be purchased at a reasonable price. Consider the process of their warranties before factoring in the value of this. Typically, you’re shipping your computer to their factory and when it’s returned a few weeks later, all of your data and programs are gone even if there was no issue with your disk or operating system. Need a new power supply? Reconfigure your entire operating system over again. Most people opt to have their IT support repair the machine rather than send in the machine. These IT solutions make sense when you consider the amount of time reconfiguring your software isn’t worth saving a few hundred bucks. We offer a 3-year warranty for all of our machines and are equipped to fix what is needed without setting the entire system back to default.

This is why we offer custom builds as part of our IT services. We can better balance the performance of all of the components, so you don’t have a situation where your high-end processor is being hamstringed by a poor performance storage drive or too little RAM. We’re also familiar with how our clients use their computers, so we know exactly what would make a perfect workstation for them.