The old adage is true: you get what you pay for. However, we believe it is possible to operate a sustainable business building quality desktop computers for home, gaming, multimedia, and business use–without charging exorbitant premiums. Our systems are hand-assembled in Washington State by local technicians who love what they do–not built in factories overseas. Call us old-fashioned, but we like to work with our hands and we take pride in each computer we build.
We aim to provide strong value for your money through the quality of our builds as well as please you with the competence and professionalism of our one-on-one services. We will guide and assist you through the process of getting a new computer–from determining your needs and your budget, anticipating future upgrades and options, assembling and configuring the system, and then finally setting your new computer up on-site at your home or small business. We’ll even transfer your data over from your old system and recycle or erase and donate it if you’d like.
“How can a custom system be better than a boxed computer from Company X?”
- Our systems are priced out and specified according to current market prices and availability. This ensures that the computer you are getting will have good value for the money you spend on it–you’ll be getting a more “modern” computer than the one that has been sitting in a store warehouse for 8 months before being stocked to the shelves.
- We use highly-capable power supplies that are also very efficient, ensuring flexibility in the upgrades you can implement as well as well as reducing your footprint on the environment and the size of your electrical bill. We use motherboards that are full-featured and can fulfill a variety of needs and roles for their owners. We try to ensure that you have some flexibility to upgrade your computer if you want or need to in the future.
- We can transfer your photos, documents, e-mail, music and other important data over from your old computer. We will sit down with you one-on-one, show you the features of your new computer, and ensure that it is set up the way you like. For more information, head over to Services: New Computer Setup.
“Are custom systems reliable?”
- Yes. Tiger Custom Computers uses high-quality, well-reviewed and rated components, sourced from the most reputable manufacturers, that, if needed, can be serviced or replaced with standardized components. We take pride in the fact that our systems last for years and have required minimal repairs. On the occasions when they have needed hardware service, inside or outside the warranty period, it is expedited by the fact that local computer shops and parts stores carry the components necessary to facilitate the repair. When your computer is no longer covered by its original warranty, the standardized nature of the parts we use also means potentially lower repair costs.
- We use power supplies which utilize technologies that actively work to protect your computer from electrical surges and power faults, helping to prevent damage to the other internal components. A surge protector or battery backup system is still highly recommended for ALL computer systems and valuable or sensitive electronics.
- We can show you how to back up your data. In the case of a hard drive failure, this backup can be used to restore your system to a new replacement disk drive.
“Won’t my custom system become outdated quickly?”
- No. While the march of technological progress and innovation is constant, Tiger Custom Computers designs each of our systems to be forward-thinking and capable. Modern PCs have a longer useful lifespan provided the physical components do not fail. We over-engineer our computers, installing power supplies that will support common upgrades and including enough RAM and hard drive space that you will have room to grow and use your computer to its best potential. We choose motherboards that have plenty of USB ports as well as computer cases that can fit numerous hard drives and expand with your storage needs. While they may now be outdated for gaming or multimedia production, many of the systems we have built since our founding in 2003 are still in service after five or more years–happily humming along and serving their owners in more humble roles. That really means something to us, and to our clients.
“Isn’t a custom-built computer going to be more expensive?”
- In many cases, yes. You can get a lot for your money with a pre-built computer these days, but an off-the-shelf system is not for every user. There is a cost to the performance, flexibility and reliability of the components we use and consider essential to each custom build. Despite this, we can compete with–and often beat–configured systems from major computer manufacturers on price as well as quality, sometimes by hundreds of dollars. The more powerful/sophisticated the computer, the better we do. The longevity and performance of our systems, the flexibility in configuration/expansion and the quality of the components make custom system builds appealing for many creative individuals and enthusiasts.
- Tiger Custom Computers has a strict “don’t be evil” policy. If adding a second hard drive before delivery increases the components cost of your new computer by $80 and takes us half an hour to install, it will not drive the cost of your computer up another $250. If choosing a more powerful CPU only costs another $50, we don’t mark it up $150. If upgrading the RAM from 8GB to 16GB costs another $150, we won’t add $300 to the quote. We try to be reasonable and fair in our calculation of the components and labor that goes into each and every computer we build.
- Our systems are assembled locally–by hand here in Washington State–not built in factories overseas. We pay our technicians a living wage and provide generous benefits. The components we use are energy-efficient whenever possible and practical. Tiger Custom Computers always uses ROHS-compliant components to ensure that your computer is not rife with hazardous substances and materials like lead or mercury. These factors, combined with the naturally-longer manufacturer’s warranties and the ease of replacing standardized parts if needed make a custom-built system from Tiger Custom Computers a wise choice.