[binarycrusader]

DISCLAIMER: Only speaking for myself, not employers or affiliates.

I've been pretty darn happy with the Puget Systems custom workstation I ordered last year before the memory craze started (especially since it has 192GiB of DDR5).

I also ordered another family member a custom "Tiki" system from Falcon Northwest and that has also been quite excellent from what I've seen and they've told me.

Now is obviously not the most economical time to order a new system, but when it is appropriate (and for what it's worth) I think those are two great system builders.

[hedora]

I wouldn’t count them as a big vendor, but I’ve only heard good things. Local shops around here charge like $99 to put a machine together, install an OS and run burn in testing. You get more choice than an outfit like puget, but less carefully tested part / cooling selection, etc.

The last I checked, the really big players tended to add value add gimmicks (water cooling is a common one, custom psu form factors are another) with reliability / compatibility issues. That’s the tier to avoid, not the Puget systems of the world.

[binarycrusader]

I picked both Puget Systems and Falcon Northwest because for the most part, both focus on pre-tested off-the-shelf parts with good reliability data from their own servicing.

My Puget Systems workstation for example has a simple AIO for cooling with some Noctua fans and a Fractal Design 7 XL full tower case.

The Tiki system I ordered for a family member from Falcon Northwest does have a custom case, but almost everything else is fairly standard inside. The super small form factor was important to them.

Could I have built either of these systems myself? Absolutely -- I've done that for at least prior 20 years or so, and I've built dozens for employers, but it sure was nice to buy one that just worked this time instead of having to having to fiddle with memory sticks or find exactly the right bios settings for stability, etc.

I'm well aware of the premium I paid but I can honestly say it has been incredibly nice to have a workstation that just works without having to fiddle with bios updates or hardware. I also don't really have the time to spare so I was entirely willing to trade funds for time.

[fluoridation]

Non-standard parts are not about value-adding, they're about cost-cutting if you're feeling charitable, and about forcing vendor lock-in if you're not.