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Custom computers

Built here, from standard parts, specified for what you actually do — and serviceable by the people who assembled it.

At a glance

Starts with
A conversation, not a parts list
Built
In the workshop on site
Parts
Standard and replaceable
Serviced by
The people who built it

Why a build gets specified in person

An online configurator asks which components you want. That is the wrong question if you do not already know, and if you do know it rarely tells you where the balance is wrong.

At the counter the conversation runs the other way: what the machine has to do, what it must not do (be loud, run hot, be impossible to add to), and where the money should go. The parts list comes out of that.

Standard parts, on purpose

Every build uses standard components, so a fault in three years means replacing a part rather than negotiating with a manufacturer about a proprietary assembly. The build is documented, so whoever opens it next can see what is in it.

New parts carry a one-year warranty, excluding acts of God, physical damage and neglect.

  • Chosen for your work rather than a price point
  • Room in the case and headroom in the power supply for later additions
  • Cooling specified for the parts actually fitted
  • Sound parts from your existing machine reused where sensible

Built where it will be serviced

The machine is assembled in the workshop here and comes back here if anything is wrong with it. That is the practical difference from ordering a build online: the people who put it together are the people you can walk up to.

Step by step

How it goes

  1. Talk it through

    What the machine is for, what it must not do, and what it may need to become.

  2. A specification

    Proposed with the reason for each choice, and where we would spend more or less.

  3. Agree it

    Adjust until it matches the work and the budget.

  4. Built and tested

    Assembled in the workshop and run before you collect it.

Asked at the counter

Is a custom machine more expensive?

Not inherently. At the same budget the difference is usually where the money went. It costs more when it is specified to last longer or to expand later, and that is a choice you make rather than one made for you.

Can you use parts from my current computer?

Often. Drives, and sometimes memory, graphics cards and power supplies, carry over when they are sound and compatible. Bring the machine in and we will tell you what is worth keeping.

Also at the store

Computer upgrades

Computer parts

New computers

Start a build

Come in and describe the work, or configure a system on the main site.

Configure a build