"Puget Systems is an absolutely outstanding company. I won't buy a PC anywhere else as long as they are in business.

I will break this down into two parts: customer service and the actual product itself.

As for customer service, I have never had better. Once I configured a build on their website, a customer service rep, Jeff, e-mailed me and asked me if I was interested or just messing around with their config tool. I said I was interested and told him what I wanted the system for. He got back to me promptly with a very long and detailed e-mail going through each one of my config choices and recommending changes that would allow me to save money but still accomplish what I wanted to accomplish - putting together a computer that could run the latest games at max settings (and also have a fair amount of RAM and an SSD for productivity type stuff). Jeff helped me save a few hundred dollars at this stage.

Their customer service remained excellent throughout the process. During the build phase they ran into a problem, and how they handled that problem is representative of their service across the board. One of the components I had chosen did not work with the new Haswell processors as the builder of that part had not put out new drivers for it yet. They e-mailed me immediately and told me about the problem and asked whether I would prefer to ship with the new component (a wifi adapter), which would be non-functional until the drivers came out, and then install them myself when they did, or just change to a different adapter. I said I'd rather do the former.

Then, just to be sure, they called the company that made the wifi adapter and asked when the new drivers would be out. Apparently there would never be drivers, so they e-mailed me again and told me, and then helped me pick out a new part.

You just don't get that kind of service if you order from Dell.

As for the computer itself, it surpassed my high expectations. The build quality is outstanding. You can tell just by touching it. It is rock solid - it weighs something like 45 pounds. The fit/finish is tight across the board. I have the windowed case, and the inside is extremely clean compared to all of my friends computers (some put them together themselves, some got local people to build them). Overall, this thing just looks great.

It is also dead silent, despite the fact that I got the Antec case with the window cut in it rather than opting for the quieter standard Antec case (or even the one with sound dampening foam).

But most importantly, it runs flawlessly. I opted for fairly high end components, but not the very top of the heap by any means. Still, this system will run very demanding games like Planetside 2 at max settings and resolution (on a big monitor) with no issue.

It boots up extremely fast - it's almost scary. I turn it on, bend over to pick up a pencil I dropped, and when I look back up it's already on, just staring at me. Scary.

I can open massive PDF and word files instantly. I can CTRL+F search for words or phrases in large word and PDF files and instantly find 146 instances of the word "Jurisdiction" or whatever. It makes my professional life much easier, and saves me a lot of time throughout the day I would normally spend waiting for documents to load, searches to run, etc.

It never crashes, there are no glitches, programs never freeze. It's perfect.

Oh, yea, and I forgot to mention. I even got a thank you e-mail from the president of the company after it arrived. Also got a thank you card in the mail from my customer service rep (no, thank YOU). Can't beat that.

Finally, after filling out the where you rate the company from 1-5 stars in various categories, I noticed something that I thought was worth mentioning. The category for customer service says "Rate Puget Custom Computers Customer Service overall, or choose n/a if you did not interact with their customer service." I want to point out that it's impossible to not interact with their customer service, and I think that's the mark of a good company. Too often, a company's "customer service" department is just treated as the complaint department. You won't have that experience here. All of Puget's employees are in "customer service," and are proactive, not reactive."

"First things first: It has been two weeks since I got my computer from Puget and based on my experience so far, I have nothing but praise for Puget. I would most definitely recommend them (I have already recommended them to a colleague at work).

To give a bit of background, I bought a fairly expensive desktop for multipurpose use from Puget and have been using it for a little over two weeks. This was my first time not buying a computer from a large brand name (Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba etc.) and I had many doubts and even more questions. I also hesitated a bit because the price seemed to be a little high compared to other custom builders I looked up on the internet. However, I was won over mostly by three things:

1. Customer Service: After corresponding many times with Jeff Stubbers from Puget, I was absolutely impressed by the extremely high level of customer service that he provided. Jeff not only always responded in an amazingly prompt fashion but also made very helpful suggestions (but never in a pushy/coercive way) that even included ways how I might save some money by making alternative choices. Given that I planned to use my computer for many years to come, reliable customer service was very important to me. After dealing with Jeff, I really felt that the higher price tag was worth it because it seemed to me that I was not just buying a computer but also a relationship that provides me with some sense of security and peace of mind.

2. Quality control: I was very impressed by the effort Puget puts into its quality control system. Puget has a very extensive quality control checklist for the computers it builds. In addition, Puget also seems to closely monitor the quality of the components that are used for the build--when I asked Jeff about certain components, he made recommendations based on Puget's internal monitoring of failure rates.

3. Transparency and well organized process: Even before I placed my order, I was able to see what steps my order would go through and how Puget would update me of the status. Everything seemed so logical, well-planned and transparent -- simply put, I knew what I was getting into and it made sense. Once I placed the order, I was able to monitor the entire process of billing, building and shipping. I was provided a speedy and detailed update as to what components were still missing (even got a tracking number and ETA as to when such components would be delivered to Puget) and was able to check on the status of my computer through every stage of the build. I especially appreciated the fact that (1) the person who conducted a particular process would specify that he or she performed the work (I see this as a willingness to stand by your work product) and (2) Puget was extremely meticulous about keeping documentary evidence of everything (including thermal images and pre-ship photos) -- I love this because it removes the hassle of he-said-she-said in case there is a problem and is beneficial to both seller and customer.

It took about 1.5 weeks for me to receive the computer after I placed the order -- an amazing speed considering I was asking for some obscure things and the distance between Puget and where I live.

I have been using the computer for a little over two weeks and so far I am very satisfied as it is performing exactly as I expected. In fact, I am so satisfied with the product and my experience with Puget that I am breaking my "wait for about 30 days before writing a full review" rule (I may write short temporary reviews before 30 days) and writing one right now as I felt I was doing an injustice to Puget by waiting any longer (especially given how Puget's business model seems to rely on reputation and word-of-mouth).

All in all, I whole-heartedly recommend Puget to anyone looking for an excellent quality computer and an even better customer service."

"Tracking of the computer build was a valuable tool. Persons I talked to on the phone were professional and courteous. "

"This company is absolutely the best; superb communication, wide selection of options, top quality, great documentation."

"I just received my new Puget custom computer and once I got it set up, it was running like a champ! I would definitely recommend this company to any one who wants to buy a new computer. "

"Very easy ordering and very helpful in selecting the right components. The order was delivered on time and was packaged very well. The build quality is excellent. I normally build my own computers and could not have built this computer better than what I received from Puget Systems. I would certainly do business with them again."

"This is the second purchase from Puget. Very satisfied with purchasing and support. It's wonderful when you can get someone on the phone to talk intelligently about the options. Can't say enough good things about them."

"I'll never go back to buying a computer off the shelf again. Their professional customer service and exceptional knowledge in the products they sale has earned them a customer for life. I highly recommend Puget Systems to anyone looking for an awesome computer!"

"Very helpful customer service. Answered all my questions but also informed me of other things to think about before confirming my selections for laptop customization"

"Amazing Customer Service. A rep contacts you after you submit your build to go over things and make sure the computer is what you want/need."

"They were very helpful and kind in helping me configure this computer. I am a repeat customer because of very high satisfaction with their customer support.
Rob"

"This is my second computer from Puget Systems, the first one being an ultra high end desktop. This is the only way to buy computers. Beautiful build quality, and the best service from people that really know their stuff. "

"Super fast turnaround and responsive staff. I also bought a desktop from them which is also very well put together."

"About two weeks ago I contacted Puget Systems regarding what would be my first laptop purchase. Actually, they were the ones who contacted me. As soon as I placed a quote on my laptop, I got an email from Puget's customer support asking if I had any questions about the configuration. As it turned out, I had a number of things I was unsure about, but I was able to sort out my questions in two days with no problems whatsoever.

I placed my laptop order, and was wowed by Puget Systems' status update page. They share with you every little detail of every checkpoint and benchmark. This transparency made me feel very assured, and it was fun to come back each day to check on the build log.

Since Puget Systems (very) recently upgraded their laptops to take advantage of Intel's Haswell processors, I got an email from my customer supporter (the same person from customer support stays with you from the start to the end) notifying my that my configuration of two hard drives and an optical drive would not be able to fit in the new laptop model. He offered to replace the optical drive with a caddy drive to make room for both of my selected hard drives, compensating for the cost of course. I figured that I would never use the optical drive anyways, so I accepted. The whole process of making that change was smooth enough to not warrant a four star review.

I received the laptop in six days (with local pickup delivery), and I have been "Very Satisfied" with it for the past week. I don't suspect I will need to even think about making another personal computer purchase for 5 years at least, desktop or laptop. This slick beast of a laptop is future proof."

"So far, so excellent. Helpful customer service and support. Excellent knowledge of hardware configuration. "