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Custom PC Builds by Raindog Solutions
Since 2003, we have been building custom desktop PCs for home & business clients all over and around Vancouver Island. Since 2017, we've been based out of Nanoose Bay and serve the Parksville & Qualicum Beach areas as well.
Whether you’re a casual home PC user, running a small business, or you need the very latest in high performance computer technology, we can provide you with the right hardware to deliver the best possible user experience.
Our builds feature the latest versions of Microsoft's Windows operating system software (currently Windows 11) to help you get the most from the latest hardware. Whether you prefer your new PC to be based on the latest AMD Ryzen or Intel Core CPU platforms, we can build your perfect computer to spec for you.
With more than 20 years of industry experience and long-standing vendor partnerships, we regularly build custom PCs of all shapes & sizes (including small form factor mATX, ITX, and NUC designs), featuring hardware components from top-shelf manufacturers like Antec, Asus, CoolerMaster, Crucial, D-Link, eVGA, Fractal Design, Gigabyte, InWin, Kingston, MSI, Noctua, NZXT, Seagate, Seasonic, Thermaltake, Western Digital and more.
Our personal computer designs tend to favour the use of internal components with proven reliability, along with best-in-class performance & energy efficiency. We pay close attention to optimizing the performance of internal system cooling components, along with super-clean cable management for the best possible airflow and cooling performance from your PC, which will contribute to its long term performance and reliability.
Make Your Next PC "Green"
With energy costs and environmental concerns ever on the rise, at Raindog Solutions we consider energy efficiency in the design of every system build, and specifically, we incorporate power supplies in our PCs that participate in the 80 PLUS energy efficiency standards initiative. Choosing such power supplies can add a modest amount to the initial cost of your build, but in exchange you will enjoy energy cost savings across the lifespan of the PC, along with reducing your PC's environmental impact via reduced energy consumption.
Typical PC power supplies often found in off-the-shelf prebuilt PCs can offer energy efficiency levels as poor as about 25%. This means the other 75% of the energy they use is converted into (wasted) heat! All that heat means that the power supply's internal fan will be working hard to keep it cool, even under only modest workloads - creating significant noise and contributing to its likely premature failure. Further cost corner-cutting measures in these power supplies mean they offer little to no protection circuitry for your PC's valuable internal components, and produce power that is somewhat less than ideally stable or clean in its quality.
Compare this design approach with 80 PLUS-rated power supplies, which are at least 80% efficient, meaning they waste no more than 20% of the energy they consume as heat. Multiple levels of 80 PLUS certified power supplies are also available with efficiency as high as over 92%, for the ultimate in power efficiency and energy savings. If your PC is typically turned on for long periods of time, all the time, and/or your build utilizes high performance high power components, these energy savings can really add up! Plus, due to the substantial reduction in heat generated by your 80 PLUS power supply, less work is required from its internal cooling fan, reducing system noise and increasing longevity. Completely fanless 80 PLUS power supplies are also available for system builds where maximum silence is required.
To illustrate the potential energy savings of an average 80 PLUS-powered PC, let's imagine that your PC's internal components require a total of 200 watts of power and the PC runs 12 hours/day. Compare the potential difference in energy consumption as shown below. Also note that if you're running a high-spec gaming or content creation PC, your PC's actual power consumption might be 500 watts or more, further amplifying the benefit of a high efficiency 80 PLUS-rated power supply.
| PC Energy Usage Comparison *based on BC Hydro 2024 Tier 2 Rates |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC Power Supply Efficiency (%) | 25 | 50 | 80 | 92 |
| Power Provided to PC (Watts) | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 |
| Power Converted to Heat (Watts) | 600 | 200 | 50 | 17.4 |
| Total Power Consumption (Watts) | 800 | 400 | 250 | 217.4 |
| 12 Hr. Daily Consumption (kWh) | 9.6 | 4.8 | 3 | 2.61 |
| Energy Cost/Day ($) | 1.35 | 0.68 | 0.42 | 0.37 |
| Energy Cost/Year ($) | 492.75 | 248.20 | 153.30 | 135.05 |
Warranty
All Raindog Solutions Custom Desktop PCs include a systemwide hardware warranty of at least 1 year to the original purchaser against any defects in materials or workmanship, plus your new PC's major system components are also supported directly from the component manufacturer, typically for 3 years or more.
Delivery & Setup
We include delivery at no charge for customers located in the Oceanside region (including Nanoose Bay, Parksville, Qualicum Beach, Lantzville & surrounding areas).
If you need some help getting up and running with your new PC, we can also offer you either on-site service or remote service to help you through any challenges you may encounter.
Please contact us to discuss your requirements.
Custom PC Builds
by Raindog Solutions
Since 2003, Raindog Solutions has been building custom desktop PCs for home & business clients all over and around Vancouver Island.
Whether you’re a casual home PC user, running a small business, or you need the very latest in high performance computer technology, we can provide you with the right hardware and software to deliver the best possible user experience.
Whether you prefer your new PC to be based on the latest AMD Ryzen or Intel Core CPU platforms, we can build to spec for you.
With over 20 years of industry experience and long-standing vendor partnerships, we regularly build custom PCs of all shapes & sizes (including small form factor mATX, ITX, and NUC), featuring hardware components from top-shelf manufacturers like Antec, Asus, CoolerMaster, Crucial, D-Link, eVGA, Fractal Design, Gigabyte, InWin, Kingston, MSI, Noctua, NZXT, Seagate, Seasonic, Thermaltake, Western Digital and more.
Our personal computer designs tend to favour the use of internal components with proven reliability, along with best-in-class performance & energy efficiency.
Make Your Next PC "Green"
With energy costs and environmental concerns ever on the rise, at Raindog Solutions we consider energy efficiency in the design of every system build, and specifically, we incorporate power supplies in our PCs that participate in the 80 PLUS energy efficiency standards initiative. Choosing such power supplies can add a modest amount to the initial cost of your build, but in exchange you will enjoy energy cost savings across the lifespan of the PC, along with reducing your PC's environmental impact via reduced energy consumption.
Typical PC power supplies often found in off-the-shelf prebuilt PCs can offer energy efficiency levels as poor as about 25%. This means the other 75% of the energy they use is converted into (wasted) heat! All that heat means that the power supply's internal fan will be working hard to keep it cool, even under only modest workloads - creating significant noise and contributing to its likely premature failure. Further cost corner-cutting measures in these power supplies mean they offer little to no protection circuitry for your PC's valuable internal components, and produce power that is somewhat less than ideally stable or clean in its quality.
Compare this design approach with 80 PLUS-rated power supplies, which are at least 80% efficient, meaning they waste no more than 20% of the energy they consume as heat. Multiple levels of 80 PLUS power supplies are also available with efficiency as high as over 92%, for the ultimate in power efficiency and energy savings. If your PC is typically turned on for long periods of time, all the time, and/or your build utilizes high performance high power components, these energy savings can really add up! Plus, due to the substantial reduction in heat generated by your 80 PLUS power supply, less work is required from its internal cooling fan, reducing system noise and increasing longevity. Completely fanless 80 PLUS power supplies are also available for system builds where maximum silence is required.
Warranty
All Raindog Solutions PCs include a systemwide hardware warranty of at least 1 year to the original purchaser against any defects in materials or workmanship, plus your new PC's major system components are also supported directly from the component manufacturer, typically for 3 years or more.
Delivery & Setup
We include delivery at no charge for customers located in the Oceanside region (including Nanoose Bay, Parksville, Qualicum Beach & surrounding areas).
If you need some help getting up and running with your new PC, we can also offer you either on-site service or remote service to help you through any challenges you may encounter.
Please contact us to discuss your requirements.