Planned Obsolescence.
Planned obsolescence simply means a product is designed and built with the intention of that product becoming outdated and/or non-functional after a certain period of time. The idea behind planned obsolescence is to force the consumer to buy a new product when their existing product becomes outdated and/or non-functional. Generally speaking, a new brand-name off-the-shelf computer you buy in stores or via the internet has a life expectancy of 3-5 years, or when it breaks down outside the warranty period, whichever comes first.

When looking at computers, you should always keep planned obsolescence in mind. Planned obsolescence is good for the computer manufacturers, but it's not necessarily good for the consumer, America, or our planet's best ecological interests.

TCS custom-built computers are not built with planned obsolescence in mind. We take into account what's good for the consumer, our country and our planet.

Quality.
Computer component manufacturers have an entire line of products they make. Some of the products are low quaility, some are high quality. Because of planned obsolescence, brand-name computers are built using the lower quality components. There are two main reasons for this. First, high quality components have a longer life expectancy, which is contradictory to planned obsolescence. Second, high quality components cost more.

TCS uses the high quality componenets to extend the lifetime of every computer built.

Repairs.
Due to planned obsolescence, it is often cheaper to replace your brand-name computer with a new one when it breaks down. This is because the manufacturers often use proprietary (brand specific) parts in their computers that can only be acquired from them. They can set whatever price they want for repair parts since they are the sole supplier. It's not like buying tires for your car. There's no other place to shop around for a better deal when it comes to proprietary parts used in brand-name computers.

TCS custom-built computers are built using only high quality, non-proprietary parts. Because of this, TCS custom-built computers can be repaired for much less than a brand-name computer since we do not have to purchase from any single supplier of repair parts. We shop around for the best deal on the best parts, just like buying tires for your car. What's more, our custom-built computers have a lower problem rate than most brand-name computers. That's exactly how it should be.

Upgrades.
Most brand-name computers have limited upgrade options available. This too is because of planned obsolescence. The more you can upgrade your computer, the more you extend its' life expectancy. This goes against the entire concept of planned obsolescence. The two most important things when it comes to increasing your computer speed are memory and the processor (CPU). Let's take a look at those expansion capabilities (or to be more precise, the lack of expansion capabilities) in brand-name computers.

The two factors to look at when it comes to computer memory are the amount of memory and the memory speed. While you can usually increase the amount of memory in a brand-name computer, you usually can't use the faster memory. Again, planned obsolescence. The faster you can make your computer run, the more you extend its' life expectancy.

Most brand-name computers do not allow for replacing their processor with a faster one. What you bought is what you have. Replacing the processor with a faster one will make your computer run faster, and extend its' life expectancy. Again, against everything planned obsolescence stands for.

TCS custom-built computers are designed and built with maximum upgrade capabilities in mind to extend the life of your computer. Unless you specifically request otherwise, TCS custom-built computers come with at least 4GB of memory that runs at the highest speed your processor and motherboard will accept. This means you will probably never have to perform a memory upgrade. Our motherboards support multiple processors. If you get to the point where you want or need your computer to run faster, the processor can be replacd. This is much more cost-effective than purchasing another computer.

What's more, if your CPU and memory are already the fastest your motherboard will accept, a new motherboard, CPU, and memory can be installed in your existing computer case. Again, more cost-effective than purchasing a new computer. For most intents and purposes, if you perform this upgrade, you do have a new computer.

Custom-Built Computers are Good For America.
Most products that are assembled in the United States, including but not limited to computers, contain parts that are manufactured in a foreign country whose citizens may or may not even like America, Americans or our way of life. We can't escape that fact. It's a part of 21st century life in America. But every product sold in America that's assembled in America helps either create or preserve an American job. That's very good for America.

Custom-Built Computers are Good For Our Planet.
While planned obsolescence is good for manufacturers, it's creating an ecological nightmare for our planet. The waste generated by disposing of electronic items is known as "e-waste". It's not limited to just computers, but includes televisions, stereos, cell phones, and all other electronic devices and products. But let's stick with computers for purposes of this discussion.

Usually when a consumer buys a new computer an old one has to be disposed of. Computers contain various toxic elements such as lead, mercury, cadmium and a wide variety of other metals and toxins that are perfectly safe when used as originally designed. However, once they get to our landfills, the problems begin.

All these various toxins eventually wind up finding their way into our water tables and the ground above and below our water tables. The crops farmers grow and we eat are dependent on water tables as well as the ground above and below them. The water we drink in our homes and businesses come from water tables. These various toxins also wind up in our air as a result of various incinerators and other burning of trash.

In the long run, given the cost-efficiency factors involved with custom-built computers, they will help reduce the amount of toxic waste being dumped in our landfills. Custom-built computers are clearly not the complete solution to the e-waste problem, but they are a very important component. Every computer that can be repaired or upgraded instead of being replaced is going to cut down on the amount of e-waste created.

When it comes time to replace your existing computer with a custom-built one, TCS will take your old computer off your hands. If possible, we'll refurbish it and find it a good home. Your old computer could very easily be the answer to a low-income family, or a community organization who can't afford new equipment.