Quality Control

The quality of any company’s product is dependent on proper control procedures. Our extensive quality control system ensures that your computer receives all the attention needed to make sure you get what you paid for! Every one of our configurations receives a customized checklist, depending on the components in the system, applications we know the customer will be running on it, and other factors. Below is a sample of what our build check-off is like.

Example of Puget Systems Build Checklist

Phase 1 Build / Assembly

• Review Work Order, Build Notes, and Internal Status

  We review the order and notes to ensure that any special build requests are performed.

• Check Parts and Serial Numbers

  Before starting assembly on your system, we verify that we have all the correct parts and everything is accounted for.

• Install M.2 Drives

  We install your M.2 drives to the motherboard.

• Assemble Core Components

  We assemble the core parts of your system outside the chassis. This includes the motherboard, CPU, CPU cooler, and system memory.

• Disable Onboard Video via Switch

  We disable the onboard video on this motherboard to avoid conflict with a dedicated video card.

• Verify Condition of Chassis and Panels

  We inspect your system chassis for any structural or cosmetic defects before beginning to mount components.

• Apply Puget Branding to Chassis

  We brand the front door of your chassis with the Puget systems logo.

• Mount Fans

  We replace the stock fans with upgraded models.

• Mount Drives

  We securely install your drives in your system.

• Apply Order Number Sticker

  We apply a small sticker with the order number to the back of your system.

• Mount Motherboard

  We install the motherboard in your system and ensure it is fastened securely and ports line up correctly.

• Mount Radiator

  We mount the radiator for your closed-loop cooler.

Phase 2 Build / Assembly

• Review Work Order, Build Notes, and Internal Status

  We review the order and notes to ensure that any special build requests are performed.

• Verify Condition of Chassis and Panels

  We inspect your system chassis for any structural or cosmetic defects before beginning to mount components.

• Wire Front Panel Connections

  We connect any switches and ports integrated into your system’s chassis to the appropriate connectors on the motherboard or add-in cards.

• Wire Power Supply Connections

  We run the cabling from your power supply to make all necessary power connections to the motherboard and backplane.

• Connect Supplemental PCIe Power to Motherboard

  We connect the supplemental PCIe power connectors to the headers on your motherboard.

• Wire Data Connections

  We connect the data cables for your drives securely and neatly.

• Verify Complimentary Hard Drive Pre-Wire

  We make sure that any requested pre-wiring for drives is in place. Additionally, for our more user-serviceable chassis, we ensure every system is wired for at least two hard disks to allow for easy addition of storage to single-drive configurations.

• Install Cards

  We install any video cards or other add-in controller cards in your system.

• Secure Any Unsecured Cables

  We use hot glue on any delicate connections to help keep them from becoming disconnected during shipping.

• Mount Power Supply

  We mount the power supply securely in your system’s chassis.

• Install GPU Brace

  We install a custom video card support brace to help protect your system during shipping.

• Install Chassis Reinforcement Plate

  We install a custom brace to join two internal plates within the case for added structural rigidity when your system ships. We have found that this greatly reduces damaged to the video cards and motherboards caused by potential shipping carrier mishandling.

• Check for POST of fully completed system

  With assembly fully completed, we make sure that the system still turns on and boots correctly.

• Update System BIOS to Approved Version

  We update your motherboard’s BIOS to the most recent stable release provided by the manufacturer and approved by Puget Systems.

• Change Remote Management Password

  We change the Remote Management Login Password to comply with California Senate Bill 327. The updated password will be provided in a binder with the system accessories.

• Apply Standard BIOS Settings

  We configure your system with our standard BIOS settings.

• Disable Full Screen Boot Logo

  We disable the manufacturer splash screen that displays during system POST.

• Verify Secure Boot Setting is Correct

  We ensure that the Secure Boot Setting in the BIOS is set to Windows

• Verify All Devices are Detected and Connected to Appropriate Ports

• Save BIOS Profile

• Verify Condition of Chassis and Panels

  We inspect your system chassis for any structural or cosmetic defects before beginning to mount components.

• Verify all fans are spinning at desired RPM

  We check that all system fans spin up and operate with the intended settings. For fans connected to a chassis controller, we check that they operate correctly on all settings of the controller.

• Test Reset Button (If Applicable)

  We check that your chassis’ reset button (if it has one) is connected and functional.

• Verify front LED functionality

  We check that any appropriate chassis indicator lights, such as power or disk activity LEDs, are connected and functioning as expected.

Phase 1 Testing

• Begin memory testing

  We run an initial test on your CPU and RAM to check for errors that could lead to instability or a corrupted OS install.

• Complete memory testing

  We review the initial CPU and RAM test results to confirm that everything is working as expected.

Install / Setup

• Review order

  We check for any special instructions there may be for your order to ensure that the system is configured exactly how you want it.

• Install Windows 11 Pro 64-bit

  Your primary drive is installed with a base level install of the operating system, which is later customized to your order.

• Install / update device drivers

  All the most recent drivers (downloaded from the manufacturer) are loaded for your devices.

• Load Install Program

  Puget Systems uses an internally developed utility for deploying updates, software packages and customized benchmark suites.

• Apply Puget OS Branding

  Give the system a nice Puget Systems feel. We change the background and lock screen as well as add our contact information to the computer properties which can be viewed by pressing the Windows key + pause break buttons.

• Install approved Windows updates

  All Windows updates and service packs are applied.

• Confirm successful driver installation

  We double check all installed devices to confirm that all drivers loaded correctly.

• Compare System Specs to Order specs

  We double check all installed devices using an inhouse utility to confirm that they match what was ordered.

• Confirm Windows serial key(s)

  We double check the serial key assigned to your system using an in house tool to confirm that we will not run in to issues activating the system.

• Initialize and format additional disks

  We initialize all additional internal drives as GPT and format them as NTFS. We then assign them a drive letter based on how they appear on the order (i.e. secondary drive = D, tertiary drive = E, etc.). If Linux is on the order, these drives will be reformatted when the final OS is installed.

• Confirm latest SSD firmware

  We open the manufacturers management software for your drive(s) and confirm it has the latest firmware. If needed we will flash them to the latest firmware.

• Confirm correct Discrete GPU bandwidth

  We double check to make sure that the systems video card(s) are running at the expected bandwidth in relation to motherboard specifications.

• Test front panel USB ports

  All front USB ports are tested to confirm connectivity and speed.

• Test front panel audio

  We confirm that the front panel audio jacks (sound and microphone) are working as expected. The rear audio ports will be inspected during the QC phase.

Phase 2 Testing

• Double check system specs

  Your system specs are double checked for any mistakes, using an automated utility we have built that not only checks for the right parts, but that they are configured correctly.

• Stress Test

  We run a combination of Prime95 and AIDA64 to stress your system far beyond typical loads.

• CrystalDiskMark

  We run CrystalDiskMark to benchmark the read/write speeds of all your hard drives.

• LAME MP3 Encoder

  LAME MP3 Encoder is used to test system performance when encoding MP3 audio files

• NeatBench

  NeatBench is a standalone benchmarking for Neat Video – a popular tool to reduce visible noise and grain found in footage from digital video cameras, DSLRs, TV-tuners and even digitized film or VHS.

• OctaneBench

  OctaneBench is a benchmarking utility based on OctaneRender (a popular GPU-based rendering engine). This benchmark evaluates the rendering performance of your GPU(s)

• V-Ray

  V-Ray is commercial plug-in for third-party 3D computer graphics software applications and is used for visualizations and computer graphics. This benchmark evaluates both CPU and GPU performance when using V-Ray.

• Adobe Photoshop

  Adobe Photoshop is the most widely used professional photo editing and manipulation software currently on the market. Our benchmark tests a wide range of tasks to give an idea of how your system should perform in Photoshop.

• Adobe After Effects

  Adobe After Effects CC is a widely used application for motion graphics and animation. Our benchmark tests two critical areas of performance – RAM Preview (live playback) and Rendering (exporting) – with a number of different projects.

• Adobe Premiere Pro

  Adobe Premiere Pro CC is an industry-leading non-linear video editing application. Our benchmark tests two critical areas of performance – Live Playback and Exporting – with a number of different media codecs, resolutions, and effects.

• Unigine Superposition

  Unigine Superposition is used to evaluate system performance in DX11 applications at display resolutions including 1080p, 4K, and 8K.

• NBody CUDA

  The Nbody CUDA benchmark is used to verify the maximum theoretical compute performance of NVIDIA-based video cards

• CineBench

  CINEBENCH is a real-world cross platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s performance capabilities. CINEBENCH is based on MAXON’s award-winning animation software CINEMA 4D, which is used extensively by studios and production houses worldwide for 3D content creation

• Upload and review benchmark results

  All the benchmarks taken during the phase 2 testing process are recorded on our server, providing you with benchmark scores, and providing us with statistical information that will help us assist future customers. We also upload our temperature logs, giving you a baseline you can compare to after you receive the system.

Quality Control

• Review Order Updates and Checkoff

  We review the order updates as it contains a build log for actions performed by the various technicians prior to QC to check if additional testing has to be performed and verify requests are fulfilled.

• Verify Expected Video Card and Disk Results

  We review key benchmark results to verify that installed components are operating as expected.

• Verify Condition of Chassis and Components

  We physically inspect the exterior and interior of the chassis to check for cosmetic blemishes around high friction points and that components are installed and aligned properly.

• Verify System Initialization Noise

  When the system is powered on and components are initializing before the system POST beep, we check that the configured components do not have excessive noise.

• Disable Network Stack in BIOS

  We use an imaging software for installing Windows that requires settings in the BIOS to be adjusted. We turn these settings off as they are not normally used outside of our imaging software.

• Verify BIOS Profile is Saved

  We check that a profile is saved in the motherboard BIOS that retains the settings we adjust to be used again in case BIOS settings are lost due to an unexpected occurrence.

• Record Approximate Boot Time

  We record how long, in seconds, the system takes to boot into the OS and also to check that it is booting in the expected amount of time.

• Verify System Properties

  We check in the OS system properties to make sure that the configured OS, processor, and correct memory capacity is detected.

• Verify Puget OS Branding

  We check that our Puget desktop background is set.

• Verify Drives are Present, Partitioned, and Labeled

  We review that all configured system drives are partitioned and drive letters are assigned based on drive priority.

• Verify in Device Manager Components are Detected

• Verify Sound Quality Output

  We check the 3.5mm audio outputs for clarity and balanced volume.

• Verify Functionality of Onboard Networking Devices

  We test available networking devices on the system for proper network and device detection.

• Test Thunderbolt Compatible Ports

  We test that the available Thunderbolt compatible ports are detecting a certified external drive in an OS environment.

• Test All External USB Ports

  A USB thumb drive is plugged in and out from every external USB port to verify USB detection.

• Test USB2.0 on Populated USB3.0 Headers

  We check that USB 3.0 front panel ports and/or USB 3.0 expansion brackets can detect USB2.0 devices in the OS.

• Test All Video Outputs

  We verify that all video outputs are functioning correctly even if ports will be disabled or unused due to the system configuration.

• Monitor System at Idle

  We verify that the system is running as expected and within tolerances by monitoring the system at idle. This is performed by using a thermal camera and a wattage meter to monitor the system as load tests on the configured hardware are ran.

• Monitor System under Load

  We verify that the system is running as expected and within tolerances by monitoring the system under load. This is performed by using a thermal camera and a wattage meter to monitor the system as load tests on the configured hardware are ran.

• Cap Secondary or Unused Video Ports

  We cap the video ports on the system that will either be used as a secondary video card or the ports will be unused based on the system configuration

• Clean Up Windows Installation

  We remove the programs used to install the configured OS and necessary software to test the hardware and check that remnant files and folders are deleted from those programs.

• Scan Windows COA

  We input the Windows COA into our installation suite to be activated when the system is powered on and connected to the internet.

• Prepare and Verify Restore Media Creation

  After a system inspection we create restore media for your system

• Confirm Proper Windows Out of Box Experience

  After creating restore media we check one last time to confirm that your system will boot as expected to the Windows Customer Experience screen.

Final Preparation

• Verify Check-Off is Completed

  We verify that all checkpoints have been completed throughout the production process and parts section.

• Affix COA to Chassis

  Your Windows COA is attached to your case.

• Include HDMI Cable

  We include a HDMI cable with your computer so that you are sure to have everything you need when you set it up.

• Include Display Port Cable

  We include a Display Port cable with your computer so that you are sure to have everything you need when you set it up.

• Verify Power Cord and Essential Accessories are Included

  We double check to make sure you have everything you need for system set up!

Packing / Shipping

• Paperless Procedure (Optional)

  Thank you for choosing paperless. We all must do our part to help the environment and limit or consumption of resources. Small steps like this can create a ripple effect for changes to come.

• Include Marketing Materials

  Getting stressed out? Grab your stress cube and give us a call! We included a sticker to show you are Puget Proud as well as some Business cards.

• Take Pictures of the System

  We take pictures of each system before we ship.

• Final Chassis Cleaning

  Since the computer has been handled, we ensure it is clean as a last step before boxing it up.

Read what our customers have to say about our quality control!

Read more testimonials from Puget Systems clients.