I've been there many times in the past and spent some significant money. Service was never their strong point since they are basically a bunch of computer nerds. Today they hit a new low. I went in looking for a specific item, which after wandering the store for 10 minutes, I found locked up in a glass case. There was no one available to help me! All employees were either stocking shelves or on the phone. I hung around hoping somebody would offer to help, then just went home and ordered what I needed on-line. Tip for management: If no one recognizes the customer needs help and offers assistance, it's because no one cares. In that case, they might as well shop on-line. I don't believe I'll be back. read more

These guys have pretty good, knowledgable, and fast repair service. The people working there are friendly and keep you updated during any repairs. They also do their best to ensure you chose the product right for you, not the one to make the most money which I was very happy about. Overall they are pretty great, their labor is a bit expensive, but at the same time they get the job done really fast. My computer was ready in 2 hours after dropping it off. read more

This place is what Fry's used to be: a store where you can actually buy everything needed to solve a "nerd emergency" at any time. They even have things that you actually need in stock, unlike Fry's. And their sales people will actually help you instead of waiting for you to fill your cart with items and then lazily write a quote like they do at Fry's. I can't believe I had never been to the Santa Clara location. They have boatloads of stuff here including all the latest and greatest components. A wall full of networking hardware, cases full of graphics cards, and row after row of useful gear. Puts Fry's to shame and I am glad I finally found it! read more

Had issues setting up a custom gaming pc. Brought it in for help and they were great! All three employees I worked with were helpful and patient. Paid for rush service and it was diagnosed and done same day:) Thanks so much! read more

Support your local businesses! Great service and excellent prices. If you need any wires and other miscellaneous PC internals, Central Computer has the best prices. Got a SATA cable for my SSD here for only $1! What a bargain. read more

Left me hanging in live chat after making me wait for almost 20mins. ZERO customer service!! read more

Central Computers - IT Services & Computer Repair Near Me - Santa Clara, California

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WASTE OF MY TIME!!! Called them a day before I came. I asked the employee on the phone if I can bring my laptop screen protector (plastic) so they can put it on my laptop. He said "yes, you can bring it and have someone take care of it for you." I came to the place and dealt with the Filipino Jerk with glasses and small slick back pony tail. He said that they don't do that and I explained to him that someone on the phone said to bring them over and have it done. I would've been charged for their service, which I didn't know. The Filipino jerk told me that the guy I called was a new hire and didn't know everything, which caused miscommunication. The other employees don't even know what they would do with my screen protector, since it's plastic. He sent me to iFixer to get that solve, which turned out the owner of that store can't do it. I called back Central Computers, requested that Filipino jerk, explained that the guy at iFixer can't do it. The jerk gave me attitude and raised his voice at me saying "I don't know, I just say that place because they "might" help you!" He even raised his voice and showed his passive aggressive attitude while I was in the store too. It's as if he was about to start a fight with me. I also asked the name of person I called the day before and he doesn't know his name (probably just defending that person). My advice to the store manager, train your employees properly and teach them to call the other stores to confirm if they can really fix devices before sending customers there. Also FIRE that Filipino Jerk with glasses and small slick back pony tail! He's clearly not a people person and doesn't know how to help customers with respect! Never coming back to this place! read more

Recently had a broken graphics card and I needed help on replacing mine, I didn't know what to get but Christian helped me out on what graphics card I should get and my computer is back alive ! Will return for more product in future. read more

Friendly and helpful staff. Found what I needed right away. Greeted at the door and assisted to the equipment I needed fairly quicklyz

Recently I went here to purchase an external drive backup system for my desktop computer (and I'm *not* techie!). Ian was extremely courteous,knowledgeable and helpful in regard to several things. I purchased the backup system I wanted and then was very surprised and grateful as we conversed further. I asked him if he could recommend the software I should use with my backup system and I also mentioned I needed more DDR2 RAM (old!) He stepped away and brought me a package of this RAM! I was shocked. And, after following his recommendation of the software to use, it turned out that not only was it very easy and amazing for backing up my system but the company also had software I was able to use instead of iTunes. I was truly blessed to have Ian's help and advice and I *highly* recommend him. This store is truly fortunate to have him on their team! read more

Bought a wireless router some months back and the price was comparable to Amazon. Then, I needed some screws to install an NVMe drive and they just handed me some of their spares! So yeah, +1 for local computer shops. read more

Derek and Edwin have been life savers for me. My PC broke down when I was working on my project. I went to the store and bought a prebuilt PC. They were kind enough to recover/transfer my data to the new PC. They also worked overtime and upgraded my 3080ti to 3090ti. Great thanks to the team! read more

Went in with newly built computer that wouldn't boot. Was told that I would need a new mobo (~$300) as mine had a memory error light. Took it home and switched the slots, computer is working as expected now with no need for hassle or more money. Staff didn't seem like they knew what they were doing. Had a lot of things in there though, not sure about the prices but I doubt they're better than online. I appreciate their analysis but it could have been done in 10 minutes not 3 days and should have costed maybe $5 instead of $30 as it was pretty simple. Go there to look at computer parts if you don't know how to use google or want to be scammed. read more

One of the worst service providers. I have given laptop for screen replacement. The estimate was given to be around $200 with week of schedule. Then after two days the cost was quoted to be $394, almost doubled. I asked for split between material cost and labor cost. The service personnel mentioned that it would take a week to give such a split. I gave the approval anyway on same day as I needed the laptop urgently for daughter school. I had to call up every two days to get update and every time go through the discussion that approval was given already. No proper system to track service logs, no regard for timing/schedule. read more

I brought my laptop with a cracked screen. No other problem with my computer HB Envy. Today almost a month later I'm having big bubbles on my screen appearing and disappearing. So annoyed! I payed over 300.00 for nothing. I ended up buying another computer. Check out other places.. I would give it a one star, but this problem happened the day I got it back and the supposedly "fixed" it. Now it's happening again. Central Computer gets a big fat ZERO STARS! I HAD TO GIVE IT ONE STAR JUST TO POST.,BUT IM TAKING IT BACK!! read more

I provided facts that I could've returned my 3070ti and could've purchased a 3080 card for the same price but these scalpers won't state facts. The fact is that any mark up, that Central Computers tries to justify, is still scalping. Check the definition of scalping, you scalpers. It's sad but true read more

I brought in my mac book since it was giving me an error during boot and they were able to fix it in a timely manner. upon arrival Tom was super friendly and helpful in taking care of my needs. read more

I'm so so so impressed by HOW FAST is this place fixed my laptop. I have a bad history with laptops so having them breakdown on me is not something new. The one thing I dread the most is going through the long waiting period of having it shipped in, wait for it, have them tell me what's wrong blah blah blah you get the deal. I dropped it off on a Thursday for diagnostics. They called me within an hour to let me know they worked on it and knew what the problem was. Wow, I figured everyone would lag for a few days. I decided to go ahead and pay a little extra to have them fix my problem since they said they could fix it in a day. Although my laptop was still under warranty, I didn't feel like going through the hassle of shipping in my laptop and waiting over a week to get it back. (Btw, my hard drive was defective so I needed to have that replaced). True to their word, they finished within a day and by Friday evening, I had my laptop back and in working condition. They even transferred all my files over to my new hard drive and installed a new anti-virus program free of charge (of course I paid for the anti-virus program). As far as service goes, everyone at the cashier and everyone I spoke to on the phone were all super friendly. Tidor (?) the guy who actually fixed my computer, went above and beyond to make sure I knew exactly what was going on at all times with my laptop. He made my entire week haha My ONLY problem with this store is talking to the repair department in person. Maybe they are busy but they didn't seem as friendly as they were on the phone. They were very straight-to-the-point, as if to get me out of their face. I don't know but I was so impressed getting my laptop back in less than 24 hours that I would definitely come here again if (and when) my laptop dies again. read more

Saturday Morning I called Central Computers, to ask if they have 4 GB Memory for my computer. On the other line was Mario. He wanted me, to give him the service tag and the model of the computer. He assured me that he has the GBs. Then I told him that I will be there in a half an hour. When I got there with the computer (PC) under my arm, he took it to his station and he told me to come back in 20 minutes. When I came back I took out my wallet to pay, but he interrupted me, saying that the GBs they have at that store are not compatible with my computer. Then he called the San Francisco office and he assured me again that he ordered them and he will have them the next day. I asked him, if he meant in the afternoon and he said, "no, tomorrow early in the morning" Sunday morning I was waiting and waiting for a phone call from Mario, but it never happened. Around noon, I decided to call him and he said "the GBs just came from SF". I unplugged again my computer and in twenty minutes I was there. Mario takes the computer tries to replace the old GBs with a new ones, but after a while he tells me, that what he has, is not compatible again. I thought Mario is absolutely irresponsible. Should I mention that he is not the most articulate person in the world? After two trips to Central Computers, I achieved absolutely nothing. The same afternoon I decided to go to the ClickAway store in Sunnyvale and Leo installed the 4 GBs within five minutes. End of the story. read more

I felt like a douche after my POS HP dv2000 suffered a black death last week. I knew it was coming - the NIC went out, likely the result of an overheating GPU, which would eventually lead to a black screen of death. Now I'm in the middle of my backyard mechanic project that requires a little Solidworks magic, and my only computer with the said software, along with a whole week of work, met its creator. Having heard about all the nice things about Central Computer I decided to give their computer doctor a try. Not that I can't manage to take this thing apart myself, but for the $139 they charge, it just isn't worth the risk off me going into a computer-smashing rage. The kid at the counter looked at my computer and pointed to a piece of paper taped on the counter and said: read this. Sure enough, my dv2000 was on the top of we-can-repair-but-no-warranty list. "I know, but can you throw a piece of copper sheet over the GPU as a poor man's heat sink please"? No can do. That's where they lost a star - they wouldn't take any risk even if I wasn't asking for any warranty. A week later I got a call from them saying my computer was ready. Battled 880 traffic for 20 minutes, I made it there. It wasn't. The computer wasn't there. The guy was apologetic and immediately asked his manager to give me a 10% discount. Things happen, I understand, and I like their attitude. The second day I went back and the computer was waiting for me. Everything started right up, even the NIC was working. Nice work. Life is full of strange karma. I got this computer as a freebie from my sister a year ago, now it cost me more to repair it than its worth. It's one the worst laptops built in recent years, running on the worst operating system since Windows 98, but I did bring it to the best tech to restore it. Time to back it all up and move on. Anyone has a free HP to spare? read more

They just want your money and seem like a second-rate clone parts store that grew up a little and stocked the rest of the store with overruns. I purchased a laptop there and when I got it home I realized that it had already been opened and quite used. I brought it back the next day and they wanted to charge me a restocking fee even tough it was used. They stated that since it had plastic wrap on it, it was new and unused. It was only when I pulled up a file associated with Central-something from about a month prior, did they refund my $$ is full. Apparently CENTRAL is a mix-mosh of computer stores, real estate holdings, a flooring company and more. But, the best one that I saw when I was there was someone purchasing a hard drive with the price marked on it. At the register, they wanted to charge him some surcharge that was not on the price tag because drives are so hard to get from Thailand. The joint is just a rip-off. STAY AWAY!! read more

Great service Great prices + they will match prices if you bring in the ad. Great selection. Central Computer is one of the best places to buy your network cables, and audio / video cables. Cables at other places are marked up way too much. read more

I came here when my wonderful Omega External drive died. I purchased a Samsung SSD drive here and had them recover it to the new SSD. But before all that, Joey helped me figure out what was wrong with it and even waived the diagnostic fee, using it towards the cost of recovery. I got my drive back about a week or so later. However, it was finals time for me...and I couldnt even fathom looking through my files and renaming them. So weeks later, I tried plugging my drive in...it worked once and then stopped reading...also the files I was able to rename was saving on my desktop and not allowing me to drag and drop into my new SSD. SOOO I went in today and Kevin sat there and helped me for an hour free of charge. He re-formatted my drive and I am now able to use my SSD and drag and drop my files back on there. Thanks a lot you guys! So helpful, I truly appreciate it! read more

Old school Silicon Valley computer shop. Competent, helpful and friendly repair team.

This review is for customer service only- not repairs. I have been here when I need random things for my electronics and don't want to pay a ton. For example, iPhone cords and iPad screen protectors. They have decent prices (much much cheaper than Apple, Best Buy ect) and I have never encountered any of the products "cheap" or defective. The people who work here are very helpful and friendly. I also like how the store is laid out. Easy to find things. I will continue to shop here! read more

I don't shop at central computer. I do my research and decide what product I want. I then check their prices and ads for that product. If it works out to be the best deal I take a quick trip. This typically works out to be motherboards, hdds, optical drives, cases, operating systems. However, they are not one stop shopping, but a key tool in building quality rigs. SELECTION: They promote Asus. They have a large selection of their boards and products, but not of many other (if any) manufacturers. They have a nice selection of cases at waist height to look at and tinker with. They have a very small selection of games, I'd guess 10 of the most popular. Lots of cables and extensions. REPAIR: I've never needed to use a computer repair service, but they are the only place I would suggest to a friend or family member that needed help. PRICES: They have constant sales. The sale prices are worth keeping an eye on, some great deals can be had. You typically pay about $5 more than Newegg for a motherboard (including shipping) at non-sale prices. Sometimes I prefer this over internet shops in case I have an issue, I can just bring back and get a replacement that same day. Instant gratification plays a role in that as well. ;) WEBSITE: Their website is lacking, rendering it almost useless. Also note that in store pickup requires a follow-up phone call since the product might not be in stock at your location. PARKING: Spaces are tight. I go down Saratoga passed Stevens Creek and turn at Keystone Ave. (There is a Wienerschnitzel on the corner) Then you can come in behind it and parking is slightly easier/faster. read more

Just got in from black friday! well, this was the only store I hit up, other than frys for my tower(got a pretty sick deal on a great tower). I seriously saved more here than I thought I would, which is awesome! Now onto the store. The store is very clean, I have been in there about 2 times before black friday and everything is set up in a neat manner. The staff today was great and had info, but the last time I went in, the guy I dealt with hardly understood anything I was talking about. I also loved how the first 10 people got a free game, so that was sick! And I love how they actually stocked a bunch of items for people to buy, instead of having 2 or 3 of each sale item. I have a fear my asus MOBO might actually have to be RMA before I even build my PC, but that's because asus apparently sucks at making mobos, so it's not the stores fault...Thankfully they have a pretty good return policy! This might just be my go to store for computer parts as opposed to newegg (You can find things here for the same price pretty much, minus the shipping and you actually have the physical product, which is cool) ANYWHO, the manager was actually nice, the staff was esp. good today, even with all the customers. I'm fairly new at PC gaming rigs, yet everyone I spoke to countless times, was pretty nice about everything..Even though they had to be, duh, But it never seemed forced which was particularly cool. Anyways, this is a pretty good store if you have already done your research....If anyone doesn't know what you're talking about, just relax and take your time and look around...You can spend as long as you want in that store and no one hawks you from across the room...You'll find what you need. /Rant read more

I build my own PC's, or just learned to in the past few years so i'm not a hardcore geek, but know a little: Pros: *Good prices: If you shop around for specfic items, i.e. say a certain monitor, video card, motherboard, etc. I was surprised that they often beat Fry's in price. *Variety yet compact; About right to leisurely walk through the store fairly quickly and see what they have, unlike the long aisles, football field parking lot, big entrance, and vast area at Fry's. *They can build custom PC's for you, which Fry's doesn't do. Cons: *They close too early, Mon-Fri 7:30 p.m, Sat-Sun 6:00 p.m *No match for Fry's selection and variety *Can't compare to Fry's ease-of-returnability read more

My mom always taught me "honesty is the best policy". I've tried to live by those words and expect those I do business with do the same. I've been coming to CC for two years now, since I moved to the south bay. I've always found the prices excellent, sales staff helpful and knowledgeable. I've been a repeat customer because of those reasons. My PC that is used only for payroll, invoicing, banking etc stopped without warning two days ago. I'm pretty good at PC hardware and fixing them, but I had no time this week to deal with it so I thought I'd give CC a try. I knew it was a bad power supply, but when I brought it in I kept my mouth shut (hard for me to do). I have been taken advantage of several times in my life with repairs that were not exactly needed, only to fatten the charges. So I admit it, this was a test. Tim at CC called less than 24 hours after I dropped off the PC and paid the $29.00 diagnostic charge and he told me... "you gotta bad power supply". Not only that, but he has one that will work which is on sale. The diagnostic charge was then applied to the repair and for less than $100.00 I had my computer back online in less than 48 hours. Now, I must say that those folks with the one star reports may have caused the management to change policies. I feel sorry for them, but I would ask they give them a 2nd try since obviously to me, their voices were heard and changes were made to fix those problems. Thanks Tim, and the staff of CC for being honest and fast and a great place to do business. I give them my highest recommendations. -c- read more

My hubby turned me on to this store, and I have been shopping here ever since. I have given up an Fry's because of their horrendous customer service and downright unethical return policies. Also, their prices stink for anything that is not on sale. Central is a small (comparitively speaking) computer store, but has all the basics that you might need. The have a great selection of cables for anything, including A/V, at really low prices. Don't go to Radio Shack! Also, the people who work here know a few things about the products. Personally, I would never rely on a salesperson to tell me what to buy - that is what the internet is for - but, if you have questions about thier product selection or pricing or whatever, you can actually get a real answer. They have a computer service area, that I have used to get a laptop LCD display changed, and I was happy with the service. I recently bought a Lenovo laptop here for a great price. The bonus is now I have a store to go back to if there is anything wrong with it during the initial warranty period. You can't do that when you order online. I am all for supporting the small, local business of the community, because otherwise we would all have fewer options to choose from. There are several other locations around the Bay Area. I highly recommend Central Computers. It is one on of those secrets that only "real techies" know about. read more

I came here a few days ago to shop around for a new Hackintosh computer build I was attempting to do. They didn't have my mobo or processor (both were older models though, so... oh well) but they had a few really good sales on hard drives. I bought the Black Caviar Western Digital for... $80, $87 with taxes. Newegg priced these at $90 not including shipping and tax, so yay! Their selection on computer cases is kinda small and shoddy. Not enough info for their cases, but it's okay, I bought mine elsewhere. Pretty good selection for small parts and wires and other misc. things. I wouldn't say too much about their RAM. Pretty pricey, esp. when I can go to Newegg and buy 2x4gb Ram for $60 on sale. But it's good for if you're in a hurry and need it asap. Service was pretty okay. I can't say it was exceptional or anything, but they do know what they're talking about, or at least can direct you to someone who does. read more

I am writing exceptional Central Computers service and your Chris Whitmeyer. Earlier this month I called Lenovo support about some things not working on my laptop. They told me that the warranty for my laptop had expired in May. Since the standard warranty is 12 months and I bought my laptop from Central Computers last September, the warranty should expire next September. I went round and round with Lenovo with no result. Then I came into the Stevens Creek store and interrupted Chris Whitmeyer, who looked extremely busy. She accepted my interruption, smiled and asked how she could help me. I told her my story. She dropped everything and got on the phone with Lenovo. Like me, she started to get the run around, too. Nevertheless, she got to the right person and got a case opened for me and told me to follow up in a couple of days. I did and found that the warrantee was now in order--they sent a shipping box to me in 1 day. I sent my laptop to them and the fixed laptop came back to me in 6 days. The help I received from Chris made solved my problem, and I am very grateful for the great service. She is a credit to Central Computers. And, I am a satisfied, happy customer. read more

I've always had a good experience with Central Computers. I have been a customer for about 15 years and have always had a good result. I recently used their service and support at the Santa Clara location and Tibor was a great source of knowledge and helped me resolve an issue with hardware incompatibility. I usually service on my own PC but judging from the amount of business they had in the service department, I am guessing they do a great job on repairs. It is my belief that Central cares about the quality of what they stock and is not persuaded by anything but quality when choosing their stock. This is why I go to Central. Some of the "big box stores" will buy any item to put on the shelf even though it might have issues. From my experience Central has a very low return rate because of their attention to quality. Central's sales personnel have always had good knowledge of what they are selling. In the instance I phone and they can't answer a specific question, they have gotten the answer for me from another sales person or other team member. I suggest Central as a great place for anyone to purchase quality computers or parts. read more

Competitive, local and well-stocked yet still not my favorite spot to pick up PC gear. Staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Prices are in line with all the other big name computer stores in the area, although I've found them to be somewhat pricier than Fry's at times...slightly higher than Newegg almost always. I've been told they match prices as well even though I haven't tried that out. I tend to use these guys mostly for the inexpensive OEM keyboards, mice and cases I need from time to time. I would score them four stars but their web site is just terrible. Seems as though they need to hire a full-time web developer to keep the thing up to date and complete. read more

Versus Best buy & Frys, Central Computer may be cheaper & smaller. The place is more designated for geeks that like to build their own computer and engineering projects by picking their own components to start with. I was impressed by the varieties of components they got, ranging from hard drive, mother board, CPU, the stuffs they had were up to date. Other than computer parts, they sold connectors, flash memory storage device, networking device.. etc They also do repairing on laptop, desktop...... The customer service is pretty good, I talked to the sales representative and they seemed to be knowledge, which is rare. read more

An absolute disaster. Brought a computer in for repair. ""First ass" through their so-called "repair" system netted a non-functional computer. Even one of their own computer technicians could not find any files on the computer. After two more days of so-called "repair". I got the computer back, bug will massive data loss. If you ever need a computer repaired in any way, don't go here. My preferred was to leave a half star with this review. read more

Everything you need computers awesome place to find what you need and plenty of selection not to mention the knowledgeable staff will be back for more components in the future!! read more

Wow, I thought Fry's was nerdy...holy cow, this place is uber nerdy. I was sent here by a nerd friend to buy some new fangled wireless router that he was really amped about. Of course, I had to write everything down because I didn't know wtf I'd be asking for. Anyway, I go up to nerd SA and nerdily, I take out piece of paper with said router and show it to nerd SA. Nerd SA immediately knows what I need, and gets the box for me. Nerd SA rings up item, and I'm all done. Nerds rule! read more

Before reading this review, please be aware that I do not come here for the services. In fact, since I have never had to send a computer to service, I am not able to comment on pricing or the time it takes to complete service. I am a big fan of this place because of the selection. I am a Thinkpad collector, so it's nice to come to a place that has the newest Thinkpad computers and components. They have OEM batteries for practically every brand, and a huge selection of desktop cases, which is amazing. The only complaint that I have is that the hard drive prices are a little bit high. So I would definitely not buy from here. read more

I'm an older customer, who needed to move data from my old laptop to a newer model. I didn't want to overlook anything important, so I had Central Computers take care of the data transfer for me. The computer specialist helping me, Derek, was a delight to work with. He was professional, respectful and kind. He heard what I wanted to accomplish, asked what my concerns were and let me know when I could expect the project to be completed. With so many people working or learning from home, the demand for repairs and other services is high. I'm grateful to say, the turn around time was better than expected. When I received my new, data loaded laptop up, Derek made sure I could access my data, gave me my old hard drive and took care of recycling my old laptop for me. I'm a very pleased customer. read more