Solid place. Ordered what I needed and it came in within a few days. Would definitely use them again

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

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

Very friendly staff and you get your questions answered immediately. For gpus they do bundle deals to eliminate scalpers and gpu miners which shows they truly care about their gaming audience. I really hope proof of stake takes over so they can have an endless stock of gpus. Nonetheless, a great store if your looking to build a new pc or upgrade hardware. They even tell you which parts of compatible with others. read more

Another store (like pixelusa) for parts and other services. They do have a good stock in parts and a lot of stuff that place like frys don't have. Their prices are competitive and I find that pixelusa usually beats them. The upside is that these two place are right down the street from each other. So if pixelusa doesn't have it, central should and vice versa. The only downside to this place is the staff. Every time I walk in there nobody says hi or even looks at me. I go searching for my part and if I can't find it, its sometimes hard to get somebody to help me. Granted this isnt all the time but enough that it has bothered me. Still a good store. read more

This place was recommended to me back in 2000. I built my desktop a la carte from the selections on their website, and it's still going strong 8 years later. I'm very happy with their service, and have stopped in many times since my initial purchase. I'm glad to find they have a location closer to me! Great customer support - which is different from service. Honest opinions about the stuff they sell vs what other people sell. I'm happy to pass along the recommendation to go to these guys for your computer needs! read more

I do not like to give a bad review about any company, but I need to speak out about central computers sending out used items in the mail and one major purchase ASUS z790 Rog Strix E gaming motherboard that was sent out by central computers had bent pins in the cpu socket area. When I spoke with a female manager she didn't care about what I found and threw there bent pin policy in my face as if I did it. A week later I called again to try and work it out with a sales person Eric NG said that a replacement motherboard would be sent out after confirming the bent pins even if management declined the RMA I was told by Eric NG that the replacement would out of pocket by central computers and sent to my address, I called again a day later for an update and I was told a different story and to wait for them to call me back. I have the emails from The sales person confirming a new motherboard was going to be shipped out but after speaking with central computers today i don't know what they will do and my medical pc is down while waiting for central computers to make up there mind. If anyone buys pc parts online be careful as this can happen to you. read more

I stopped by this place to see if they can give me a better deal than Best Buy (this is where I got my previous desktop). And they really did give me a good experience. First of all - the guy who helped me to build and customize my computer Pedro is very nice and knowledgeable. He did the best in finding out what I am looking for and built a very good desktop for my budget. I had to bring the new desktop and two monitors the day after just to get help with connecting two monitors - another guy Chris helped me immediately and very quickly. I got everything up in running and love my new desktop. All in all - at this time my experience with Central Computers is better than with Best Buy. read more

I built my first computer from here 15 years ago and somehow it felt off my radar. My recent visit blew me away with how helpful the staff are. They had everything in stock that no other retailer had in stock for 250 miles. Frys is in my rearview, Central is my new geek out spot. read more

I had a problem with an enclosure that I bought from them - the plastic part on the SATA port broke. Although they would have been within their rights not to accept the return as the product was damaged and the vendor was unlikely to accept responsibility for the poor designed (or possibly defective) product, the store worked with me on it by giving me a store credit for the cost of the enclosure. This is service you will not get on line. Kudos to Central Computers for great customer service! read more

Great products and very knowledgeable and helpful staff. I went in not knowing exactly what I wanted and they gave a lot of good advice.

Wow, I can't believe the SERVICE I recieved from central computers. I bought a motherboard from their retail store. It just did not work at a stable condition with my set up, so I tried to return a motherboard to their store. THEY WOULD NOT LET ME RETURN the product. The motherboard just did not work with my setup, so I attempted to returned the motherboard. They accused me of damaging the motherboard itself, so they gave me two options: 1. Keep the piece of crap motherboard that only Central Computers carries. 2. Try to contact ASUS to fix the motherboard. 3. Pay Central $45 so they can get it fixed, giving me the difference of the amount. So instead of getting my refund with a 15% restocking fee reduction, I HAD TO PAY 45$ for them for repairs. What a load of crap. Bunch of bs. They just lost all my future business and I will make sure to let others know. -limited selection of products -crap customer service -horrible return policy ** DO NOT LET THEIR PRICES TEMPT YOU, if anything goes wrong with the product, you will not have a good time returning it!!*** read more

Reasonable service, selection and prices. I usually shop here for computer parts. Unlike Fry's Electronics, Central Computers has knowledgeable salespeople, and no crowds. They close a little early in the evening, because knowledgeable salespeople deserve to have a life, too. Just check the hours before you go. If you are a business, join their Preferred Business Customer program for good discounts. Watch the return policy at Central Computers. It's much tighter than anywhere else. If there is any possibility that you might want to return something, don't buy it here. For example, I buy almost all of my hard disks here--when I need a hard disk, I need a hard disk and I'm not going to change my mind about it. ----- One area for improvement is laptop batteries. I needed a new battery quick, and Central Computers had it in stock. Excellent. Then it started to fail within the warranty period. Central Computers agreed to honor the warranty. Good. The problem was that the manufacturer wants to inspect the battery before providing the replacement, and this takes three weeks. Actually, it took two months, and the replacement battery was inferior to the one I bought originally (RMA SV0116). Sometimes I can do without a battery in my laptop, but now is not one of those times. So I bought a new one at atbatt.com, where I got a much stronger battery with the industry standard one year warranty. Central Computers offers only a 6 month warranty. Once I received my new battery, I returned the failing battery to Central Computers. Did they honor the 6 month warranty? Yes, but barely. Central Computers needs to find a better laptop battery vendor that offers a longer warranty and quicker warranty exchange. read more

I was not looking forward to buying a new laptop - I hate windows 8 and the new PC bloatware and the hassle of configuring a dual boot system with Linux, finding drivers, etc, etc, etc! But XP was no longer supported and the old pc was several years past its prime. I started researching the new technologies soon decided on the HW components but the total package wasn't coming together. I looked and spoke with the big box stores, Costco, Fry's, Amazon, Dell, Lenovo. And if the HW wasn't bad enough - the SW was overwhelming. Manufacturers were only providing drivers for Windows 8.1 and not Windows 7 and there were driver and compatibility issues with Linux and Windows. I was looking at some long hours and late nights to get the W7 and Linux dual boot system I wanted. I called on Central Computer expecting the standard response - we can't do custom configs.However, in just a few days I had my new laptop with the desired hardware config, Ubuntu and W7 were on the SSD and all peripheral and network drivers working. The extras cost far less than I expected and I saved many, many hours. Good work! Great price! Thanks Central. read more

Good selection and good prices. They carry also business computers (like ThinkPads), not just gaming computers like other retailers.

Great customer service and the only place to take your laptop. I think they can fix anything and no pressure to buy new products

I was following around one of my co-workers because he needed some memory for one of his build it yourself computer Frankenstein projects. I have to admit there was a lot of shite they carried here and they were much friendlier and useful than Fry's. Now if they could just be more conveniently located... read more

Yelp needs a ten star section for this company. The techs don't talk down to you and are very competent and knowledgeable. Tech Kevin sets the standard for quality work and should be considered a valuable asset to Central Computers. This was my second contact with the company and it was super succesful as was the first. I drove eighty three miles from Modesto, CA. because this company is the only one that I trust to do the work. It was worth every mile and expense. They have my business now and in the future. Good Job folks!!! read more

Excellent customer service. Im a novice in the PC building world so their guidance was much appreciated. Fair prices for the items that I wanted, and they even suggested some parts that were better deals than the ones I came in to look for. 10/10 on all fronts. read more

Probably the best place for day to day computer parts shopping in the Bay Area. Their salespeople generally know what they are talking about (a HUGE plus!) and their prices are generally very reasonable when compared with other stores. If you are a fan of Asus products, then this is the best place to go since they seem to stock just about everything Asus has ever made. One major plus in my opinion - their prices on cables of all kinds are TOP NOTCH! No one beats Central Computer on cable prices of any kind. My only complaint about Central Computer is their hours. They close to early on weekdays and even earlier on weekends. Where oh where is the 24/7 computer store? read more

I've never used the repair service here, but just about every PC that I have built has had the majority of it's guts come from Central. Prices are good and component selection is great. I don't think I've bought a processor or motherboard anywhere else in the last 10 years. When I build my army of robots that I shall use to take over the world, a lot of the parts in the prototype will come from Central. That's the evil genius stamp of approval. read more

Better than Fry's! Are you kidding. For who? Fry's has the location. The prices. The selection. The ads. The only thing that Fry's doesn't have is competent help on the floor but I can deal with that for the other bonuses. If you are looking for little things like computer cases why go here when Fry's has 10 times the selection and a better return policy. I am giving them 3 stars because my computer genius friend, Iztok loves this place and he knows much better than I do about good and bad stores. I just liked Fry's much, much better. read more

So what can I say? Central Computers demonstrated compassion and empathy to my unique situation. They actually picked up the phone, managers were willing to talk to me, they had a PHONE NUMBER to call, they were very courteous and amiable, despite me being more or less a thorn in their side. They did right by me. This is not intended to trash competitors, but to some degree, it is warranted - some of them have just abandoned the phone (MC) --none of their stores have phone numbers anymore, its absurd. Others, like BB, just offer you canned responses with very little care as to the product you need, its just "we dont have it in stock" despite the fact that...they do, its visible, right there, on the shelf....just cant use paypal in store. and they are a tech giant...probably need to upgrade their SAP systems. The difference is that Central Computers cared, got me what I needed and I think they are awesome, and you-- whoever might read this, should buy from them before you buy from anyone else. I know Ill be ordering parts from them, assuming they are available, in the future, before I order from the usual suspects. Hidden Gem 5/5. Gratz. read more

If you're a computer person who likes to build their own systems or are looking for just the right part whether that is a new hard drive, motherboard or power supply, this place is great. Don't expect to come here needing help or to ask questions though, go to Best Buy for that. The guys here don't always seem to speak English very well and communication can be difficult sometimes. That said, you can walk in, grab the railing kit you're looking for, drop $5 and be on your way in minutes. read more

Came in to check out some items I needed for my computer and got help by Norman and he was super helpful! But when I was about to check out I was helped by an older asian man in the front. Didn't catch his name, but he was extremely rude! He was rude towards me , towards his own employees. The entire time I was looking around he kept staring at me as if I was going to run out with the items. He made me feel so uncomfortable. He kept saying rude things the entire time read more

Chester fixed it! Recently, I took my computer in for a pretty sizeable overhaul. New, CPU, Mobo, RAM, you get the picture. Seemed like a routine thing and it had been about 9 years since my last major upgrade. I was told I could expect to pick up my rig in the next couple of days. The days came and went and my computer wasn't ready. No worries. It was the holidays and I figured and they were slammed so I called the next day and was assured everything would be ready by the weekend. Saturday, I arrive, pick up my computer and when I drive home and plug it in, it wouldn't boot. At this point I'm frustrated. I return the computer and tell the technicians the issue, only to be told that perhaps I bumped it on the way home and I broke it. Now I'm angry. I may not know as much as they do about computers, but I'm not ignorant. I'm know enough to know that the computer not booting was a software, not a hardware issue. I continually ask to speak to a manager and am told repeatedly that they're all busy and am told that I'll have to wait a few more days for another diagnostic and that I'll be charged again! Now I'm livid. I get home and immediately call and request a manager; enter Chester. Chester answers and I relay the issue. With patience and understanding, Chester listens to every phase while asking the appropriate questions in order to gain a full understanding. Immediately, he puts his crew to work on my box, making it priority number one. He offers nothing but apologies and even goes so far as to wave the extra fees. Over the next several hours, Chester calls me several times updating me on the progress and status in real time. When the system was finished, the crew noticed my GPU was running a tad hot and Chester had them install a cooling system gratis! I can't say enough about the care, attention and customer service Chester provided and how he completely put a disgruntled customer at ease. I've been going to Central Computers for over a decade and he ensured I'll continue to return. I have always recommended Central Computers to any that ask and that won't change any time soon! read more

As others have said, you can get much better prices than Fry's, and their stuff hasn't been returned and repackaged like Fry's either. You can get slightly better prices online, but I don't bother unless they don't have what I need, it's close enough. Staff at this store is pretty friendly, and you can be assured that when you ask for specifics between two motherboards, they can answer your question confidently and clearly. read more

I recently bought a 3070 from Central Computers but unfortunately the item was defective. I went in today and Rohan and the team at Central Computers were not only able to give me an exchange, but also fixed multiple other issues all for free. The service, as usual, was fantastic and I would highly recommend going for any computer needs. read more

I have always wanted to build my PC and customize it the way I want to but I was always too lazy to order and wait for the parts. After a bit of research, I was lucky enough to come across Central Computers! This is a store that, without a doubt will have anything and everything you need for PC building. After visiting the store almost everyday for two weeks they have been able to provide me with every component that was needed for my build without failing to provide excellent service! Everyone is very knowledgeable and knows almost exactly what you need every time. I'm not quite that educated with the PC world myself and after explaining that to them, they were able to familiarize me with all the necessary parts that are need for PC building while teaching me how they work in a digestible manner. I'm now 100% confident when buying my parts and will without fail, buy all my parts from Central Computers. Their customer service is superior as they actually care about their customers and their knowledge/skills are world class. Any issue I might have with my PC in the future whether it's with the hardware or programming won't be a challenge for Central Computers. I highly recommending checking these guys out, I'm without a doubt a customer for life! read more

This is THE place to go to get friendly professional parts and services for home / custom PC builds - I've been a patron for nearly 20 years and especially during COVID they have been particularly awesome. Bravo! read more

My wife's Toshiba laptop stopped worked four months past the warranty date. We took it to one repair shop. They said it sounded like a fried motherboard and wanted $200 to diagnose it. The next day I called back to find out that a motherboard would cost me about $2500, almost what we paid for the whole laptop! I got it outta there fast! Another repair shop quoted me $300 to replace the MB, but he said he had it in stock when he really didn't. Instead, he bought the exact same model laptop on eBay, and obviously planned on using its MB. The dishonesty put me off. I ended up going to Central Computers, which is where I bought my desktop. They charged me $35 to diagnose it. Yes, it was the motherboard, and it would cost about $2400 to replace it. I was told I could either try to locate a used motherboard, or to just replace the laptop. Basically, for $35 I got valid information, right up front, as advertised, no BS. I ended up buying an older IBM laptop on eBay for $140. It runs XP no problem, and works like a charm. I have an even older IBM laptop and it runs great too! read more

I like central computers as an alternative to frys, when I buy components here there is a much higher chance they will work. Once in a while I run into a problem with their tech department. i had to get an rma number to get a video card replacement. it took a week and a few unpleasant interations. their prices are fair an most staff members are knowledgable and helpful. read more

Being an IT professional, I totally screwed myself with leaving my power supply to my 5 yr old Sony laptop at another site, 6 hours away. I was on the road for another 2 days and without a laptop. I USE this laptop to directly connect to other peoples computers throughout the state! This is my lifeline! A Droid just does not do! So in a bind, I googled from my Droid, and gave them a call. The next morning, I easily found the store, walked in, and found a power supply for my old laptop! It took about 5 minutes in and out to be back in business! My only complaint was it was about 40.00 bucks, but oh well. They saved me! What a cool nerdy store! read more

Gladson at Central Computing is the BEST ! Yeah, this is a place to go when you need someone to help when the little lights stop working. I have had a few trips to CC, and they have all ended with the PROBLEM = SOLVED ! And, usually, it ended up with the cost being less than I expected. This last time I had all kinds of wacky home internet issues. Things were working fine, then my 17 year old got involved and renamed the router and changed the cables around, and I really don't know why. Mostly because he is 17, I think. Anyway . . . I popped in to whine about my internet, which has always been kinda iffy, and Gladson steered me to a Deco Home Mesh. I was super impressed with Gladson. He really understands what tools and equipment is available. And, he was able to understand my semi-incorherent rambling and was able to pose his questions in a verbage that I understood. In minutes, he diagnosed my issues, found two solutions, offered expert advice on which of the two he would fell most comfortable sending me out the door with. It really was great working with Gladson. And, it really was great having my home internet issues SOLVED. - AndrewO, in San Jose, Calif read more

I can't express enough how much they play around with new releases forcing new releases to be limited to system builds etc. What is the point of having a pc component store when you can't just walk in and buy the new stuff? They are always making events out of it or some crazy difficult way of purchase. Wish microcenter reopened in the bay area need some normal stores one thing to waste people money with up-priced items its another to waste people or consumers times with you games. Sign the petition for Microcenter return read more

Do not come here! TERRIBLE SERVICE and bad parts! Purchased a hard drive here and got it replaced and installed on my computer in November 2018, and as of yesterday it is BROKEN!! Broken within a few months! Was told at the time that this "brand new" hard drive will last me years! I brought my computer in to see them today, wasn't sure if this was the problem or something else because turned my computer on yesterday and could not see anything on my monitor. The guy in repair department (very RUDE and Condescending!)ran a quick diagnostic and told me it was the hard drive that is broken and there is nothing they can do since it has been passed their 90days return policy!!! He was so rude and talked down on me the entire time, even as far as saying "nothing is guaranteed in life, I can be living today and dead tomorrow. These things happens all the time!!" He says I would have to contact manufacturer myself and get another one or pay for another "brand new" one at their store to replace! WHAT!!!!! How is it that my old hard drive lasted me years and suddenly I get it replaced here with a "brand new" one and broken within months! At least take responsibility for the parts you sell in your store!! For all I know, they could be buying bad parts and selling it at their store saying that it is "brand new"! Never felt so disrespected and unhappy with a service like this that I have to come here on yelp to write my very first yelp review! The repair guy in the store is the most condescending and rude! At least be a little more sympathetic and understanding to your customers who buys products and services from you and then have it broken in few months. Give alternative options in a nicer manner and maybe you will have a happier customer who will come back and refer others! I called back after I left requesting to speak to their Manager, but we told all their managers were either "busy" or out "sick"! Still waiting to hear back.... Never again coming back here and would not recommend anyone to trust their parts or service!!! What I have left is a broken computer! Update: Lauren C., not sure if you are the owner of the company or a "marketing" person the company hired to ease negative yelp reviews...I am not responding to your direct message because I am not sure why the Managers that are actually physically at the store watching over their employees have not returned my request to speak to them. Yes, you gave me the numbers to the manager to call them back, but I clearly called them several times on the same day and clearly gave my direct number to your staff to have one of the managers call me back. Yet, I have not gotten a single phone call from anyone at the store. You stated in your direct message that you are a marketing person for the company and you are reaching out to me, but you are technically not physically at the store so you don't really know how the store is ran, so it makes no sense for me to talk to you about my experiences there. At this point, I am running low on hope of your customer service skills and probably don't even want to speak to anyone there even if they call now... read more

Horrible, almost non-existent customer service and a pitiful selection of laptops. In my case they preferred to watch my every move while I shopped rather than ask if I needed help. I wanted to patronize this independent establishment as opposed to a giant store like Best Buy but I was super disappointed by the experience. Off to Best Buy (or Frys) I guess... read more

Bought a Ryzen 3 3100 at MSRP, maybe even lower! And I had bought a b450m pro 4, sadly, it wasn't available anymore so they had to refund me the money. The Ryzen processor worked perfectly and was brand new, it was amazing especially for the price. I would recommend this place to anyone, however, I hope they keep updating the website so other people don't go through this. read more

Went in for a diagnostics check on my motherboard and CPU. The guys who worked with me were fantastic, and knew exactly what I wanted done. They were quick with the check and I was out the door in an hour with new parts to replace the broken one. I had an amazing experience and will definitely go back to buy from them again. read more