I recently began building my first gaming PC and ran into issues with power and cabling that prevented the system from turning on. Being new to PC building, I contacted UBreakiFix and specifically spoke with Cody Mack to confirm that he works on gaming computers. After setting an appointment, I brought in my brand-new build, explaining that it had never been powered on.
Cody told me he would look at it the same day or, at the latest, the following day and would provide an update. After five days passed with no communication, I called on day six. Josh answered, asked for my phone number, and told me, "Oh, this has been ready for pickup." I then received a text stating my computer was ready.
When I arrived at the store, Cody asked if I had built the computer myself. I said yes and asked what the issue was. He told me the wiring was incorrect and that he had replaced several of my power cables with spare cables he had lying around the office. As a beginner, I trusted his judgment and was just happy to see the computer powering on. At that point, Windows was not yet installed.
I took the PC home, installed Windows, and everything initially seemed fine. However, after about a week and a half, the system began crashing, blue-screening, and showing GPU artifacting. I contacted Cody again and was told to bring it back in.
The second time, Cody said he would stress test the system and have results the next day. I did not receive a call, so I followed up the day after. Another employee answered, took my phone number, and repeated the same information I had already given Cody--making it clear that no one had actually looked at the PC yet. Two more days passed, and when I called again, Josh told me no technician had touched it. I decided to pick it up.
When I arrived, Cody claimed he had stress tested it extensively and could not get it to crash. I asked why I hadn't been updated, and he said he was busy. Frustrated, I took the PC home and began troubleshooting myself.
After posting photos online, multiple experienced builders pointed out that I had mismatched PSU cables installed. That's when I remembered Cody had swapped in spare cables during the first visit. Further research confirmed that you cannot mix PSU cables between different brands, especially on a fully modular power supply. Cody had installed a mismatched GPU power cable and used a daisy-chained splitter on a 40-series GPU--something that is widely known to be unsafe and can cause hardware damage.
I returned to the store and explained this. Cody insisted that swapping PSU cables would not cause damage, which directly contradicts basic PC building standards and manufacturer warnings. I had already spoken with multiple other technicians who confirmed he was wrong. A simple Google search would have confirmed this.
Eventually, after I got the PC to crash in the store in front of him (after being largely ignored for over four hours), he reinstalled Wi-Fi drivers and claimed that was the cause of GPU artifacting. It clearly was not.
When I requested a replacement GPU (since it was brand new and damaged due to improper cabling), I was told there was "no way" it would be replaced and that corporate would not approve it. Corporate later claimed I swapped the cables, which is completely false. I provided a full written account explaining that their technician installed the mismatched cables. I have now received no response for over two weeks.
I am currently left with a fried GPU, no accountability from the store, and silence from corporate.
If you need help with a TV remote or a simple battery replacement, this may be the place for you. If you value your PC hardware--especially high-end components--I strongly recommend going elsewhere. read more