3/5 Danny Marcano (. 2 years ago on Google
Nov
8,
2021
began
the
worst
PC
experience
I've
ever
faced
in
the
20
years
I've
been
building
PCs.
I
showed
up
at
the
Westmont
location
an
hour
before
they
opened
hoping
they
had
a
GPU
in
stock.
They
did
have
some
GPUs
in
stock
but
they
had
designated
those
GPUs
to
Only
be
available
for
people
who
built
their
entire
PC
through
them.
This
PC
was
for
a
client
of
mine
and
he
was
excited
at
the
opportunity
to
get
an
RTX
3080
so
he
went
for
it.
Their
employee
Ian
helped
me
along
through
the
entire
process,
was
Very
friendly
and
knowledgeable,
and
assisted
me
in
getting
all
the
price
matches
I
could
find
on
the
parts.
The
problem
began
when
I
learned
that
I
not
only
had
to
buy
all
the
parts
from
them,
I
also
had
to
pay
for
them
to
build
the
PC.
This
is
where
I
was
Extremely
reluctant.
Every
PC
I've
come
across
that
was
pre-built,
or
put
together
by
a
store
has
had
some
sort
of
issue,
improper
bios
setting,
RAM
not
running
at
the
proper
speed,
parts
selected
not
the
best
for
the
particular
setup,
etc.
But,
there
was
only
one
way
to
get
the
GPU
so
I
went
the
lowest
priced
option
where
they
just
put
the
parts
together,
called
the
"Build
1
Retail
Custom
Build-Tier
1"
on
the
invoice,
for
$149.99.
I
had
to
get
a
CPU
I
didn't
want
because
they
didn't
have
the
Ryzen
5800X
in
stock,
I
was
told
once
it
came
in
stock
I
could
exchange
it.
This
was
where
I
noticed
the
first
problem.
After
getting
the
5800X
I
began
to
swap
out
the
CPU
and
noticed
that
the
Tech
who
built
the
PC
used
almost
the
entire
tube
of
thermal
compound
on
the
CPU.
There
was
so
much
thermal
compound
it
was
dripping
all
around
the
CPU
and
onto
the
motherboard.
I
contacted
management
and
they
were
100%
wiling
to
help
correct
the
issue.
They
had
me
bring
the
PC
back
in,
swapped
out
the
mobo,
swapped
out
the
old
CPU
for
the
new
one,
and
I
went
on
my
way.
When
I
got
the
PC
home
I
began
testing
it
out
by
playing
the
main
game
my
client
wanted
the
PC
for
and
began
to
encounter
some
BSODs.
I
benchedmarked
all
the
parts
I
could
and
made
some
adjustments
to
the
RAM
and
it
seemed
stable
so
I
shipped
it.
Unfortunately
the
BSODs
returned
after
the
client
received
the
system.
I
did
all
I
could
to
alleviate
the
issue
but
could
not
resolve
the
BSODs
while
gaming
so
the
client
sent
the
system
back.
Since
then
I've
slowly
swapped
out
Every
part
and
have
found
the
CPU
to
be
the
culprit.
This
makes
sense
since
the
BSODs
didn't
begin
until
they
swapped
out
the
parts
due
to
the
thermal
paste
issue
and
installed
the
new
CPU
in
the
process.
I
have
NEVER
lost
money
on
a
PC
build
until
now,
and
I
can't
tell
you
how
many
PCs,
in
particular
PCs
dedicated
to
gaming,
I've
built,
too
many
to
keep
track
of.
The
employees
stated
that
their
technician
who
first
built
the
PC
was
"their
best"
tech.
So
it
was
their
"Best"
tech
who
put
so
much
thermal
compound
on
the
CPU
they
had
to
swap
out
the
mobo
for
a
new
one.
I
would
also
like
to
point
out
that
while
I
was
there
for
the
mobo
swap,
another
customer
was
there
because
his
newly
built
PC
was
experiencing
BSODs.
In
his
case
they
had
set
his
bios
to
CSM
mode,
even
though
he
had
All
modern
components
with
Windows
10
running.
His
issue
was
that
when
he
learned
his
mobo
bios
should
be
in
UEFI
mode,
he
changed
the
setting,
and
since
Windows
had
been
installed
on
CSM
mode,
they
just
changed
it
back
to
CSM
and
the
system
became
stable
again.
But
there
was
no
reason
for
it
to
be
in
CSM
mode
in
the
first
place.
I
would
like
to
point
out
that
Every
employee
I
encountered
was
Extremely
friendly,
and
in
my
opinion
did
their
best
to
assist
me.
Because
of
that
I
do
recommend
Micro
Center
as
a
place
to
shop
at,
BUT
I
can
NOT
recommend
it
as
a
place
to
build
or
work
on
your
PC.
If
you
absolutely
need
a
local
place
to
build
your
PC
I
would
say
to
either
try
to
find
someone
knowledgeable
to
build
it
for
you,
or
if
it
must
be
Micro
Center
my
recommendation
would
be
to
Only
allow
them
to
build
it
if
you've
purchased
their
in-store
protection
plan
on
your
parts.
Issues
don't
always
pop
up
right
away
and
if
you're
beyond
their
in-store
return
time,
like
I
am,
you're
screwed
11 people found this review helpful 👍