Tri-Star Computer Corporation Reviews

6 stars.

The owner of TriStar has worked magic on my heavily-used Macbook Pro twice now. Both good stories, I'll share them in detail because of the key takeaway when your Apple device breaks outside warranty, a good hardware specialist (meaning skilled and honest) can REALLY help you. I m a programmer who tends to push his gear to its limits, I live in Toronto now but TriStar is still my go-to shop.

First story. Was working early AM. Giant mug of black coffee in front of my keyboard. In a flash of stupidity I bumped it and spilled 3/4 of it on the keyboard (no keyboard-cover either). Despite all first-response measures this was an instant Motherboard Kill. Or, would have been if I d listened to Apple. (When finally done giving cloud-syncing tutorials to a mob of teens and seniors they let me know pretty quickly, I was welcome to do a replacement for roughly the original cost of the macbook which would take a few days.)

TriStar fixed it for about a quarter of that, in a couple days. The owner opened up the Macbook, cleaned the internals (keyboard & motherboard), and *replaced the specific chips* that had been fried. The coffee had spilled through the keyboard (leaving it undamaged: maybe some luck involved there), and followed an eavestrough-like channel straight to the motherboard (great design Apple), shorting out 2 of its chips probably instantly. He showed me a photo, that was pretty cool. You could see both chips blotted with dark brown ooze.

Amazingly after the motherboard repair, I was still able to use the same keyboard, for about a year afterward. It worked pretty much like-new, only gradually becoming less snappy-feeling from wear and tear. (Actually I use my keyboard heavily enough that a bunch of paint on the Command- and C- keys wore off. Just for context.)
After that year, making the laptop a "2.5 yr old" (it's a refurbished 2014), comes my second repair story , when 4 keys stopped working.

TriStar really came through then too, by installing a brand new keyboard in less than 4 hours, again for a fraction of Apple's & their copycats' pricing ("because it's highly integrated which is their top excuse for writing off your device.) Turned out, my keyboard just had dust buildup, which, along with my impatient attempt to repair it myself with bad tools, took out the 4 keys badly enough that it made more sense just to replace the whole keyboard. The new one feels much crisper. (btw 2014-style macbook replacement keyboards are the best ones IMO, apple announced a bunch of later ones were defective.)

And, as if he hadn't already made my day with the repair, the owner gifted me a keyboard-cover too, along with the advice that, you know, a cover is useful to block out both dust and liquids. (I do use it now sometimes haha)

So yeah, picking the right expert make a DIFFERENCE. Especially for Mac owners. Apple (and clones, i.e., Apple-centric boutique shops that sort of mimic all their practices) just want to sell you a new device. In case I've underscored it too little! you need an honest shop who can fix the device you've got, who stands by their SKILL. TriStar is definitely that.

Amazing service, both in quality of work and speed! Highly recommend.

I've gone here to get multiple devices repaired and they're always honest, fairly-priced and really communicative. Every time, it gets fixed and stays fixed. Great customer service, too!

Stay away from this place. I bought a rebuild computer $170.00..with a thirty day warranty. As soon as the warranty expired the computer stopped working (wouldn't turn on) Took the computer back to see what had happened. No calls waited...Had to call them. It turns out that the mother board was fried. They refuse to do anything to help me other than offer me another mother board for $200.00!!!. He sold me a lemon in the first place, a piece of crab. This guy is a snake..stay away.

I have a great experience here. Customer Service was pleasant, patient, helpful and efficient.

The guy who runs this store is very helpful and he knows his stuff. He's helped me a number of times with a couple of my computers, and he's made suggestions that have helped me. I definitely would recommend his services to anyone in the area!

Owner is fantastic, easy to talk to and loves to help.

Will not recommened this business for any computer related issue. Its more of a accessory shop for computer hardwares than a repair. I provided them a macbook to fix and they have reflew chips and tracks and caused further damages to the board. I was advised my Apple not to do repair here. Please do not trust this shop with any major laptop issues. Worst choice I made. Please think twice.

I took a samsung galaxy note 4 with a broken screen. He fixed it for 200$. 1 week later, a big dot on the screen started showing up. I took it back to him to take a look at it. He accused me of breaking the screen although I had it in an Otterbox case and was extremely gente using it. I took it to another store and they told me the guy who installed the screen messed up. Unfortunately I couldn't find the receipt to have enough evidence to report him. What a scammer.

They kept my computer more than a month and told me that he can't fix it, He lost my adapter as well. I should not go there in the first place.

Absolutely terrible service. I would stop anyone from going here and specially leaving their computers. My Macbook Pro was kept with them for 3 weeks without any updates. In week 2 I was told that it has been fixed and now is being tested but somehow in week 3 I was told that they cannot fix it. I had to make atleast 20 phonecalls just to get my computer back just like how i had left it without the problem fixed.

I only purchased an internet cable from him so I'm not going to rate. His reviews are very extreme for sure. Do your due diligence. Clarify everything and make notes until he proves himself. Although the store is a tad cluttered, personally, I'll go back.

Never had my computer fixed here, but I've come here to buy dongles / adapters / computer accessories. Tri-Star has a pretty good selection of accessories for a small store, and the gentleman who works there is always friendly and easy to work with.

Stuff will come back more broken than when you took it in..

do yourself a favour and take pictures of your laptop working with a not broken screen before you send it in..

Highly recommend Tri-Star, HIGHLY. The technician helped me with my Macbook's liquid damage in less than 3 hours. Everything is working great. So happy!

I am always greeted with a hello and a smile. Great and fast service.

Fix my laptop hinge perfectly in less than one day with reasonable price

TRI-STAR came highly recommended by an out of town parts supplier and he surely didn't disappoint! Super quick, same day repair and reasonable price for repair to my Asus laptop. Other technicians at larger companies quoted much higher and much longer repair time...one even told me it wasn't worth repairing!! I couldn't be happier with my experience with Tri-Star. Clearly he knows what he's doing and I will highly recommend him to family and friends!

Love the energy that the owner gives, he always gives fair prices. I go to him for everything! :)

My laptop screen was breaking off the keyboard and I took it to TriStar. He did an amazing job and fixed it in one day at a very good cost. One of the nicest and best computer guy I have been too.Best in hamilton - Would highly recommend .

The staff there is pretty good,kind and do things efficiently

I LOVE this guy! Excellent service, amazing prices and extremely friendly. I will never go to a box store again for computer/phone needs!!!! If you need someone reliable for your computer work, or to purchase a new device this place is worth checking out.

Johnny is amazing. I was quoted $350 and 4 weeks by another store to fix the broken hinge on my HP TouchSmart. Johnny did it for way less and I had my laptop back the next day. I brought in another laptop to him and had it back in an hour. He's fast, knowledgeable and delivers when he says he will. I highly recommend Tri-Star.

Fast and reasonably priced. The guy knows what he's doing.

I have been using this store since I moved into the area in 2008. I have always had good experiences. The prices are really good. The reason why I decided to write a review is because I feel the owner went well above what is reasonable to fix an issue that I had with the GPU in a computer that I had him build. The computer was built with used parts (because I wanted to keep costs down). He spent many hours trying to diagnose the issue I was having. When he wasn't able to fix the problem, he swapped out the GPU for one of higher quality. He did not charge me for his time or the difference in price for the part. I would recommend Tristar to anyone.

Great service and great speed! Had my macbook pro keyboard replaced for only $120. They go above and beyond, the prices are also the lowest I've ever seen. Highly recommend.

A trusted store, Customer Service was pleasant, patient, helpful and efficient. incredible service. Repair is very fast, and I get my computer on the same day.My phone also repair there.Nice place best in town.

The owner is friendly and experienced. Charges reasonable a price and fixed my laptop within a day. Great service.

Hes a perfect guy! Excellent service he will answer all of the questions that you get confused.

Best customer service and prices anywhere. I purchased my iphone here as well. Friendly, efficient, helpful, amazing prices, super guy! I went to a series of stores recently (best buy, canada computers, the source, walmart) looking for help and to purchase equipment and they were all awful useless kids who did not know a thing about the product and would read inaccurately from the box when I asked a question and try to sell me things I was not looking for. Not here! he is honest when you ask questions.

I don't know why some people dislike Tri-Star. 5 years ago I built my first DIY desktop here, and amazingly, I'm still using it, nothing ever broke, which means every component was installed properly and well organized, to be honest, the only thing keeps this place from 5 stars is that this isn't a place for amazing deals, if you want deals you should look up canada computers or neweggs.

I know John for many years he had repair many laptops for me very honest guy

On Saturday my computer crashed and wouldn't restart. I took it into Tri-Star on Monday morning. The technician diagnosed it quickly as a failed hard drive. He was able to retrieve all my data, which otherwise would have been lost, and install a new HD. I picked up my computer on Tuesday morning. Quick and reliable service. I am really happy he was able to retrieve my data. His shop also sells refurbished computers, which seem quite affordable (400 ~ 500 dollars), especially for students. His shop serves students and other people in the Westdale area.

incredible service. quick. amazing pricing. best in town