Graphics card & hardware repair in Cochrane

Yes, a travel fee applies because Cochrane is outside the city. Mo confirms what it is when you book, so you've agreed to it before he heads out the 1A.

Yes, including out toward Highway 22 and along the river. Give us the address when you book so the window is realistic.

Often same day if you ring in the morning. Calling before noon gives you the best chance of a slot.

Sometimes a lot, sometimes very little, and you deserve to know which before you spend money. We test what the line is delivering, then what your Wi-Fi is doing with it. If the line is the limit we'll tell you that plainly instead of selling you a mesh kit that can't help.

Load failures point at power, heat or a part failing under stress. Everyday use draws very little, so a machine can look perfectly healthy right up until you ask it to work.

Not necessarily. Overheating memory on the card produces exactly that and is often cured with fresh thermal pads. Drivers in a bad state and a marginal power supply can do it too. We separate those before condemning a card.

That usually means power rather than software, because an operating system fault would normally leave an error behind. Ageing power supplies get unstable under load long before they fail outright, and they're one of the least suspected parts.

Classic thermal throttling. The chip is reducing its own speed to stay within a safe temperature because the cooling isn't moving heat away any more. A clean and repaste is the fix.

Every couple of years for most rooms, more often with pets or carpet. If it has never been done and it's three years old, that's very likely your problem.

Usually not. Card fans are a serviceable part on most models, and if the card wasn't run hot for long afterwards it's generally fine.

Failure of the main graphics chip itself, or damage to the power circuitry around it. Those are real and they aren't economic to fix. When that's what we find, we'll tell you rather than sell you a service that won't help.

Elimination. Power supply, board, memory and the front panel switch, tested in that order. All four are testable, and replacing a motherboard without testing is how people spend a lot to fix a cheap part.

Inconsistent errors often point at memory, which is testable at no cost beyond time. It's a better starting point than replacing the most expensive component on a hunch.

Usually same-day as a bench job for both laptops and desktops. Anything needing a part gets a real timeline with the quote.

If it has been throttling, noticeably. You aren't gaining performance, you're getting back what heat was taking away.

Yes. Upgrades, replacement parts and full builds, with honest advice about which parts genuinely change what you do rather than which are most expensive.

If it's still on a mechanical hard drive, an SSD, and it's not close. Memory second if you work with a lot open. A tired power supply on an old desktop is worth doing because it protects everything else in the case.

Yes. Cooling and component work doesn't touch your storage, and anything that does gets backed up first.

Once the faulty part is found you get one price, visit included, before any work. If we can't fix it, you don't pay.

Desktop diagnosis often starts in-home across Calgary and the nearby towns. Thermal work and component-level repair are bench jobs at 303 Wentworth Row SW, open seven days.