Building a PC in easy steps

by Stuart Yarnold

Prebuilt computer systems are often a compromise between what manufacturers want to sell and what consumers want to buy. For those who are looking for something more than the standard PC, one solution is to build it from the ground up — a solution that, with the help of this book, is surprisingly simple. Written in concise, jargon-free English, Building a PC in Easy Steps  walks the reader through every stage of building and setting up a buying parts and avoiding sales scams; mastering and installing the CPU, memory, video, and other components; altering default settings in the BIOS for optimum performance; and installing and configuring device drivers. Graphics clearly illustrate every step in the process, and an invaluable troubleshooting chapter helps pinpoint any problems that may crop up. In the end, the reader has a computer system tailored to their exact requirements, built from components specifically chosen for reliability, price, and performance.

Genres: Computer Science, Computers

192 pages, Paperback

First published March 28, 2005

Reviews

[Dan Hyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good entry level book that describes computer components, what you need to know in selecting them, and how to put everything together.

I learned a fair amount about some of the technologies related to the various components, and had several acronyms that I didn't know explained to me.

If you're going to read this with the intent of putting together a PC, try to get the latest edition possible. Technology continues to move. The 4th edition that I read was 5 years out of date, and there were areas where the book wasn't as current as it could be.

[Garry Whitmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book well illustrated and clear information but getting a bit dated regarding some aspects of computer technology.

[Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty good book and it covers the material fairly well. It's obviously a huge topic and the book does not attempt to be exhaustive, instead focusing only on the most-common aspects and issues. Text is laid out well, writing is good, and numerous color photographs help. Book sticks to the most-common hardware and most-common applications. In general, equipment is divided into entry-level, mid-level, gaming, and server/workstation equipments. Heavy focus on mid-level and gaming systems. Old (5+ years) hardware is not considered--basically starts with Intel i Core systems, DDR2 memory, SATA-2 drives, USB3 devices, etc., with occasional explanations of still-common older technologies like firewire and VGA. Compares Intel and AMD CPUs. Compares Nvidia and AMD GPUs. Very brief coverage of common peripherals such as printers and scanners. Includes a brief troubleshooting section and index.

In brief, a good introduction to the topic.

[Abdulaziz Fagih · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was excellent at the year of the release only but it won't benefit you much now

كان ممتاز في سنه الأصدار ولن يفيدك كثير أذا قرأته للوقت الحالي

[David Searle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Useful

As a first time pc builder I found this a useful book to refer to at each stage. It is a bit dated now though.

[Sandeep · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not yet built my 15 year old PC, too much office work keeping me busy. but finished with the book