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Want to improve my knowledge of PC Hardware

M

minofifa

Senior member
hey everybody,

well finals are almost done and i'm ready to head home. i'm going to the giant bookstore here before i do though. This summer I really want to improve on my knowledge of PC's,both with Linux and hardware in general. Most of the books i have seen are for computer software though. does anybody have any favorites, when it comes to hardware information? i'm looking for general stuff, like descriptions on how to build computers, information on how things work, safety... stuff like that.
 
Anandtech, check out the reviews & also the hardware forum boards (motherboards, processors, general). Most of the people do actually know what they're talking about to some extent. I would suggest PC magazines if you really wanted to read about hardware, because by the time a book is written & printed it is almost out of date with current hardware.
 
Yeah. I learnt all my hardware knowledge from websites like anadtech, PC magazines and forums.
This is actually the most efficient way
 
PC Hardware in a Nutshell
Building The Perfect PC
Pc Hardware Buyer's Guide: Choosing the Perfect Components
All by Robert Bruce Thompson

^^You need to realize, however, that the books are usually outdated by a couple of months at best. Best up to date info can be found online if you know where to look.
 
Get some music and read this site inside and out, ask questions, you will learn a whole lot more than getting some book.
 
Thompson's choice of hardware is almost always too conservative... But the other info is pretty good.
. How do you assess your current level of hardware expertise? And how deep to you want to get? A practical level or a theoretical/design level?

.bh.
 
I think that there's too much good up-to-date info on the net to justify buying books on the subject. However sources on the internet are not all guaranteed to be good advice. I'd stick with reputable sites like THG, Anandtech, The Tech Report, Hexus, and HardOCP. There are many more good sites out there but these are the ones that I usually look through when I have questions or am just looking for hardware/software news.
 
Originally posted by: Zepper
Thompson's choice of hardware is almost always too conservative... But the other info is pretty good.
. How do you assess your current level of hardware expertise? And how deep to you want to get? A practical level or a theoretical/design level?

.bh.
Click to expand...

yeah i have learned a lot from this website alone but I want to start small and fill in all of the holes that i have miessed along the way. I would say i'm at the level where i know that more ram is good but i don't know why / how the clockspeed of ram affects performance. I don't know the first thing about what voltages or temperatures a computer should be at, or safety issues when putting a computer together so i don't damage it. basic stuff like that.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I think i will buy a beginners kind of book and then buiold up from there by reading more on the internet.

I'm also thinking of buying "linux for dummies, version 6". any good?
 

I generally don't care for the "Dummies" type books. They are usually too cutesy for my taste. I'm old fashioned and don't need to be entertained when I'm trying to learn something. But I think I remember hearing somewhere that the Linux one is better than usual in that series. And it sounds like the Thompsons' books will be right down your alley. There is another intro to Linux book that is being touted over at the mepis.org site (naturally it includes a copy of Simply Mepis on CD). I think I recall it has gotten some good press too.

.bh.
 
It's hard to find a good book on anything hardware related because the books become outdated quickly. Like others have said, the internet is good for computer stuff because it is always updated. I do like the Dummy books, though.
 
I already said this in another thread recently, but I'm a beliver in using what's available free in your library.

Computer hardware books go outdated so fast, and they're pretty expensive.

The libraries have some good books, videos & magazines, "free."

Plus the reviews & forums here on Anandtech are a great way to learn, again free.
 
I say get broken or crapy computers and start tweaking around and stuff...

i learn everything i know from hours and hours of getting pissed off trying to fix my computer myself, and then last resort using forums like this =) hahaha
 
<<<took a worthless A+ Certification course using Thompsons material. I suppose if you are an absolute and undeniable noob these books would be ok, but otherwise just post your questions here and the lifers will help you out. (still don't understand those people)
 
Originally posted by: minofifa
yeah i have learned a lot from this website alone but I want to start small and fill in all of the holes that i have miessed along the way.
Click to expand...

For the things that you're wanting to know, I would recommend any good book on the A+ certification. Michael Pastore puts out some good books. The Exam Cram Series is a good way to go - available at any book store or library. That will give you the foundation for PC concepts/terminology and how all the components tie in together. If you don't have a rudimentary level of knowledge to build on - learning more advanced concepts won't matter one bit.

I disagree with some of the young hot-shots telling you to stick to the internet. I started out learning from a PC forum but forums like this only get you so far. There's plenty of good advice and plenty of BAD advice on the internet. You simply cannot deepen your knowledge with information clutter or information overload. If you're serious about improving your knoweldge, you go about it in a systemic & organized fashion.
 
Originally posted by: Pr0d1gy
Anandtech, check out the reviews & also the hardware forum boards (motherboards, processors, general). Most of the people do actually know what they're talking about to some extent. I would suggest PC magazines if you really wanted to read about hardware, because by the time a book is written & printed it is almost out of date with current hardware.
Click to expand...


Built a couple of rigs and learned everything off forums. Now I just need to get off my lazy ass and take the A+ 😀
 
my sister finished her computer and electrical engineering course, and I got some of her books, one of which is "Operating Sytems: Internals and design principles" written by William Stallings. He write other category of books too, including computer hardwares. But I don't know the quality of this book yet.
 
These forums, as well as the ocforums are good sources of information about computer hardware, and to some extent, software.

Ask any question you have and it will be answered. Repeat untill you know as much as you want to know.
 
Dittos Blain, Mueller's U & R books have a lot of practical material and they usually come with one or more CDs that include the text of selected older editions so you will have info dating back to the original IBM PC. Sam's Club often has the latest edition of the Muller book at a decent discount.

.bh.
 
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