Book Review - Build the Ultimate Custom PC by Adrian and Kathie Kingsley-Hughes
Category Book Reviews
After reading Build the Ultimate Custom PC by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes and Kathie Kingsley-Hughes, I'm pretty convinced that my next desktop PC will be built by me instead of purchased at a store. I think I could actually do this...
Contents:
Part 1 - Choosing Components for Your PC: Staying Safe; Choosing the Tools You Need; Choosing a Suitable Case and Power Supply; Choosing a CPU and Motherboard; Choosing the Right RAM; Choosing Hard Drives and Floppy Drives; Choosing CD/DVD Drives; Choosing Video Adaptors and Monitors; Choosing Sound Capability; A Tour of Cables and Fittings; Checking and Testing Components
Part 2 - Building Your PC: Top 10 Things You Don't Want to Forget before You Begin the Build!; Assembling the Case and Fitting the PSU; Fitting the Basic Parts; Adding Storage
Part 3 - Starting and Testing Your PC: Fire Up and Burn In; Final Tweaks and Installing Windows XP; Check and Test, Check and Test Again!; Everything You Need to Know about Warranties and Beyond
Part 4 - Appendices: Useful Websites; Checklist; Hardware Manufacturers; Glossary
Index
The authors work from the assumption that you've never done this before (which I haven't) and that you will need guidance from choosing the parts clear through the assembly and start-up. They do a very nice job in covering all the basic components, what things need to be known about them (specs, details, etc.), and what you'll need to look for in terms of making good choices based on your requirements. This would even be good material if you're looking to upgrade something (like a CD unit) and you need to better understand what to look for. Once you have all your parts together, they show you how to assemble it all into a working computer, along with things you must know during the assembly process, like how to diffuse static electricity. You don't want a simple spark to fry your expensive CPU, do you? I was impressed with their coverage of testing tips, too. My biggest fear (short of having left-over parts) is pushing the power button and having nothing happen. With the testing steps shown here, you should be able to quickly get past that point should it occur. Honestly, seeing the quality of the information presented, I'd say there's a very good chance that you won't have that happen unless you have a faulty part to begin with...
Bottom line, this is a book I'd definitely recommend to a first-time computer builder who wants the experience of "rolling their own". As much as it surprises me to say it, I think I might just be that person for the next upgrade...
After reading Build the Ultimate Custom PC by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes and Kathie Kingsley-Hughes, I'm pretty convinced that my next desktop PC will be built by me instead of purchased at a store. I think I could actually do this...
Contents:
Part 1 - Choosing Components for Your PC: Staying Safe; Choosing the Tools You Need; Choosing a Suitable Case and Power Supply; Choosing a CPU and Motherboard; Choosing the Right RAM; Choosing Hard Drives and Floppy Drives; Choosing CD/DVD Drives; Choosing Video Adaptors and Monitors; Choosing Sound Capability; A Tour of Cables and Fittings; Checking and Testing Components
Part 2 - Building Your PC: Top 10 Things You Don't Want to Forget before You Begin the Build!; Assembling the Case and Fitting the PSU; Fitting the Basic Parts; Adding Storage
Part 3 - Starting and Testing Your PC: Fire Up and Burn In; Final Tweaks and Installing Windows XP; Check and Test, Check and Test Again!; Everything You Need to Know about Warranties and Beyond
Part 4 - Appendices: Useful Websites; Checklist; Hardware Manufacturers; Glossary
Index
The authors work from the assumption that you've never done this before (which I haven't) and that you will need guidance from choosing the parts clear through the assembly and start-up. They do a very nice job in covering all the basic components, what things need to be known about them (specs, details, etc.), and what you'll need to look for in terms of making good choices based on your requirements. This would even be good material if you're looking to upgrade something (like a CD unit) and you need to better understand what to look for. Once you have all your parts together, they show you how to assemble it all into a working computer, along with things you must know during the assembly process, like how to diffuse static electricity. You don't want a simple spark to fry your expensive CPU, do you? I was impressed with their coverage of testing tips, too. My biggest fear (short of having left-over parts) is pushing the power button and having nothing happen. With the testing steps shown here, you should be able to quickly get past that point should it occur. Honestly, seeing the quality of the information presented, I'd say there's a very good chance that you won't have that happen unless you have a faulty part to begin with...
Bottom line, this is a book I'd definitely recommend to a first-time computer builder who wants the experience of "rolling their own". As much as it surprises me to say it, I think I might just be that person for the next upgrade...
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Comments
You should definitely go for it! Building PCs is fun. I like to work on PCs kind of like other people work on cars in their garage. The last PC I actually bought was a 486
Anyway, there are lots of great places to get parts, but I wanted to recommend http://www.newegg.com for those that haven't been there before. They've always provided great prices and service for me.
-Jim
Posted by Jim Anderton At 11:00:48 On 14/12/2005 | - Website - |
The review doesn't state it, but if the book didn't talk about SFF (Small Form Factor) PCs, you may want to look into those too.
SFFs are PCs that are smaller than a mini-tower. For example, the breadbox PCs that Shuttle sells. Or the Mini-ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX or Nano-ITX board sizes. If you want a fairly quick starter kit, the Shuttle PCs are nice to start with. If you want to build your own you can get to parts online or somewhere like Fry's.
There are some that are using various types of the SFF boards for PCs in a car or stuffing them in odd places like a model of the Millenium Falcon, old Atari and C64 cases... the list goes on. I have a old Sony DVD player enclosure that I ripped the guts out of and replaced with a VIA EPIA M10000 board, hard drive and power supply that functions as my MythTV box.
Posted by Alan Young At 08:55:02 On 15/12/2005 | - Website - |
Posted by Duffbert At 11:25:18 On 14/12/2005 | - Website - |