books on building your own computer - any recommendations? (1 Viewer)

[andrew markworthy]

I can just about recognise one end of a soldering iron from another, but my 12 year old son is pretty good at computing and electronics (and no, this isn't just parental pride - he can design and build reasonably sophisticated electronic circuits). Also, I have a computer technician at work who can help me out if we get really stuck. I want to encourage him (my son, not the technician) to have a go at building his next computer from scratch (well, using ready-made components, anyway).

Can anyone recommend some reasonable books, please? For those who don't know me, I live in the UK, but a lot of the standard US series of textbooks are sold over here as well (and yes, I know about allowing for the different voltage!).

 

[Glenn Overholt]

I don't know about a book, but you can probably get by without one. Most of the parts have their own instructions.

The motherboard would have - at the least - a diagram showing where everything is, and what plugs in where.

Drives and boards usually have a page or two too.

That's really all there is to putting one together. If you have a shop nearby ask a clerk to open a box up and show you the paperwork.

Have fun!

Glenn

 

[Ken Chui]

Andrew:

My belief is that most of the 'how to' guides out there are antiquated and not particularly useful. If you're looking to acquire a base knowledge of the current technologies (SATA, RAID, etc.), there are many PC-oriented websites that offer articles on such subjects which a layperson can reasonably comprehend (although having some working knowledge of PCs does reduce the slope of the learning curve). Sites such as Wikipedia.org have proven to be an excellent resource for me.

Documentation from motherboard manufacturers has improved considerably, and even novices can have their own B.Y.O. PCs up-and-running in a few hours. If you're ever stuck, there are a host of online forums that cater to specific components/manufacturers; post a question and you're likely to receive a response almost immediately. B.Y.O. walkthrough guides are often prepared by forum members and/or moderators (which is what I used when I built my first PC).

If you still prefer having a book on-hand, I can try to elicit some recommendations for you.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

at wikibooks, they have a how to build a computer online book. also available in print version and pdf. i havent read the whole thing, but it seems like a decent guide.

CJ

 

[Kevin G.]

I have had Link Removed in my favorites for a long time, hope it helps.

 

[andrew markworthy]

Many thanks guys. Apologies for not replying sooner, but irony of ironies, my (bought) computer went south. The replacement also went south straight away, and I'm now on the second replacement machine.

 

[Kimmo Jaskari]

I'll just gild the lily here and rehash what everyone else is saying; assembling a computer isn't so much about building as it is about putting the parts together. There is no soldering or such, all you need is a screwdriver and some common sense.

The trick comes before the actual assembly, and that is picking the right parts to build it from; what is good, what is not so good, what goes well with what, etc.