Build It Yourself VISUALLY: The Ultimate Game PC for Under $999 [Paperback]

Joel Durham Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 28, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0764598198 | ISBN-13: 978-0764598197 | Edition: 1

• Using the highly effective Visual format, readers follow numbered steps illustrated with full-color photos to plan a game PC, develop a parts list, acquire components inexpensively, and finally, assemble the PC
• Readers choose a case, then select, purchase, and install a motherboard, CPU, memory, graphics cards, audio and network hardware, and hard drive, as well as monitors, keyboards, and game controllers
• A unique book that shows readers step by step how to build their dream game PC on a budget
• Enables gamers to build the ultimate PC, with blistering frame rates, incredible game detail, and realistic sound

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Are you a do-it-yourselfer who's also a visual learner? Do you find endless pages of instructions frustrating when a picture would show you how to do it? Then open this book and feel your confidence restored! Here's the first Visual guide to building your own game PC, with diagrams, numbered steps, shopping lists, and hundreds of full-color photographs.

• Numbered steps take you through the building process
• Full-color photographs show you how each step should look
• Parts lists tell you just what you need
• Shopping suggestions help you save money

You can do it!

• Choose a game- perfect motherboard, CPU, and graphics card
• Shop for the best deals through CPUsolutions.com
• Assemble the case and install components
• Connect a monitor, speakers, and game devices
• Install drivers and keep them up to date
• Adjust your settings for optimal game performance

Product Details

• Paperback: 287 pages
• Publisher: Wiley Publishing; 1 edition (November 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764598198
• ISBN-13: 978-0764598197
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,519,532 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Follow along with little chance of failure..., December 31, 2005

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Build It Yourself VISUALLY: The Ultimate Game PC for Under $999 (Paperback)

If you've ever wanted to build a PC but want *exact* instructions on what to buy, where to buy it, and how to put it all together, here you go... Build It Yourself Visually: The Ultimate Game PC for Under $999 by Joel Durham. No guesswork here...

Contents: Special Considerations for Game PCs; Preparing Your Shopping List; Buying Your Components; Preparing Your Tools and Workspace; Introducing the Case; Mounting the Power Supply; Installing the Motherboard; Dropping In the CPU; Adding Memory; Installing the Graphics Card; Introducing the Audio Device; Installing the Floppy Drive; Installing the Hard Drive; Installing the Optical Drive; Setting Up the Speakers; Attaching the Monitor; Connecting the Input Devices; Installing Windows XP; Installing the Drivers; Keeping Your System Up-To-Date; Optimizing Your System; Benchmarking to Quantify Your System's Performance; Glossary; Index

The Build It Yourself Visually series relies, as you can probably surmise, on a graphic-heavy format to show the reader exactly how to do something. In many cases, it's just a lot of screen shots that show each step in a program or installation. In this situation, it's valuable in that you get pictures of each component as well as each installation step. This book goes beyond other "build your own PC" books in that it tells you *exactly* what to buy, why it is the preferred choice (cost vs. performance), and then points you to the CPUSolutions.com site where they have a special area set up to complement the book. You can buy the very same components listed in the book, therefore assuring yourself that the parts you get and assemble are the same ones you'll see in the instructions. For those who are a bit gun-shy to begin with, that's a nice safety net. And if you're confident of your skills to "wing it" a bit, you can spend a bit more and upgrade per their recommendations listed on each component. Either way, the end result should be a solid gaming system for less than you would have spent to buy it off the shelf... Not to mention the satisfaction of knowing you did it yourself.

A solid title for the target they're shooting for, and one I would recommend to someone that fits that category...

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Job, Joel., December 8, 2005

By 

Thomas "Gracie" (Crofton, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Build It Yourself VISUALLY: The Ultimate Game PC for Under $999 (Paperback)

The author outlines how EXTREMELY simple it is to build a PC with an abundance of clear photographs. He really knows how to pick very high-quality but inexpensive components

4.0 out of 5 stars Read the title, it does what it says, June 9, 2008

By 

Cartoon Head (Georgia US) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Build It Yourself VISUALLY: The Ultimate Game PC for Under $999 (Paperback)

If you're hoping to get some tips to build the "utimate" gaming PC, you'll probably be disappointed, but this book is a good general primer to building gaming or graphics-intense PC's.

It's sponsored by a web site that sells PC parts and kits, so the book references that web site as a resource, and the goal is to keep it all under $999, so the more expensive options aren't even really discussed (water cooling, more expensive graphics cards, etc.) It would have been nice to read some pros and cons and maybe have some "But if you want to spend more..." side bars. (And for purchasing the parts, I suggest TigerDirect.com, much cheaper.)

This book did a good job raising my comfort level...

But in the end I decided to just buy a Dell XPS! For the work involved including time and patience, it was just more practical. But the book at least showed me what to look for in a good machine, and I was incredibly impressed to see that the XPS was built pretty much as I imagined my home-built PC would have been.

Very thorough color images throughout, and a good value if your intention is to build a great gaming PC for under a $999. The book definitely delivers on that promise.