Building Extreme PCs: The Complete Guide to Modding and Custom PCs [Paperback]

Ben Hardwidge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 28, 2006

The bland beige box is dead. Fueled by a passion for performance and an eye for style, a new breed of PC user is taking matters into its own hands. Combining cutting-edge components with the latest trends in system design, they're turning the standard personal computer into a high-speed work of art.

Building Extreme PCs is the ultimate guide to the world of PC modification and customization. Both a showcase and a DIY handbook, it goes in-depth into system building, overclocking, cooling, and modification, reveals the secrets of optimization and benchmarking, then moves on to cover some of the most exciting and inspirational custombuilt systems around. From silent systems to multi-processor monsters, from gaming powerhouses to neon-lit speed machines, this book has it all, complete with guidance from the people who made them.

Ben Hardwidge is the news and features editor of the leading U.K. enthusiast magazine Custom PC, and has spent five years working for computer magazines.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ben Hardwidge is the news and features editor of the leading enthusiast magazine Custom PC, and has spent five years working for UK PC magazines. He has owned PCs from every processor generation, right up to his 3.4GHz P4 (lovingly fitted into his modded Sinclair PC200 case).

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1 edition (February 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596101368
• ISBN-13: 978-0596101367
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 9.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #368,649 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Take Your PC To The Next Level!!, March 19, 2006

By 

Daniel McKinnon "Dan" (Tewksbury, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Building Extreme PCs: The Complete Guide to Modding and Custom PCs (Paperback)

For anyone out there that is interested in learning about what you can do when building a PC or just want to learn more about getting optimal performance from the monster that you already own or have built virtually in your mind, you should definitely pick up a copy of 'Building Extreme PCs : The Complete Guide to Modding and Custom PCs'.

First things first, this is a gorgeous book. From the colors chosen, to the paper used, to the layout and structure, I was awed by how beautiful this guide is. Most books are pretty bland or "seen it once, seen it a million times", but not so within the confines of these pages. Whoever was assigned to do the layout work deserves a raise, it's that cool.

Here are some of the points highlighted in this book that bears mention:

Processors
Motherboards
Memory
Hard Drives
Power
Graphics Cards
Monitors
Speakers
Input devices
Cooling
Building
Overclocking
Lighting
Cases

Aside from these important steps, the last 50 or so pages showcases what people have done to their own PCs, from building awesome cases to getting a computer inside a George Foreman grill (no joke)!!

If you are interested in the art of overhauling or pimping PCs, this is an entertaining read for you. The First 2/3 of this books is for newbies and amateurs, the last 1/3 for everyone to see what IS possible.

ROCK ON!!

***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Pictures - Poor Build Info, December 30, 2006

By 

R. DeCandido (New York City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Building Extreme PCs: The Complete Guide to Modding and Custom PCs (Paperback)

Hello,

In a nutshell: I was looking for a book to help build a high-end PC from the ground up. I ordered this book used. As others indicate above, if you like pretty pictures of exotic PCs, this book is for you. If you want specific pictures for how to build such a PC, avoid this book. There are no step by step photos that show how to assemble the Motherboard with components...where to put the chip (processor); how to hold the chip (and how not to hold the chip) as you place it on the Motherboard; how to apply thermal paste (Arctic); how to place a Zalman fan over the chip....Anyway, these are the important things one needs to know (+see) in order to assemble one of these high end computers.

My advice: look elsewhere for a how to build book. However, if you want pretty pictures of what a fancy computer looks like, or flashy color photos of a nice motherboard, or a nice power supply...then this book is for the dreamer in you. Trust me though: look elsewhere for a book that will walk you through step by step - how to build a PC adding one part at a time.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Both helpful and beautiful, March 10, 2006

By 

Jack D. Herrington "engineer and author" (Silicon Valley, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Building Extreme PCs: The Complete Guide to Modding and Custom PCs (Paperback)

I'm impressed not only by the content of the book but also it's design. It's beautiful and of that there can be no doubt. And hey, the content is good as well. If you are into building a high performance gaming machine and don't have a clue as to what you need to do, give this book a try. It will walk you through step by step, and provide a lot of inspiration for how far you can go with it.