PC Hardware in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition [Paperback]

Robert Bruce Thompson (Author), Barbara Fritchman Thompson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 059600513X | ISBN-13: 978-0596005139 | Publication Date: July 31, 2003 | Edition: Third Edition

PC Hardware in a Nutshell is the practical guide to buying, building, upgrading, and repairing Intel-based PCs. A longtime favorite among PC users, the third edition of the book now contains useful information for people running either Windows or Linux operating systems. Written for novices and seasoned professionals alike, the book is packed with useful and unbiased information, including how-to advice for specific components, ample reference material, and a comprehensive case study on building a PC.

In addition to coverage of the fundamentals and general tips about working on PCs, the book includes chapters focusing on motherboards, processors, memory, floppies, hard drives, optical drives, tape devices, video devices, input devices, audio components, communications, power supplies, and maintenance. Special emphasis is given to upgrading and troubleshooting existing equipment so you can get the most from your existing investments.

This new edition is expanded to include:

• Detailed information about the latest motherboards and chipsets from AMD, Intel, SiS, and VIA
• Extensive coverage of the Pentium 4 and the latest AMD processors, including the Athlon XP/MP
• Full details about new hard drive standards, including the latest SCSI standards, ATA/133, Serial ATA, and the new 48-bit "Big Drive" ATA interface
• Extended coverage of DVD drives, including DVD-RAM, DVD-R/RW, and DVD+R/RW
• Details about Flat Panel Displays, including how to choose one (and why you might not want to)
• New chapters on serial communications, parallel communications, and USB communications (including USB 2.0)
• Enhanced troubleshooting coverage

PC Hardware in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition provides independent, useful and practical information in a no-nonsense manner with specific recommendations on components. Based on real-world testing over time, it will help you make intelligent, informed decisions about buying, building, upgrading, and repairing PCs in a cost effective manner that will help you maximize new or existing computer hardware systems. It's loaded with real-world advice presented in a concise style that clearly delivers just the information you want, without your having to hunt for it.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

PC Hardware in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference relies on an eternal truth of the computer industry: legacy systems never die. This book focuses on the technologies that have provided Wintel personal computers with various capabilities over the years. Like most of its competitors, this book addresses the PC on a subsystem level, and deals with video cards, hard-disk interfaces, memory, and other pieces of the componentry puzzle that hardware integrators need to figure out. The authors do a great job of explaining the differences between (and relative merits of) IDE and SCSI hard-drive interfaces, various video buses, competing processors, and other technologies. They also prove themselves adept at explaining general assembly procedures and troubleshooting strategies.

This book distinguishes itself from its most popular competitors by emphasizing the authors' opinions on hardware products. It's refreshing to see authors recommend Product A for high-performance systems in which price is not an issue, Product B for economical home systems, and Product C for organizational workstations. On the other hand, the recommendations, prices, and similar values will change over time. The authors maintain a great Web site, at which you can find their current recommendations. (The Web site, on the other hand, doesn't include the book's high-quality tutorial on designing and assembling a system from zero.) Even the photographs that appear in this book--traditionally a weak point among hardware books--are clear. --David Wall

Topics covered: Personal computers that comply with Microsoft Windows and Intel compatibility requirements. The authors address processors, memory, hard disks, optical media, removable magnetic disks, video cards, power supplies, and more. Also, there are instructions for assembling a machine from scratch, and some coverage of troubleshooting problems. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'An excellent book for both novice and advanced users, shame GNU/Linux is not covered in more details.' Rating 8/10 Linux Format, February 2001 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 876 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; Third Edition edition (July 31, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 059600513X
• ISBN-13: 978-0596005139
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #402,873 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #41 in Books > Computers & Technology > Hardware > Maintenance, Repair & Upgrading

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Information-dense, error-free, and relevant, September 16, 2002

By 

Steve Smith (Atlanta, Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: PC Hardware in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition (Paperback)

I buy a lot of PC hardware books for my job as a PC manager. Most of them are me-too knockoffs of Muellers Upgrading and Repairing PCs. This one is different. It's smaller than U&R PCs, but incredibly information-rich. The authors don't waste time and space with obsolete information. Everything here is up-to-date and reflects the real world of systems based on modern Intel and AMD processors. This book has no errors that I can find. I thought I'd found a couple, so I emailed the authors. They responded within half an hour (!) and explained things. As it turned out, what I thought were errors weren't. I'd been wrong about those things all these years. I'm ordering copies for all my technicians and recommending they read it through from start to finish. If you're looking for the best PC hardware book available, get this one.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More common sense than a Thomas Paine anthology, February 23, 2001

By 

Timothy Walker (Orlando, Florida USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: PC Hardware in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)) (Paperback)

Short review: it's O'Reilly, buy it.

Longer review: this is a fantastic book. It is concise, current, inexpensive (how often do these words apply to computer books?), enjoyable to read, and, above all, USEFUL. The authors mingle sound advice and dry humor with a casual writing style, keeping the reader engaged and entertained as s/he absorbs the most (by nature) boring technical details. Technicians who charge by the hour should buy this book immediately... it will pay for itself in a week or two.

That said, this book is NOT "the only book you'll ever need". Though I agree with most of the authors' opinions, honest debate is always a good thing (for example, they write that, as of June 2000, Socket 7 is obsolete. I think now is the time to buy, as several of my clients are budget-conscious and still essentially happy with their 486s). Additionally, this book needs a chapter on modems, and more second-tier reviews would be nice, but I suppose that's what the website is for.

Bottom line: get yourself a big thick "phone book" on PC repair (Bigelow and Mueller come to mind) and this book and you'll be equipped for most any upgrade or buying decision that comes your way. But without a strong technical background or a huge reference work nearby, don't open the case.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best PC book Ive ever read, November 21, 2000

By 

Mark Miller (Denver, Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: PC Hardware in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)) (Paperback)

Written by a husband and wife team, PC Hardware in a Nutshell proves that technical books don't have to be dry. This book touches all the bases that you'd expect in a PC book but it goes much further. Beyond the purely technical stuff it focuses on what you need to know to make good purchase and upgrade decisions, and it's obvious that these people know what they're talking about. I bought this book intending to use it as a reference but this is a very easy book to get into as a straight-thru read. It's sometimes funny, at times outrageous, and never boring. It's refreshing to read something that ignores all the marketing hype. When a product is great, they say so. When a product sucks, they tell you that too.