PC Hardware Buyer's Guide: Choosing the Perfect Components [Paperback]

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

Book Description

Publication Date: February 10, 2005

If you're one of the many who has decided to build your own personal computer system, you know that doing so can be quite a challenge. The information can be overwhelming--and so can the number of choices.

It's true, whether you're perusing online sites, or wandering the aisles of your favorite retail store, shopping for PC components is no easy task. Until now. Thanks to PC Hardware Buyer's Guide, the experience of building your own PC system has never been easier.

This handy pocket guide is the ideal shopping companion for do-it-yourself types. Loaded with valuable information, it starts off by providing a piece-by-piece overview of all the components that comprise a standard desktop computer. Then it sinks its teeth into the crux of the issue: how to choose the right parts for you, based on your particular profile (gamer, mainstream user, etc.). It does so by helping you identify which parts are:

• Compatible to each other
• Regarded as the best performing
• Closest in line with your budget

For quick-lookup purposes, the PC Hardware Buyer's Guide even includes a simple reference chart with recommended brands and models. Just refer to the chart and the guesswork is gone. And don't worry about the shelf-life of the information, either. The PC Hardware Buyer's Guide features several rules of thumb for choosing components that endure past the latest models, so you don't need to buy a new guide with each passing year.

In a market where very little written information exists, this is the only pocket guide that covers PC hardware.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert Bruce Thompson is a coauthor of Building the Perfect PC, Astronomy Hacks, and the Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders. Thompson built his first computer in 1976 from discrete chips. It had 256 bytes of memory, used toggle switches and LEDs for I/O, ran at less than 1MHz, and had no operating system. Since then, he has bought, built, upgraded, and repaired hundreds of PCs for himself, employers, customers, friends, and clients. Thompson reads mysteries and nonfiction for relaxation, but only on cloudy nights. He spends most clear, moonless nights outdoors with his 10-inch Dobsonian reflector telescope, hunting down faint fuzzies, and is currently designing a larger truss-tube Dobsonian (computerized, of course) that he plans to build.

Barbara Fritchman Thompson is a coauthor of Building the Perfect PC and PC Hardware in a Nutshell. Barbara worked for 20 years as a librarian before starting her own home-based consulting practice, Research Solutions, and is also a researcher for the law firm Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge, & Rice, PLLC. During her leisure hours, Barbara reads, works out, plays golf, and, like Robert, is an avid amateur astronomer.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1 edition (February 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596009380
• ISBN-13: 978-0596009380
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #690,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, an opinion on hardware, May 11, 2005

By 

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

This review is from: PC Hardware Buyer's Guide: Choosing the Perfect Components (Paperback)

I love this book. Buy it. If you want to put together a PC buy this book. It provides practical advice about hardware options. I really appreciate that. It's why I subscribe to Consumer Reports. So I appreciate that type of advice here.

Excellent coverage of all of the elements of the hardware design for a PC. Definitely recommended for anyone looking to build a PC.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An invaluable guide when you go shopping, March 11, 2005

By 

Francisco Garcia Maceda - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: PC Hardware Buyer's Guide: Choosing the Perfect Components (Paperback)

The condensed knowledge of years of experience buying and selling PC's, its components and assembling them into usable form right in the palm of your hand. You'll get strong opinions, the whys and the whynots. An expert's advice on every component you'll need for your new project or to correct past mistakes on existing PCs. In no time it will save you dozens of times its cover cost, hundreds of hours of lost time and infinite aggravation on easy to avoid or correct mistakes and wrong choices.

I highly recommend it and I give it an orchid!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Essential PC Building Resource, February 26, 2005

By 

John Jacobson (Riverside CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: PC Hardware Buyer's Guide: Choosing the Perfect Components (Paperback)

If you look in the PC dictionary, Robert Bruce Thompson and his wife, Barbara Fritchman Thompson, define authority and lucidity when it comes to understanding and building your own PC. This book is a concise yet complete description of components available for building a PC in early 2005.

The book is not a manual that teaches you to build a PC, for that look to their larger work, "Building The Perfect PC." This book makes name-brand suggestions regarding component choices one might consider for building any PC from a budget level to an advanced screaming game machine, and details the reasons for the recommendations. It is small enough to carry in your pocket, so if you're going to a computer store for your purchase, bring it along. It even has a two page summary of the book in the back cover to help with your decisions. It also suggests which components might better be purchased locally, and which ones might be purchased via the Net.

The practical layout of the book suggests a wealth of experience in answering the questions that invariably crop up in making component choices. The authors have been answering these questions for years, and it shows in the design and presentation of their book. And if you can't answer your questions from the book, their web site is available with a wealth of additional information. And it is always up to date! How can you beat that?