Building the Perfect PC, 2nd Edition
Building the Perfect PC will guide you through the entire process of building or upgrading your own computer. You'll use the latest top-quality components, including Intel's Core 2 Duo and AMD's Athlon X2 CPUs.
Building the Perfect PC, 2nd Edition
Chapter 1. Fundamentals
Section 1.1. Why Build a PC?
Section 1.2. Designing the Perfect PC
Section 1.3. Things to Know and Do Before You Start
Section 1.4. Things You Need to Have
Section 1.5. Getting to Know Your Motherboard
Section 1.6. Troubleshooting
Chapter 2. Choosing and Buying Components
Section 2.1. Choosing Components
Section 2.2. Buying Components
Section 2.3. Final Words
Chapter 3. Building a Mainstream PC
Section 3.1. Determining Functional Requirements
Section 3.2. Hardware Design Criteria
Section 3.3. Component Considerations
Section 3.4. Building the Mainstream PC
Section 3.5. Post-Assembly
Section 3.6. Final Words
Chapter 4. Building a SOHO Server
Section 4.1. Determining Functional Requirements
Section 4.2. Hardware Design Criteria
Section 4.3. Component Considerations
Section 4.4. Building the SOHO Server
Section 4.5. Final Words
Chapter 5. Building a Gaming PC
Section 5.1. Determining Functional Requirements
Section 5.2. Hardware Design Criteria
Section 5.3. Component Considerations
Section 5.4. Building the Gaming PC
Section 5.5. Final Words
Chapter 6. Building a Media Center PC
Section 6.1. Determining Functional Requirements
Section 6.2. Hardware Design Criteria
Section 6.3. Choosing Software
Section 6.4. Component Considerations
Section 6.5. Building the Media Center PC
Section 6.6. Final Words
Chapter 7. Building a Small Form Factor (SFF) PC
Section 7.1. Determining Functional Requirements
Section 7.2. Hardware Design Criteria
Section 7.3. Component Considerations
Section 7.4. Building the SFF PC
Section 7.5. Final Words
Chapter 8. Building a Budget PC
Section 8.1. Determining Functional Requirements
Section 8.2. Hardware Design Criteria
Section 8.3. Component Considerations
Section 8.4. Building the Budget PC
Section 8.5. Final Words
This popular Build-It-Yourself (BIY) PC book covers everything you want to know about building your own system: Planning and picking out the right components, step-by-step instructions for assembling your perfect PC, and an insightful discussion of why you'd want to do it in the first place. Most big brand computers from HP, Dell and others use lower-quality components so they can meet their aggressive pricing targets. But component manufacturers also make high-quality parts that you can either purchase directly, or obtain through distributors and resellers.
Consumers and corporations alike are opting to build rather than buy PCs to ensure high quality and compatibility.
The new edition of Building the Perfect PC shows you how to construct a variety of top-flight systems with the latest technology, including AMD Socket AM-2 and Intel Core 2 processors, that are Vista- and Linux-ready. The book includes several new options, including:
- A Budget PC you can build for approximately $350 that offers performance and reliability similar to that of mainstream systems
- A full-blown media-center system that runs Linux and MythTV or Windows MCE with multiple tuners and HDTV support
- A fire-breathing high-performance gaming system
- A fast, low-power, low-heat, low-noise, Small Form Factor system (the size of a shoe box)
- A low-cost SOHO (small office, home office) server system with a 2 terabyte (2,000 GB) disk subsystem that's suitable for a residential environment rather than a server closet.