PC Hardware in a Nutshell (Nutshell Handbook)

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

• Used

  Paperback
  2002

  $3.25

  This text offers information, including how-to advice for specific components, ample reference material, and a comprehensive case study on building a PC. It is intended for anyone who buys, builds, upgrades, or repairs PCs in a corporate, small business, or home setting. In addition to coverage of the fundamentals and general tips about working on PCs, this 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. Also included: 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; 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); and enhanced troubleshooting coverage.

• Used

  Paperback
  2000

  $9.23

  This is a comprehensive guide to buying, building, upgrading, and repairing Intel-based PCs, presented in O'Reilly's concise In a Nutshell format. The three major points of the book are: buying guidelines - in supplying advice on how to choose optimum systems and components, the book focuses on teaching the reader how to evaluate alternatives rather than on recommending specific products; how-to advice - the book contains practical, hands-on information about how to install, configure, and troubleshoot specific components; and reference - numerous tables and the topical Organization let novices and professionals alike consult the book for the specifications and steps they need in order to perform discrete tasks. In addition to covering the fundamentals and general tips about working on PCs, the book includes chapters focusing on motherboards, processors, memory, disks (floppies, hard drives, and optical drives), tape devices, video devices, input devices, audio components, communications, power supplies, and maintenance. The last chapter is a complete case study in building a PC from components. It is supported by a Web site that offers: a depository of obsolescentor arcane material that didn't make the book but may still be useful to some; new and updated material that will appear in updated editions; and Errata - a mail drop for reader feedback and suggestions.