Information on any and all hardware?

I wanna build a PC soon, or at least upgrade the one im using now (is honestly not worth upgrading... but its cheaper to upgrade so iunno). Some of you already know this from reading the other thread i made about graphics cards.

Anyways my question today is...

Can anyone who reads this thread give me a list of resources they used or know are decent for learning all things HardWare? (I.E Books, Websites, Tutorial Sites, etc..) By this i mean, EVERYTHING like the descriptions of every little Detail or every little piece. Like i wanna know what every part on a Mobo IS and how it WORKS, or why DDR2 is better than DDR3. like seriously. EVERYTHING hardware. I is haz 2 laern!

Anyways, any help would be appreciated as always, thank you

 

Personally, I hang out in the MG forums and read the threads there. Stick around in the Hardware sub-forum if that's what you want to learn about, and just lurk. A lot. Hardware review sites are usually pretty god resources as well, but as for a list of where I learned what I know...? I don't have one. I've just been wandering around, looking for info, and learned a little bit at a time.

It does take time too. You will not learn everything you need to know over-night, or in a week or month. All of us helping out here have spent years learning what we know, and we are still learning. That part never stops.

 

But still i wont find definitions here... what i need is a book, i alread have 12 books stacked on my dresser for programming in BASIC/C#/Silver light... i Must haz morreee D:

you guys dont know any good book lines for said info i need?

 

Ya, I agree with Ms. Mimsy. Read, read and read some more.

If you want to build a system then there are a few very basic questions to answer.

#1 What do you mainly use your machine for or what would you like to do that you can't do now or is painfully slow?
#2 Always a big question, how deep are your pockets?

At least with that info the hardware folks will have an idea of what to recommend, as otherwise they'll post their dream machines costing $3K and more!:-D

 

Its not even about building the computer really, i just really want the Knowledge really. having the book smarts will REALLY help me out whether it has to do with building a computer, programming one, or just helping someone else. i cant explain why i want to know, i just strive for the knowledge.

 

The problem with book smarts is that by the time a book on computer hardware is published it is already out of date.

Look on the internet instead, on the large hardware/computer communities, like this one. (Obviously this one is far superior to any other.) Ask questions, read articels, and so on and so forth.

 

You cant tell me the knowledge isnt worth learning by the books, how would people even make a living off building computers? theres no way that any hardware out day is gonna change as drasticly as to not have Clock speeds, RAM size, bus width rate, and so forth. they may have new stuff coming out like DDR4 and DDR5, and PCI-e 3.0, but the basics will always remain. And what i need to learn now are the basics >_>

 

Hmm OK, I think I know where you're coming from now. Perhaps look at some O'Reilly books or similar. Don't even look at the 'Dummies' books.uke

 

What do you mean "O'Reilly" books? cant you go into a bit more detail? i is noob

 

Sure I can. O'Reilly Books You can likely get them cheaper on Amazon but not sure.

 

All the books im finding are about how to do something via a set of steps. what im looking for is more om an encyclopedia (right term?) that defines what every little detail of the computer is (i.e, differences between DDR3 and DDR2, What a Clock speed is and does, What the bridges on a Mobo are and what they do, etc) and uses comparisons to explain the differences. or something like that T_T

 

Augie beat me to it. Look over the O'Reilly books for one that will have that info, and then look for it on Amazon.

And seconding the vomit over "Dummies" books. They really do assume that you are a complete dummy and not at all interested in actually learning anything. They suck.

 

I am a complete dummy! D: i need something like in my last post. An encyclopedia of sorts.

 

Um, no... Here's the thing. "Dummy" means you're not just ignorant, you are flat out stupid. If your objective is to learn, the "Dummies" will not help you, avoid them.

Look over the O'Reilly Media website, the PC Hardware section. We'll help you pick one if you're not sure what you need.

 

i dont know how to describe it... i need a book/books that will describe everything in detail..like all the parts that make up a MOBO or a GFX card... and how they work/what they do. like i said before i guess the best way to say it is an "Encyclopedia"... im not sure what to call it but thats what i need Dx

 

Oh, fine. Okay. I'll do your work for you.

http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596005139/

 

Thank you, but isnt that book a little old..?

"PC Hardware in a Nutshell, Third Edition

By Robert Bruce Thompson, Barbara Fritchman Thompson
July 2003"

Ill look for more books like it, if you can reccomend any more, please let me know :3

 

This is where I tell you "I told you so"

From the description, it looks like the basics you want are in there. I would suggest you find it in a library or bookstore and look through it before spending the money if you're not sure.

 

um... yeah 6 monhts to 2 years isnt that old... but this book... is 6-7 years old...

so um yeah >_<

 

As you mentioned... the function RAM fills in a system remains the same

Here you go. We're here to help, after all.

 

Bookmarked~ that will prove to be useful to my learning process, i am sure. thank you :3

But what about that book earlier, do you believe it to be a good book worth purchasing? I mean if its just gonna tell me "Get this mobo, cause this one is better than that one" or give me some "How to do ___ in 5 easy steps" crap, i dont want it. I know the function of things such as RAM has not changed.. but will that book give me a detailed insight on computer hardware or just list the quality of Hardware VS Hardware from the time the book was published?

Im looking for stuff once again like detailed definitions of things such as "Shader Clocks" and "Texture Fill rates" on the GPU, or what the functuin of a "North Bridge" is on a computer, and how different setups on a mobo can affect your comp (like is there a transfer speed on a Mobo? or a limit to how many Bits of data can be processed at once?) or how about how processors work? like what makes a "Processor" actualy "Process"? how dus it send data and what components make up a processor? this is all so confusing TT___TT

 

I haven't actually read it, so I don't know for sure. I do know that the O'Reilly Media books are very informative and are exactly what they claim to be. But that question is exactly why I suggested finding it in a bookstore or library and look through it before you spend your money.

I own no hardware books at all. I have most of it memorized and bookmarked (not on this PC, unfortunately). Google is actually a great resource, as long as you evaluate your search results carefully and don't try to learn from Yahoo Answers...

 

is there any way you could get some of said bookmarks that are on your other comp? that reference on RAM you sent was very detailed, and i look forward to going through it, but right now im focussing on finding more information on other Hardware components like the Mobo/Cpu/Gpu/etc, so if you have any links, id really appreciate it. im googling stuff now as we speak, but there is only so much on Wikipedia that you can trust >_>

 

Well... er... RAM is sort of what I do. That's what I'm really good at. *look about furtively* Um... guys? CPU people? Anyone...?

Just kidding. :-D I'll try to find them, but I make no promises. I keep thinking that I might not have bookmarks so much as just a knowledge of where to go to get the info, but I'll see what I can find.

 

Anything you can do to help me out is appreciated , and if RAM is what you do, is EVERYTHING explained in that link you sent me or is there more i need to know about RAM? and if thats the case, know where i can learn said "more"? :3

Oh and Btw, i added you to MSN so accept >

 

Not everything, but close to it. It's a couple of years old, but the basics stuff is still very valid.

You did? *looks at MSN messenger* Nope, no alerts.

 

oh maybe i have the wrong MSN account...? i added the one listed in your profile... try adding me, my email is listed in my profile as well.

 

Edit that RIGHT NOW.

Do NOT put my email address in your post for spam bots to grab.

EDIT: Thank you. And it is the correct MSN account. It should have come up on my end.

 

Like Mimsy said before, you can't get that book knowledge unless you go to college or uni with a formal training program. Wikipedia has been a great resource for me, as are overclocking type sites. As to what components make up a CPU, well, it's all transistors really shrunk down until you can get more than a billion on a 1.5X1.5" die. Actually, most of a computer is basically all transistors.

Start with transistors, then get your head around Boolean algebra and then we can talk a bit more. That alone should keep you busy for quite a while.

 

Sorry about that, i didnt know such things existed (Spam Bots). Did you try adding me?

 

Well i know how transistors work ROUGHLY. How binary code in a system shuts transistors ON and OFF to allocate energy to specific parts of the system and basicly control the output. 1 = on 0 = off, etc. at least i believe that is correct. and from doing some programing in school, i know that boolean acts in teh same way, as a yes/no command, or relatively On/Off. but i dont understand what you mean by Boolean Algebra, and i dont REALLY understand how transistors work 100%, so if you could help me out? Dx

maybe i can use this as a good starting place, iunno >_<

 

It's actually also a part of the MajorGeeks forum rules. You're not allowed to ask for or post other people's personal info, including emails. Since I'm in a good mood, I thought I'd give you a chance to edit it out before someone reported you.

I restarted my client and it came up, along with an alert, so you're now on my contact list. Temporarily at least.

 

Boolean Algebra will teach you the very basics of a computer's logic, and I mean basic. Yes, transistors are on/off devices and Boolean just organizes things, there is some method to the madness here.

I'm out for tonight, :wave

 

alright, thank you i really appreciate the help, seeya tommorow perhaps :3

 

Did anyone ever find any more Books or Information that can help me? or can anyone new to this thread give me some info?

 

Ommgggg annyyonneeee? D:

I need infffoooo if you got any to sparrreee D:

 

spaaaareee your knowwleedggeeeeee D:

 

Careful... you're spamming the forum

 

>:O! then help me out some more D:

:3