Rating: 
Summary: Wicked awesome
Review: As of the date of this review, the Third Edition is a terrific book. Absolutely right on. It covers everything you need to know to build your own ATX-form factor computer, with the possible exception of leads to the best online vendors. It also doesn't cover things like mini-ITX configurations, but that wouldn't be appropriate for an introductory text anyway. If you are looking for the one book that will show you how to build your own machine, this is it.
Rating:
Summary: Wicked awesome
Review: As of the date of this review, the Third Edition is a terrific book. Absolutely right on. It covers everything you need to know to build your own ATX-form factor computer, with the possible exception of leads to the best online vendors. It also doesn't cover things like mini-ITX configurations, but that wouldn't be appropriate for an introductory text anyway. If you are looking for the one book that will show you how to build your own machine, this is it.
Rating:
Summary: Exceptionally Clear and Informative
Review: By far the clearest 'How To' book I have ever read. The writing is always informative at ever step. Definite thumbs up!!
Rating: 
Summary: excellent but dated
Review: Excellent book, great photos. Fantastic for DIY.
However, the year 2004 is creeping on us, so an update would be nice, especially with amd64.
Rating: 
Summary: good
Review: I admit, you need to know a good amount about computers in the first place to learn from this book. Thats why it was perfect for me. It gave me a good explanation on installation of all the components in general. I'm tons more confortable to build a PC now. You other readers are very biased probbably because you either don't know anything about comps before you read this book, or need everything laid out for you even though it wouldn't be possible to explain it better than in this book. I'd recommend this book to anyone. Only complaint was a couple motherboard installation illustrations.
Rating:
Summary: needs more on the shopping of parts, and troubleshooting
Review: I am sure this is a great show by example book. with just enough knowledge mentioned, this book simplifies the task of building a PC. And quite amazingly, it is rather up to date. However, I only wish the author could spare a little ink on how to purchase different parts. After all, assembling all the parts together is not difficult at all, because it is no more than finding the right plugs and connect them (from our point of view, there is very little difference between a CD-ROM and a DVD-ROM). It is the hunting for the parts that get me (and probably a lot of other readers as well). Also the book goes something like this, "it seems that the BIOS does recognize the CPU with correct speed... excellent, now let's get it over with..." But what if something does go wrong? what if there is a hardware conflict, or what if some parts are defective? How would you tell which part is bad, and what the solution would be? Even a loose connection in the video card could seem to be a disaster to a beginner simply because he/she does not have the experiences to judge what and where the problems occur.
Rating:
Summary: A must for every technician's library!
Review: i bought this book as a follow-up to "The Hand Me Down PC", also written by Morris Rosenthal. The explanations in this book followed suit with the Hand Me Down PC. The terminology was clear and easy to follow. The illustrations were clear and well placed to demonstrate and support the explanations. I have recommended this book in classes that I have taught on basic computer trouble-shooting to those who are scared to even remove the cover. It has helped them become much more comfortable with hardware issues. I saw a teacher that, last year, was afraid to turn on a computer, replace a floppy drive using this manual and a little phone support by me. Thanks Mr. Rosenthal
Rating:
Summary: A very good book
Review: I don't want to think that I'm overrating this book, but I honestly love it. The author is indeed very knowledgeable and gives good advice. I believe he has done a very good job, having in mind how thin the book is - I wish there was more of it. Still, I definitely feel that I have gained a good deal of knowledge out of this book, and I'm looking forward to the next edition. I would certainly recommend this book for newbies who want to get their feet wet into this exciting world of computer hardware.
Rating:
Summary: A very good book
Review: I don't want to think that I'm overrating this book, but I honestly love it. The author is indeed very knowledgeable and gives good advice. I believe he has done a very good job, having in mind how thin the book is - I wish there was more of it. Still, I definitely feel that I have gained a good deal of knowledge out of this book, and I'm looking forward to the next edition. I would certainly recommend this book for newbies who want to get their feet wet into this exciting world of computer hardware.
Rating:
Summary: Great tool
Review: I own your book it is a great tool. I would like to know if there is a spanish version if so where can I get it?
| 
