Rating: 
Summary: Horrible book for beginners!
Review: I recently purchased this book thinking I would save myself a few hundred bucks by putting together my own computer, but this is definately not a book designed for beginners. There are some pictures, but the person's fingers are in the way of some of them, and some of them are really dark, making it hard to tell what they're doing or what you're looking at. And they don't go into that much detail on the different parts you're buying (I guess in a 222 page book, what can I expect?). Needless to say, I think this book is a complete waste of money and will be looking for a different one.
Rating: 
Summary: THE BEST DO-IT-YOUR-SELF PC BUILDING BOOK EVER!!!
Review: I was amazed at how easy it was to build my own PC with the help of this highly organized and well-written book. After reading throught the book once, I had enough information to decide on the type of system that I really needed; assembling it was a snap because of the detailed instructions with pictures. I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes putting together their own customized computer system!
Rating:
Summary: GREAT BOOK FOR BEGINNERS AND EXPERTS!!
Review: If you asked me what the diffrence between a moniter and a video card was, I would be clueless! That's until I read this book. Now I know what every single pc part looks like, how each pc part works, how to build a pc, and the average of how much each pc part costs! This book has 250+ photos of each part of a PC and it has a photo for each and every single step of building a pc! I'm only 13 years old and know nearly everything about computers now! It even talks about recent brands of pc parts and each brand's advantages and disadvantages to help you buy the right pc parts! And it's all thanks to this book!!! Of course for first-time-builders, some of it my be a little bit hard to understand at first, but it won't be that hard. Trust me, you'll be building your computer in no time!I "HIGHLY RECOMEND THIS BOOK TO BEGINERS OR EXPERTS"!
Rating: 
Summary: Solid Book
Review: Im typing this review from the PC I just built with help from this book. I would have given it 5 stars only if they had made it more clear that this was not for the absolute beginners. This book is for intermediate to advanced users, but even if you are a beginner there's still a chance you'd be satisfied with it. You have to refer to some background knowledge to understand some of the concepts and terminology, but by in large thats really not that big a problem if you're not prone to being easily frustrated. The bottom line is if you're patient, then you'll get the job done, but if you're looking for a quick build, then dude.....just buy a Dell. Here are the basic specs for the system I built:Tower case (love the big casing)
Pentium 4 processor
256 MB DDR Ram
64 MB video card
Intel Mobo
Windows 2000
Rating:
Summary: Solid Book
Review: In the interest of truth in advertising I need to say up front that I am a friend of the author and that he gave me my copy of "Build Your Own PC". That said, it has been a very helpful resource to me. The way that I have used the book is not strictly as a build guide but as a resource to fill in all of the stuff that the hardware manuals leave out. One very simple example came up when building a PC for my business recently. The manual for the motherboard said to connect the CD ROM drive to the secondary EIDE connector. The CD manual said to do the same but the drive came with the jumper settings set to Slave. This issue was not clearly explained in either manual. So, rather than take a guess and have to trouble shoot by trial and error, I looked it up in "Build Your Own PC" and both the settings and the reasons for those settings were explained. For my situation, with only a single CD on the secondary connector, the jumper should have been set to Master. I changed the jumper and proceeded. The way I use the book is as a place to turn to when the manuals are not sufficient. What that really means to a non-expert such as myself is that I don't have to open the case and start swapping cables and jumpers and components when there is a problem. I also refer to the book for general explanations and background on components, technologies and standards. It is a fast moving industry and I find it very helpful in my efforts to be an educated consumer.
Rating:
Summary: May not be objective but....
Review: In the interest of truth in advertising I need to say up front that I am a friend of the author and that he gave me my copy of "Build Your Own PC". That said, it has been a very helpful resource to me. The way that I have used the book is not strictly as a build guide but as a resource to fill in all of the stuff that the hardware manuals leave out. One very simple example came up when building a PC for my business recently. The manual for the motherboard said to connect the CD ROM drive to the secondary EIDE connector. The CD manual said to do the same but the drive came with the jumper settings set to Slave. This issue was not clearly explained in either manual. So, rather than take a guess and have to trouble shoot by trial and error, I looked it up in "Build Your Own PC" and both the settings and the reasons for those settings were explained. For my situation, with only a single CD on the secondary connector, the jumper should have been set to Master. I changed the jumper and proceeded. The way I use the book is as a place to turn to when the manuals are not sufficient. What that really means to a non-expert such as myself is that I don't have to open the case and start swapping cables and jumpers and components when there is a problem. I also refer to the book for general explanations and background on components, technologies and standards. It is a fast moving industry and I find it very helpful in my efforts to be an educated consumer.
Rating:
Summary: It Helps!
Review: It won't tell you everything but it does a good job. It may be as much of a confidence booster as a "how to" book. PCs today are basically just assembly. Search the web for parts, etc to get the best prices, auctions aren't usually the best deals. Many dealers have online guides that will also help a great deal. I ended up building an AMD 1.2gig, 266FSB PC with almost no problem. The boot disk for windows was unreadable so it took me a little longer to get past that. I've learned a great deal building it and from free information on the web, HOWEVER I would still purchase this book because it still helped clear up some questions. At the price of a quality ATA/66 cable, this book is worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: basic items,basic knowledge,procedures:lacking,tech needed
Review: Mr. Rosenthal; doesn't tell reader about the extra procedures, computer items, & extra knowledge needed. I had to have technical help constantly. Told more about pentium. Didn't tell of others & their differences. No mentioin of certain other items needed, such as rear fans,etc. How cables were hooked together & you received extra cable. The I\O sheild had to be removed & inserted back 5 times. Line up of knock-outs with cards before this procedure of (using hand, better) takeing apart & get these items out. Save These. Other items & procedures along with no complete basics - hurts the first time PC builder.
Rating:
Summary: Excelent Book!
Review: One of the greatest how-to books there are on building your own pc. It goes into great detail with how to install all the components and put them together to build a computer. It doesn't only tell you how to build a Pentium. It also covers AMD, like Athlons. One of the great feutures about this book is that it is up to date. Another great reason to buy this how-to book is because the author does not care to waste any ink, so he describes it ALL in great detal, as mentioned before. If you buy this book and after reading it, dont know where to buy any parts, ... The author should mention this site, but he didn't. After reading this book you will have more knowledge about building computers then you had before reading it. Even if you are a profesional. There is always something you will miss and this book will just make your life easier if you plan to build a computer that will fit your personal needs, even if you are going to sell it.
Rating:
Summary: Save your money to buy better components
Review: Perhaps my expectations were too high, but I have to agree with other unflatering reviews. This book does not provide any of the detailed information required to build a PC. The four example systems built are redundant for the most part. There's virtually no troubleshooting information and no discussion of tradeoffs between the competing systems (price, performance, relaibility, etc.). The information that is provided is sometimes better explained in the associated product information. Again, I guess I was expecting more detail from this book, but I still don't think it's even appropriate for the beginner. Bottom line ... save your money and buy some some better parts for your PC system.
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