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Rating: 
Summary: Excellent, the best general purpose hardware out there
Review: I have owned the Winn L. Rosch Hardware Bible 3rd edition for 2 years now and I have not managed to find another book as complete, readable, and as close to the kind of hardware book one could wish for in order to learn everything there is to know in this field (as opposed to hardware programming books such as PC Intern) as it. Other books mainly concentrate on upgrades and repair, that meaning there is a lot of overhead for discussing computer design rather than it's concepts and technical parameters. The "Bible" does not limit itself for comprehensiveness and is THE definitive book to get for beginners and experts alike (hence it's all around user level). My life changed with the "bible", enough to make hardware my religion!
Rating: 
Summary: Could be much better with some editing.
Review: I was hoping this book would be as good as "Upgrading and Repairing PC's", but it doesn't measure up. The depth of detail on certain topics is not well balanced.
For instance, the author refers to floppy discs as necessary to modern computers as an appendix, but spends a many pages detailing it as well and it's all but obsolete relatives like the Iomega Zipdisk. Granted the zipdisk was relevant in the 1990's but it is irrelevant today. OTOH hard disc construction and it's evolution, a far more interesting and relevant topic today is not written in such deep detail.
Many dated topics pertaining to only MS-DOS need to edited down to be more concise. A detailed breakdown of all the registers in a CMOS clock chip, and all the different frequencies produced by the system timer is not needed by the average computer programmer and system builder today. It almost seems the newer the technology, the fewer the pages devoted to it.
Some information is downright wrong. The author has a limited understanding of digital video and makes many inaccurate statements regarding that topic. For all pages in the book devoted to technical minutia, I wouldn't trust it to be entirely authoritative.
Although this book is giant sized and expensive, many pages are wasted. Seperating the interesting bits of information from all the long winded filler is a chore. I would recommend browsing "Upgrading and Repairing PC's" over this book.
Rating: 
Summary: adequate
Review: I've owned the Mueller and Minasi books previously. Recnetly I decided to go for a change of heart and try Rosch's but I was severely disappointed in the comparison: Rosch does not have the depth of the other two nor is it as well written. This could be a really good book for a beginner BUT I don't think with this book you will progress beyond that stage.
Get Mueller's Upgrading and Repairing or Minasi's gold standard instead. Minasi's is the best on the subject for a beginner to an advanced hardward engineer who needs to keep up on the ever changing hardware environment; Mueller's fills in some technician gaps; Rosch is a distant third.
Rating:
Summary: The best to buy components
Review: If you are going to buy an entire computer or some components read this book before, you will save time and money. The preliminary tables at the beginnings of the chapters are wonderful, concise and complete. The website of this book http://www.hardwarebible.com/ is also very good. If you have more time to read and if you have to install or repair a component, Scott Mueller's Upgrading and Repairing PCs is the best, in the last edition there are also movies in the CD explaining how to install and repair.
Rating:
Summary: For those looking for the overall Hardware book this is it.
Review: In over 15 years of I work I am always looking for new material and books relating to the latest technology both hardware and software. This is the first time I have looked at the Hardware Bible and as a Computer Technical Instructor this book has already come in handy for a couple of A+ classes I am teaching. While the book is not written to any specific exam, I found that is would definitely help with the A+ and CST exams. The author's extensive hardware knowledge is evident throughout the book. One thing that impressed me throughout the book was the author not only gives detailed information about the most current technology, but also gives you a firm background on older technologies as well. While the book is the "Hardware" bible, there is far more than just hardware information, you'll also find TCP/IP and the internet, as well as memory management included in the overall coverage. I found this to be a fairly complete text to work with. You can also register online and find both the 5th and 6th editions available. About the only thing that wasn't included was a cd with hardware utilities, but looking at what you do get this is a minor drawback. Overall this book is a certainly worth the look.
Rating:
Summary: A reference guide!
Review: It's almost every thing you wanted to know and never found the answer, without lots of research, but here they are! A little lack of some drawing to help...
Rating: 
Summary: Nice, extensive and worth the money
Review: okay I know a bit about general computer stuff and for me this book completely fulfilled my needs. Almost everything is covered, just not the architecture of non-intel cpu's like HP's, MIPS, Sun and DEC alpha, which I find a shame. The cdrom that comes with the book is a waste of time to say the least, ugley layout mostly text that offer no significant extra info and no index -absolutely unuseful. One of the best things about this book is the authors critical view to a lot of the technologies described, which really is needed when you are discussing pc technology. If you want coverage of just abot everything concerning pc's and don't mind the volume of data then this is definitely the book. The author could have added sort of summaries to each standard description; sometimes he describes the subject a little to extensive, and the tables are a bit technician like,a fact I suppose would-be engineers and real technicians would love. Last I must confess I only read the Premier Edition and don't know if it differs from fourth edition.(other than it's a hardback)
Rating:
Summary: *THE* Hardware bible!
Review: This book is definitely worth the money, great forbeginner or advanced computer users! It covers a comprehensive hardware selections with clear concepts and explanations. Although it doesn't cover hardware repairbut it's a must buy for anyone who wants learn comprehensively about personal computer hardware.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome full understanding
Review: This book is not a how-too, but a why and a what. I have a new extensive technical writing project to do with network printing and I need to know a slew of stuff quick. Not just to know it but to understand it. Networking, ports, printers, it's all here! I agree with one reviewer that if you are strictly interested in the cutting edge, this book does not distill that knowledge, but offers it along with histories and legacy information. My particular project involves - as do most professional projects - a mix of the old and the new: therefore for the real professional world, after just one day I am finding this book indespensible. There is just a hint of humor here to keep the narrative going, but the information is the thing. And, all for a reasonable price-this voluminous content, I give it a resounding thumbs up!! Jon Wexler
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