Paul McFedries

“Information appears to stew out of me naturally, like the precious ottar of roses out of the otter.” —⁠Mark Twain

Build It. Fix It. Own It.

Everything you need to know to build your own PC.

Front cover of the book Build It. Fix It. Own It.

Book Info

  • Publisher: Que Publishing
  • Pages: 556
  • Price: US$29.99
  • Pub. date: May 29, 2008
  • Category: computers
  • Tags: beginner, customization, hacking, intermediate, maintenance, PC, troubleshooting

Build It. Fix It. Own It. A Beginner's Guide to Building and Upgrading a PC shows you how to cobble together your very own PC, even if you never cracked open a case in your life. That's right: even if you wouldn't know a CPU from a PSU or a motherboard from a memory module, this book tells you everything you need to know build a working computer with your bare hands (and perhaps a screwdriver or two).

The first few chapters take you on guided tours of the various PC parts, including the case, motherboard, power supply, processor, hard drive, and memory. Along the way, you learn how each part works and how it fits into the overall design of your custom PC. You also get handy "buyer's guides" that tell you how to make smart choices when purchasing hardware for your hand-crafted machine. I also include chapters on buying parts, setting up your work area, and learning the basic skills that any budding PC builder needs to know.

With all that useful information swimming around in your head, the second half of the book gets downright practical with a series of projects:

  • Building a Basic Business PC
  • Building a Home Theater PC
  • Building a High-Performance PC
  • Building a Killer Gaming PC
  • Building a Budget PC

Each chapter goes through all the parts you need to get, and then takes you step-by-step through the build process. Building a PC from scratch was never this easy!

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