Build Your Own Computer: The complete step-by-step manual to constructing a PC that's right for you Hardcover – 25 July 2012

I have always been a software person when it comes to computers, and never bothered to learn much about hardware. However, when my laptop finally gave up on me I decided to move back to desktop computing, and having known some friends who had a PC built for them, I came up with the bright idea to build my own.Having no idea where to start, I had a look for some books on the subject and found this one. I bought it mainly because of the Haynes reputation for quality manuals and figured this would be on the same level quality-wise. It absolutely is!The book explains all the components required for building a PC, what they do, why they're important, and what kind of quality you need to look for when buying them. There are two basic builds to follow in the book - one for a mid-range PC that is capable of gaming, and the other is for a smaller PC that is designed to function more like a media center. If you were trying to follow the builds in the book exactly this may prove a little difficult (I found that some of the parts were not readily available), so I would recommend coming up with your own build using something like the PC Part Picker website to check it's all compatible and such.When it came to building the PC, the step by step instructions were brilliant. Pictures are also a great help. The only niggle I had was that when it came to installing my CPU cooler, part of it needed to be mounted on the back of the motherboard (which after following the book's instructions, I had already mounted into my case), however this was really my fault as the cooler instruction booklet did say that was how it should be installed!After you've finished building, there's a section on setting up and troubleshooting (though hopefully you shouldn't need it!). I found this very useful as I had no experience booting up a PC for the very first time, using BIOS and installing an operating system.Overall, this is an extremely helpful book. You can go from knowing very little about computer hardware to having a reasonable basic knowledge and the skill to build a computer from scratch. Nothing beats the feeling of building something yourself and seeing it work, and this is the book that helped me do that. Five stars!

I have very basic knowledge of anything hardware related and wanted to do some self-studying to improve my knowledge in this field. I will be going onto further education within Computer Networking, so far this book has been extremely useful.I understand that the book isn't up to date, with it being published about a year ago now I think? But it's a great book, for a number of reasons. It goes into great details about the different elements to a PC, how to shop around for the best deals, how to install parts [with pictures] and so much more.This is a great book for anyone wanting to build their first computer, improve their knowledge or even useful for reference. An absolute steal at the price too! Well recommended.

I just built my first self-made computer using a combination of this book, online tutorials and a little bit of supervision from a friend.I can honestly say I'm pretty glad I picked this up as it really helped me get familiar with the task ahead before I got started.Pros:- Nice, relaxed writing style which explains things clearly without ever patronising the reader- Covers building two quite different types of computer - a powerful, gaming computer and a compact multimedia computer- High quality photographs of components and putting it all together- Although not useful for me as I already had good understanding of components I wanted, it explains each core component and helps you choose the right quality/price level you'll actually need for your computer (e.g. you won't want to spend needless cash on extra RAM or fancy motherboard if you're not looking to play high end games or edit videos)Cons:- Not much to complain about but the one area the book didn't help me much with - and I did need help with this! - is the intricacies of the smaller wiring connections. It certainly shows you how the key power and data cables are supposed to be connected, but there was no real guidance on how to hook up fans and even the front control panel wires. The authors would no doubt argue that this is because many motherboards place these connectors in different locations, but I still would have liked them to have shown how those wires were connected on the motherboard they were using anyway.All in all I'd definitely recommend this to anyone doing their first computer build although it's less useful for anyone with experience or those are looking for better guidance on more advanced skills like fan and LED connections or good cable management.

I love this book even though I have no intention of building another computer at the moment. I have the 2002 edition and wanted to get up to date with modern tech. I just love reading these books and learning about computers in general. It is very well written and covers everything you need to know if you ever decide to take the plunge and build your own pc. The photography is also well done and very clear as with any Haynes manual.

Not quite what is says on the cover "updated for 2010" as Windows 7 was not released (launched Oct'09) when this book went to print and Intel i3 and i5 processors are not mentioned at all. "Updated for early 2009" would have been for accurate. However, it is probably the best book to go for if you want to build your first PC, but some knowledge of the guts of your PC would help a bit. It is well written with clear print and great close up photography. Not worth the full price, but okay for 15 pounds. Why a book like this is in shiny hardback is simply to get more cash - it's not going get flung around your garage like most of Haynes Workshop Manuals !