PC Hardware in a Nutshell is a comprehensive guide to buying, building, upgrading, and repairing Intel-based PCs, presented in O'Reilly's concise "In a Nutshell" format. The three major thrusts of the book are:
- Buying guidelines. In supplying advice on how to choose optimum systems and components, the book focuses on teaching the reader how to evaluate alternatives rather than on recommending specific products.
- How-to advice. The book is loaded with practical, hands-on information about how to install, configure, and troubleshoot specific components.
- Reference. Numerous tables and the topical organization let novices and professionals alike consult the book for the specifications and steps they need in order to perform discrete tasks.
In addition to covering the fundamentals and general tips about working on PCs, the book includes chapters focusing on motherboards, processors, memory, disks (floppies, hard drives, and optical drives), tape devices, video devices, input devices, audio components, communications, power supplies, and maintenance. The last chapter is a complete case study in building a PC from components.
PC Hardware in a Nutshell is supported by a web site that provides:
- A depository of obsolescent or arcane material that didn't make the book but may still be useful to some
- New and updated material that will appear in updated editions
- Errata
- A Mail drop for reader feedback and suggestions
PC Hardware in a Nutshell is a compact guide, accessible to the ordinary reader and invaluable for the seasoned professional.
PC Hardware in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference relies on an eternal truth of the computer industry: legacy systems never die. This book focuses on the technologies that have provided Wintel personal computers with various capabilities over the years. Like most of its competitors, this book addresses the PC on a subsystem level, and deals with video cards, hard-disk interfaces, memory, and other pieces of the componentry puzzle that hardware integrators need to figure out. The authors do a great job of explaining the differences between (and relative merits of) IDE and SCSI hard-drive interfaces, various video buses, competing processors, and other technologies. They also prove themselves adept at explaining general assembly procedures and troubleshooting strategies.
This book distinguishes itself from its most popular competitors by emphasizing the authors' opinions on hardware products. It's refreshing to see authors recommend Product A for high-performance systems in which price is not an issue, Product B for economical home systems, and Product C for organizational workstations. On the other hand, the recommendations, prices, and similar values will change over time. The authors maintain a great Web site, at which you can find their current recommendations. (The Web site, on the other hand, doesn't include the book's high-quality tutorial on designing and assembling a system from zero.) Even the photographs that appear in this book--traditionally a weak point among hardware books--are clear. --David Wall
Topics covered: Personal computers that comply with Microsoft Windows and Intel compatibility requirements. The authors address processors, memory, hard disks, optical media, removable magnetic disks, video cards, power supplies, and more. Also, there are instructions for assembling a machine from scratch, and some coverage of troubleshooting problems.
