Books about Upgrading from Amazon.com

"...perhaps the most comprehensive book on the subject we've ever seen. It's incredibly well researched, well written, and jam packed with useful information "
--Josh Norem, Reviews Editor, Maximum PC

Upgrading and Repairing PCs is the definitive guide to the inner workings of your PC. Whether you're adding a faster processor or bigger hard drive, tracking down a problem, or just want to understand how the components of your computer work together, this book explains everything you need to know. Trust the one book that has become the de facto standard among PC professionals and enthusiasts around the world.

World-renowned PC hardware expert Scott Mueller has taught thousands in his week-long seminars and millions through his books, videos, and magazine articles. Major changes in the PC hardware industry--including coverage of new Core 2 processors from Intel, Socket AM2 processors from AMD, and significant advances in motherboard chipsets, Blu-ray, and HD-DVD--make Upgrading and Repairing PCs, 18th Edition, an indispensable addition to every serious computer user's bookshelf...that is, if it ever leaves their desks. Readers from around the world trust their computers to Scott. Upgrading and Repairing PCs is found on the desks of teachers, students, hobbyists, repair technicians, and even law enforcement agencies that use this book to aid them in tracking criminals.

New in This Book

• Deep coverage of the new Core 2 (8th gen or "886") processors, featuring the new "Core Microarchitecture"
• Cutting edge coverage of quad-core desktop (Kentsfield) processor versions
• Detailed coverage of AMD’s Socket AM2 processors
• Coverage of evolutionary changes in chipsets, including new versions of Intel's 9xx series chipsets and new 3x series Intel chipsets; coverage of new chipsets from Nvidia, VIA, and SiS has also been added
• Coverage of the new DTX and Mini-DTX motherboard form factors from the newly formed alliance between AMD and ATI
• Beefed-up coverage of Blu-ray and HD-DVD drives/players
• Extensive coverage of new GPUs in addition to heavy-duty coverage of SLI and Crossfire
• Building a PC from scratch--from assembling the hardware to BIOS setup and installing Microsoft Windows XP or Vista

On the DVD
DVD contains 2 hours of all new, studio-quality video--playable in your set-top DVD player and your computer! Scott digs deep into networking, showing all the components needed to build a SOHO (Small Office Home Office) network. Coverage includes network adapters, routers, switches, access points, cable/DSL modems, and cabling. Upgrading an existing network to gigabit speeds is also covered, as well as the latest wireless network technology. The DVD also contains a previously published edition of the book as well as technical reference material, a glossary, and an acronym index. Whether you’re building a hot new PC for home or work, or nursing an aging and ailing PC back to health, these materials prove to be worth their weight in gold to the serious PC technician or hobbyist.

www.upgradingandrepairingpcs.com
If you don’t have a DVD player or only have a set-top DVD, visit www.upgradingandrepairingpcs.com to download all the video from the DVD in Windows Media Player format as well as the PDFs and other materials on the DVD! Plus, check out monthly articles, FAQs, and video from earlier editions you might have missed!

Introduction 1
1 Development of the PC 7
2 PC Components, Features and System Design 25
3 Microprocessor Types and Specifications 39
4 Motherboards and Buses 235
5 BIOS 441
6 Memory 509
7 The ATA/IDE Interface 581
8 Magnetic Storage Principles 637
9 Hard Disk Storage 663
10 Removable Storage 707
11 Optical Storage 747
12 Physical Drive Installation and Configuration 851
13 Video Hardware 885
14 Audio Hardware 987
15 I/O Interfaces from Serial and Parallel to IEEE-1394 and USB 1025
16 Input Devices 1059
17 Internet Connectivity 1103
18 Local Area Networking 1151
19 Power Supplies 1207
20 Building or Upgrading Systems 1295
21 PC Mods: Overclocking and Cooling 1335
22 PC Diagnostics, Testing and Maintenance 1367

ON THE DVD:
A Glossary
B List of Acronyms and Abbreviations


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Price: $33.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This popular Build-It-Yourself (BIY) PC book covers everything you want to know about building your own system: Planning and picking out the right components, step-by-step instructions for assembling your perfect PC, and an insightful discussion of why you'd want to do it in the first place. Most big brand computers from HP, Dell and others use lower-quality components so they can meet their aggressive pricing targets. But component manufacturers also make high-quality parts that you can either purchase directly, or obtain through distributors and resellers. Consumers and corporations alike are opting to build rather than buy PCs to ensure high quality and compatibility.

The new edition of Building the Perfect PC shows you how to construct a variety of top-flight systems with the latest technology, including AMD Socket AM-2 and Intel Core 2 processors, that are Vista- and Linux-ready. The book includes several new options, including:

• A Budget PC you can build for approximately $350 that offers performance and reliability similar to that of mainstream systems
• A full-blown media-center system that runs Linux and MythTV or Windows MCE with multiple tuners and HDTV support
• A fire-breathing high-performance gaming system
• A fast, low-power, low-heat, low-noise, Small Form Factor system (the size of a shoe box)
• A low-cost SOHO (small office, home office) server system with a 2 terabyte (2,000 GB) disk subsystem that's suitable for a residential environment rather than a server closet

Regardless of your technical experience, Building the Perfect PC will guide you through the entire process of building or upgrading your own computer. You'll use the latest top-quality components, including Intel's Core 2 Duo and AMD's Athlon X2 CPUs. And you'll know exactly what's under the hood and how to fix or upgrade your PC, should that become necessary. Not only is the process fun, but the result is often less expensive and always better quality and far more satisfying than anything you could buy off the shelf.

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Price: $19.23 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Loaded with solid advice in the fun style typical of this series, Upgrading & Fixing PCs for Dummies is an excellent introduction to what makes your computer go. If you're sure you can put your new modem or video card in by yourself (and you can), this book will provide you with the help you need.

Rathbone starts with an introduction to all the mysterious connections on the back of your computer's case, teaching you how to distinguish a game port from a serial port and an audio jack from a network connection. He then moves inside the case, using drawings and diagrams to illustrate processors, peripheral cards, memory modules, and other internal components. Troubleshooting occupies much of this book, and the author explains the basic "identify and isolate" strategy very well. He also points out what to look and listen for, describing, for example, the meaning of the beeps you hear when you turn your computer on.

Some of Rathbone's organizational decisions seem weird. He covers the procedure for replacing an internal modem in a chapter about all kinds of internal expansion cards, rather than in the modem chapter. But the information is there and it is well presented, so Upgrading & Fixing PCs for Dummies makes an excellent resource for hardware novices. --David Wall.
Price: $6.30 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Most computer users think that fiddling with the insides of their PC is taboo. They fear that by removing the screws that hold the case on, they're crossing into forbidden territory. And even for those who know they can open the box and fix or upgrade their PC, analysis paralysis often stops them in their tracks:

Which upgrades offer the best bang for the buck? How do you pinpoint the faulty component that's making your system freeze? What about compatibility issues?

Get ready to get unstuck and get your PC running fast and running right. Repairing and Upgrading Your PC delivers start-to-finish instructions, simple enough for even the most inexperienced PC owner, for troubleshooting, repairing, and upgrading your computer. Written by hardware experts Robert Bruce Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson, this book covers it all: how to troubleshoot a troublesome PC, how to identify which components make sense for an upgrade, and how to tear it all down and put it back together. This book shows how to repair and upgrade all of your PC's essential components:

• Motherboard, CPU, and Memory. Choose the optimal match of these core components to keep your PC running at top speed
• Hard Drive, Optical Drive, and Removable Storage
• Give your computer what it needs for long-term and short-term storage
• Audio and Video. Enhance your computing experience with the right sound and graphics devices for your needs
• Input Devices. Pick the best keyboard and mouse to keep your hands happy and healthy
• Networking. Set up secure wireless networking to keep the bits flowing between your computers and the outside world
• Cases and Power Supplies. Keep everything running cool and reliably

With its straightforward language, clear instructions, and extensive illustrations, this book makes it a breeze for PC owners of any skill level to work on their computer.

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Price: $20.05 [Notify me when price goes down.]

BUILD IT. FIX it. OWN IT.

A Beginner’s Guide to Building and Upgrading a PC

Build It. Fix It. Own It. is the ultimate beginner’s guide to building and fixing your own PC. With a friendly, knowledgeable tone, this book shows the beginning PC builder everything he or she needs to know to build a computer or upgrade an existing one.

We step you through the parts that lurk inside a PC, from the motherboard and power supply to the CPU, memory, hard drive, video card, sound card, and networking hardware. In each case, you will learn how the hardware works, what it does, what types of hardware are available, and what to look for when buying the hardware.

Then we walk you step-by-step though a series of PC building projects. We show you how to build five different types of PC: a basic business PC, a home theater PC, a high-performance PC, a killer gaming PC, and a budget PC. And if building a new PC from scratch isn’t in your budget, we show you how to resurrect an old PC by swapping out a few key components.

When you have your PC built and running, we show you how to set up a wireless network and the BIOS and maintain your new rig.

Build It. Fix It. Own It. is the ultimate PC builder’s guide, even if you’ve never ventured inside a PC case before!

Author Bio

Paul McFedries is one of the industry’s most well known and respected technical writers and is a passionate computer tinkerer. He is the author of more than 70 computer books that have sold more than three million copies worldwide. His recent titles include the Sams Publishing books Windows Vista Unleashed and Windows Home Server Unleashed and the Que Publishing books Networking with Microsoft Windows Vista, Formulas and Functions with Microsoft Excel 2007, Tricks of the Microsoft Office 2007 Gurus, and Microsoft Access 2007 Forms, Reports, and Queries. Paul also is the proprietor of Word Spy (www.wordspy.com), a website devoted to tracking new words and phrases as they enter the English language.

Category Hardware

Covers PC Hardware

User Level Beginner—Intermediate

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Price: $19.64 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Laptops--call them notebooks, portable computers, or whatever else you like--are tightly engineered items. It's hard to get all the required components to obey stringent performance and power-management requirements, and still fit into a small case. The job usually requires a custom motherboard and other specialized components, and so the laptop owner who wants to upgrade his or her machine faces a much more difficult task than the owner of a desktop machine with a similar wish. One can swap out the hard drive, add more RAM, and make tweaks in software, but almost everything else requires the addition of external components, which kind of defeat the purpose of a laptop. That's the message the reader takes away from Scott Mueller's Upgrading and Repairing Laptops. It's not Mueller's fault that such computers are hard to do much with, and that your best upgrade procedure is often a visit to an auction site.

That said, Mueller does a great job of explaining how laptops work--how the engineers went about cramming all those heat-generating components into those miniature chassis in the first place. He also explains a lot of interesting component theory, such as how magnetic hard drives store data and how various DVD standards differ. The information makes for good reading, and comes in handy when you're shopping. He also demonstrates his skill--long well-reputed among builders and repairers of desktop machines--in teaching diagnostics. He explains, for example, how to test a laptop power supply, and why you should consider it a prime suspect in a malfunctioning computer even if the LEDs come on and the cooling fan spins. A CD-ROM features videos that show disassembly procedures--a strategy that works better than photographs and numbered steps. --David Wall

Topics covered: How portable computers work (and sometimes fail to work), and how to diagnose their woes. Sections address general troubleshooting concepts, system disassembly, and various subsystems such as memory, CPU, storage, and video. Coverage of PCMCIA (PC Card) is particularly good..
Price: $24.75 [Notify me when price goes down.]

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Price: $10.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]