A+++

Bl8ckr0uter

Anyone know of any good book about computer hardware structure, processors, harddrives and etc? Basically A+++ for computer hardware. I figure I am basically going to have to do a lot of googling but I was wondering if anyone knew of a one stop shop type of resource...

tiersten

Any book that will encompass everything which you list will be out of date by the time it reaches the shelves. If you don't mind the fact that there will be out of date sections and things which are no longer accurate then something like Upgrading and Repairing PCs would cover what you want in book form.

Despite what the description of the book says, it generally isn't fully up to date with the latest technology or models for obvious reasons. You'll have to read sections and then do your own research from that to work out what the latest/greatest is.

An example would be them claiming that the Mini ITX motherboard size is "new" along with the DTX standard. Last I heard about DTX was several years ago and I don't think its popular at all just from searching around. There are only a handful of motherboards that use that particular size and they seem to be mostly from one single manufacturer.

Review of an older edition of the book.

Bl8ckr0uter

tiersten wrote: »

Any book that will encompass everything which you list will be out of date by the time it reaches the shelves. If you don't mind the fact that there will be out of date sections and things which are no longer accurate then something like Upgrading and Repairing PCs would cover what you want in book form.

Despite what the description of the book says, it generally isn't fully up to date with the latest technology or models for obvious reasons. You'll have to read sections and then do your own research from that to work out what the latest/greatest is.

I know I am asking for a lot and tech keeps changing but I just need shall you say a deeper A+ book. I think the book you mentioned is going to be pretty close though. Thanks.

Edit: Here is a dumb question, does the book go into a lot of hands on stuff or is it mostly theory? Just from the title it seems like it would be hands on but I also want some theory/esoteric info to grow my geekdom lol.

Edit2: Another dumb question but is it more "pc" oriented or is it "computer" oriented? What I mean is, does it cover server hardware as well or is it more for desktops/laptops?

tiersten

Bl8ckr0uter wrote: »

Edit: Here is a dumb question, does the book go into a lot of hands on stuff or is it mostly theory? Just from the title it seems like it would be hands on but I also want some theory/esoteric info to grow my geekdom lol.

It has both.

Bl8ckr0uter wrote: »

Edit2: Another dumb question but is it more "pc" oriented or is it "computer" oriented? What I mean is, does it cover server hardware as well or is it more for desktops/laptops?

It is generic PC so mostly desktop/laptop but most of that applies to server hardware anyway. Anything else would tend to be specific to whatever brand of server you're buying anyway.

msteinhilber

Bl8ckr0uter wrote: »

****bump**** to see if there are any more ideas

What exactly are you really looking for in a book? If you get beyond the depths of what's covered in even the most recent A+ sorts of hardware books then I don't think I would be pursuing another book after that. I'd probably head and look more for whitepapers and so forth perhaps from the organizations whom draft or influence the standards for particular technologies you run into (PCI-Express, SCSI, SAS, etc) such as PCI-SIG, SCSITA, etc. Might be one place to start, but I'm just wondering exactly what sort of knowledge your trying to pickup since IMO it's going to be hard to find much more than what probably exists in most books on the shelf that cover a wide range of hardware - which is basically just a high level overview of how it all works.

tpatt100

I would just look at whitepapers and tech blogs from reliable sources. Hardware changes too fast for books imo.

NetworkingStudent

Bl8ckr0uter wrote: »

Anyone know of any good book about computer hardware structure, processors, harddrives and etc? Basically A+++ for computer hardware. I figure I am basically going to have to do a lot of googling but I was wondering if anyone knew of a one stop shop type of resource...

At first I saw this post and I thought it was a new comp tia certification hahaha…
Tom’s hardware is a good free source that often reviews and has tons of articles on how to fix, build or buy your computer. Tom's Hardware: Hardware News, Tests and Reviews
Maximum PC has a good site too Technology News, Computer and Notebook Reviews, Computer News, Computer Mods, PC News | Maximum PC
Computer hardware poster 1.7 by =Sonic840 on deviantART

good luck

Devilsbane

Actually I have found good material on Wikipedia. They have lots of different charts comparing processors, video cards, and RAM.