Building the Perfect PC



by
Robert B. Thompson and Barbara F. Thompson
Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc.

Reviewed by
Nelson Bigelow, Jr.
Member of MELUG-Central
a Division of Maine Linux Users' Group

If I had a vault, I'd lock this book up at night. Since I don't have a vault, I won't tell you where I live. It's that kind of book.

You might want to borrow it because the $29.95 price might be a bit steep for you, but my response is, "Get your own!" You see, once you start reading, you'll see what a wonderful resource it is. And you'll need it when you start building your perfect PC.

As the creator and maintainer of custom software, I need a computer, but I never paid much attention to what's inside. When a client had problems, I always checked the hardware first, and did so, not really knowing what I was doing. After all, when a software product is running well (and I have some that do), the major problems that arise involve hardware or data. But I really need to learn more about hardware, and studying Building the Perfect PC is the perfect book to do it with.

For years I've believed that the only way to get the proper PC was to build it. This is the authors' belief, too. I'll never forget going to a computer show accompanied by two hardware "gurus" and my checkbook. The goal was to purchase all the parts to build a custom PC that would be ideal to use in my software business. They told me what to get because I had no idea. Then I wrote the checks. When we got home, one of guys assembled it. By about 1:30 AM I had a beautiful new PC. I still didn't know much about the insides. Now I can select and buy the components using Building the Perfect PC as the guide, and a thorough, excellent guide it is!

So, what's the "perfect PC?" The Thompsons define it as "a PC that is perfect for your needs." In designing the perfect PC, they list eight factors that are important. Of the eight, they place price first because it determines the parameters of the other seven. Of the remaining, I would pick reliability as the second most critical, and noise level as the third. The other five are size, expandability, processor performance, video performance, and disk/capacity performance, in no particular order.

The section on "Designing the Perfect PC" discusses all the factors that you must balance in order to attain the desired performance at a reasonable cost. Then the authors tell us the "Things to Know and Do Before You Start." They really have thought of everything, based on years of building machines and training others to do so. Following this is "Things You Need to Have," which covers all the components for the new machine, the hand tools, and the software tools that you'll need. Everything is covered - you just follow their instructions.

"Getting to Know Your Motherboard" begins with a clear, crisp line-drawing of the motherboard with all the major components depicted and identified. The text expands with details of the CPU and the chipset. This is followed by color close-ups of the motherboard and descriptive text, all written in a clear, concise style. Using the line drawing in conjuction with the text you can find each part in the pictures and see what each looks like. This is a beautiful way to teach you about the motherboard.

The next section, "Troubleshooting," may seem out of place, but it is designed to reassure the first-time system builder that they can really assemble a machine. If they have problems, here are 10-pages of assistance to aid in getting things going. How often do manuals relegate troubleshooting to a few relatively irrelevant sentences buried in an appendix? Thus ends Chapter 1.

Chapter 2 is an in-depth course in "Choosing and Buying Components." This is 40- pages long and is filled with detail and recommendations, as well as details on what is not recommended. It gives you "Buying guidelines," too. I love what the authors say in "Final Words." "When the components arrive, restrain yourself. Don't start building your system before the FedEx truck even pulls out of your driveway, particularly if this is your first system build. Read or reread the relevant project chapter."

The following five chapters cover the projects, five different computers. They are: a Mainstream PC, a SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) Server, a Kick-Ass LAN Party PC, a Home Theater PC, and a Small Form Factor PC using an Antec Aria case. (Incidentally, a LAN Party is a group of individuals and their very fast computers assembled into a network to play competitive games.)

Each chapter follows the same structure. From the functional requirements and design criteria to consideration of the specific components, they embody the same dedication to detail and thoroughness. In a section "Building the System," found in each chapter, detailed text and color closeups guide you through the assembly process. Finally you get a checklist to go through before applying power to the system. In "Final Words" in the chapter on the Mainstream PC, the authors reject Windows XP stating they will be using Windows 2000 "until Linux is sufficiently mature as a desktop OS to meet our needs." I echo that sentiment.

One footnote - on page x, in the sidebar, we read, "If you buy this book on a Friday, you can buy your components on Saturday morning, assemble the new system Saturday afternoon, test it Sunday, and have it up and running Monday morning." To which I say, "Tell me another one!" because in direct opposition, on 2 pages beyond, the sidebar says, "...we suggest you read the entire book, including all project chapters, before you start building your new system." Who wrote the first option? Surely not the Thompsons.

The amount of detail in this book is remarkable, and I believe you will need it all at one time or another. It is presented in concise, meticulous, but easy reading style. I don't think anything has been omitted. I am fully confident that I will be able to select the components and build the "Perfect PC" when the need arises. I'm looking forward to that time. Move over Dell Dude, I'm coming through.

Now I'm thinking of getting a vault, so you can come over, but you'll still have to get your own copy anyway. Highly recommended. It's a great book.

Building the Perfect PC by Robert B. Thompson and Barbara F. Thompson, published by O'Reilly Media, Inc., Sebastopol, CA. 333-pages, including the Index. Cost: $29.95. The book also includes a $25.00 mail-in rebate on an Antec Aria Cube case.