Build Your Own PC Do-It-Yourself For Dummies

If you’ve dreamed about having a customized multimedia PC or one tricked out for your favorite games, build your own and make your dreams come true! Build Your Own PC Do-It-Yourself For Dummies makes it easy. Not only is building your own PC a really rewarding project, it can also save you a nice chunk of cash. This step-by-step guide helps you decide what you need, teaches you what all those computer terms mean, and tells you exactly how to put the pieces together. It shows you: What tools you need (not as many as you might think!) All about operating systems How to install CD and DVD drives The scoop on sound and video, and how to put a sound system together from start to finish How to connect a monitor and install a modem All about setting up and configuring the hard drive Secrets for securing your system, and more Included is a bonus DVD showing you how to install the motherboard, CPU, RAM, ports, hard drive, video and sound cards, a DVD drive, and more. With Build Your Own PC Do-It-Yourself For Dummies, you can have the computer you want plus the satisfaction of doing it yourself! Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Introduction 1 Part I: Preparations and Planning 9 Chapter 1: A Screwdriver Is All You Need 11 Chapter 2: What Type of PC Should I Build? 23 Part II: Assembling the Basics 39 Chapter 3: Building the Foundation: The Case and Motherboard 41 Chapter 4: A Bag of Chips: Adding RAM and a CPU 61 Chapter 5: Installing Your Ports, Mouse, and Keyboard 77 Chapter 6: Adding Video Hardware 93 Chapter 7: Installing Your Hard Drive and Other Storage Devices 115 Chapter 8: Choosing and Installing an Operating System 135 Part III: Adding the Fun Stuff 151 Chapter 9: Installing an Optical Drive 153 Chapter 10: Let Your PC Rock! 169 Chapter 11: Modems and the Call of Broadband 187 Part IV: Advanced PC Options 207 Chapter 12: So You Want to Add a LAN? 209 Chapter 13: Input and Output: Scanners, Cameras, and Printers 223 Chapter 14: Building a Gaming PC 235 Part V: The Part of Tens 249 Chapter 15: Ten Tools and Tasks for a Power User’s PC 251 Chapter 16: Ten Important Assembly Tips 257 Chapter 17: Ten Ways to Maintain Your PC 263 Chapter 18: Ten PC Pitfalls to Avoid Like the Plague 269 Part VI: Appendixes 275 Appendix A: About the DVD 277 Appendix B: The PC Builder’s Glossary 279 Index 289