The Complete Idiot's Guide to Buying and Upgrading PCs

Library Journal

Computers are endowed with a special ability to make many humans feel idiotic. Not that computers care, unless idiocy leads to a pulled power cord, a keyboard broken out of frustration, or a terminated terminal. Prentice Hall's "Complete Idiot" series is a cure for these digital blues. This guide on buying and upgrading PCs goes a long way toward reminding you that computers are just machines. Five sections help you buy a computer, understand its anatomy, connect it with the right peripherals, fix it, and upgrade it when you're ready for more power and speed. By the way, you won't find any Macintosh advice here or elsewhere in this guide, although some of the information is so general it applies to any kind of computing device. This is a collection of computer common sense, packaged in jocular stories, illustrations, and tables. If you are absolutely new to computing, it will start you off on the right path. If you already own a computer and are thinking about upgrading it or even buying a new one, it could fill in the gaps and prevent you from making new errors along the way.