Learning the Basics on PC Hardware?

[tm2dragon]

A decade after dropping out, I've finally built up the courage to go back to school! What I want MORE THAN ANYTHING is to learn more about the Hardware side of electronics, especially computers. This has proved pretty freaking difficult, as even though I live in an area full of big universities and community colleges, I've yet to find any courses that give the hardware side of things more than a passing mention! Oh, you'll find a dozen courses on how to use Microsoft Excell or Word, but if you want a course that teaches you what a freaking MOTHERBOARD IS (seriously, I have no idea)....yeah, they don't exist as far as I can tell. Heck, even the basic background software, the stuff you need to know in if you don't want to mess up your modded game through improper "load orders" (don't understand that either)...yeah, nothing on that stuff. If I want to learn how to create and upkeep a massive company database, then THAT they'll teach. If I want to build a working computer and make sure all the background software is working right (you know, the stuff you should know BEFORE doing all the crazy complex stuff), you are s*** out of luck.

 

Does anyone here have any suggestions on this one? I know the answer is usually "ask a friend who knows about computers" but I don't HAVE any of those. Has anyone seen online courses (preferably cheap or free, as Financial Aid likely won't help me there), or know what these types of courses are called and how to easily locate schools that offer them? Seriously, I really want to know more about the hardware side of things! Not only so that I can make an even more awesome rig (WITHOUT having to just order parts from a list a website suggested and then dropping them all off at the local computer repair store and saying "here, YOU build the thing!") but because it honestly sounds like something I'd enjoy both in my personal life or a proper career.

 

Any help you folks can offer would be MOST appreciated!

Edited May 2, 2018 by tm2dragon

[Erik005]

You could start with just watching YouTube,

https://www.youtube.com/user/Techquickie

 

https://www.youtube.com/user/explainingcomputers

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCss3QxegBkF8BAetIo0qXA

Edited May 3, 2018 by Erik005

[HeyYou]

Either that, or look for someplace offering A+ certification training. :D

[JimmyRJump]

Also, got to websites like Tom's Hardware, GuruOf3D and some such and read up on what's been released and benchmarks and stuff. That's how I learned some of it. And by opening my computer and having a decent look inside. Been building my own (and family's and friend's and families of friends) computers for almost twenty years now. And we all still talk, so, hey...

[Shadyfan4500]

All of these above me are great suggestions. I learned a lot of what I know from using computers since childhood. Started on XP, now I'm on 8.1 and 10.

 

You seem to want to know the bare basics, so I could start at the very bottom if you want.

 

The basic components of a computer are:

Storage Drive (This could be a Hard Disk Drive (has a disk that spins, and a read head that reads data from a very specific place on the disk), or a Solid State Drive (very similar to a flash/thumb drive, except extremely fast and can hold much more data), or more complex drives such as the Hybrid Drive (both of these in one, high storage, faster read/write speeds than a HDD))

CPU (Processor, this is arguably the most important part of the computer. It executes basic instructions and logic and math sent to it. Generally, the more cores, or the higher the clock count, the better it can do this. If you want to get technical, you have to consider both of those numbers. A 2.5 Gigahertz clock speed with 2 cores is really slow, considering modern CPU's are usually 3.3-3.5 Gigahertz with at least 4 or 6 cores.)

RAM (Randomly Accessible Memory. There are different types for different computers. Laptops and Desktops have incompatible RAM, and there are 4, soon to be 5, generations of DDR RAM. Each generation is a better iteration of the last, with more storage capability and higher speeds. RAM is volatile memory, which means that all data stored on the RAM when the computer is powered down, is lost. Storage Drives are non-volatile, which means they keep data stored on them when powered down, as you may have been able to tell by now)

GPU/Graphics Card (Much like a CPU, except the GPU's only function is to do graphical calculations and instructions. The better your GPU (Clock Speed, just like the CPU, and CUDA Core/Stream Processors which could be compared to the core count on a CPU), the more pixels it can output on your display, at a higher resolution, the faster. The speed it can output is measured in Frames Per Second. Depending on your system, this number could be bottlenecked by your monitor, which could cap the FPS limit at 60, or 75, or 120. Some of them go up to 144, and some have just come out that go over 200. I can't even fathom what that looks like, since I've only seen 60)

Motherboard (The difference between a good motherboard and a bad motherboard is often the overclocking ability of it. Many can overclock the CPU, and many of them nowadays can overclock the RAM too. This just means that their clock counts go higher, and they can do more per second or millisecond, often at the expense of their lifespan and definitely warranty (overclocking is not protected by the manufacturers, so it's purely at your own risk). Beyond that, the motherboard also has a BIOS, or UEFI. At its base, these are just menus where the user can modify their systems, and boot into specific drives or the first bootable drive. A lot of things can be done here, but it depends greatly on the series of the board, and the manufacturer. There are a lot of things about this that even I don't know about, so my words here are not the be all and end all)

PSU (Power Supply. This just delivers power to the components. Make sure your wattage (the number on the side, followed by W or MW or M) is high enough to power the system. Most systems can be powered by as little as 400W. There are different types of power supplies, that would be the MW and M types. The default type is just unremovable wires sticking out, while MW is semi-modular, and the necessary wires (usually Motherboard Power) can't be removed while everything else can. The final type would be fully modular, which means that all the wires could be removed or added. I would prefer modular power supplies if I could buy one, since it would be so much easier to replace than a non-modular one)

 

After all of that, you install your Operating System, or your OS. This is typically Windows, but some people can install Mac on custom computers, and some people prefer different versions of Linux. Ubuntu is the most popular one. You probably know a lot about this step though. For Windows, if you don't know already, I would recommend you learn some of the slightly advanced topics, such as Disk Management, general maintenance of the storage of your drives, typical Run and Command Prompt commands, etc. I recommend you get the program, CCleaner, by Piriform. This program does regular checks of your drive, and will suggest you clean up the junk on it to keep your storage drives in check. It's pretty customizable in what it removes, and it has plenty of other features too.

 

Another thing I would recommend is a good sense of Desktop Organization. I'll describe to you my personal setup. I used to have a monitor that would burn images after 5-10 minutes, so I decided I would make a changing background. I get multiple backgrounds and set it up to change after every 3 minutes. Then, on the Desktop, I hid all of my icons, and decided to use File Explorer whenever I wanted to access the Desktop. Then, I put together some folders: Shortcuts and Taskbar Shortcuts. Shortcuts is pretty self-explanatory, it's where I put all of the shortcuts for all of my programs that have one--they're all in one neat place, despite being spread out on two different hard drives. Taskbar Shortcuts is a little more complex. By default, Windows 8.1 does not allow you to put folders on your taskbar. This folder, Taskbar Shortcuts, is a folder of shortcuts of folders of shortcuts (god that was fun to type). I put organized shortcuts into named folders, and created shortcuts of those folders. Then, following this guide (bottom of page 2), I made these shortcuts able to be pinned to the taskbar, and then I pinned them. It shortened the amount of shortcuts I needed to have on the taskbar. You can even change the image the shortcuts use, and use any .exe for its icon.

 

I'm lucky that I absorb information quickly, because I learned how to build computers, and what the parts do, in about 3 youtube videos. The rest of the stuff here, I'm fortunate enough to have been using computers since age 6, and also I have a good google search ability I guess. I come up with an idea, and then I google my way through it. Knowing how to program is really helpful too, but that's a lot to ask of someone. If you ever want to go down that route, you can PM me, and I can send you the links to the books I used to learn (but let me preface it by saying that I had a teacher).

[Deleted54170User]

An accredited Engineer college should have classes in electronics; that cover all you've 'never' wanted to know about how to build a mother board, a video card, HD, SSD. I recommend you look into courses aimed at Radio & TV Electronics. Computers are radios and televisions all set up as one.

[tm2dragon]

An accredited Engineer college should have classes in electronics; that cover all you've 'never' wanted to know about how to build a mother board, a video card, HD, SSD. I recommend you look into courses aimed at Radio & TV Electronics. Computers are radios and televisions all set up as one.

 

Great to know! No colleges like that in the area, but I'll likely be moving to Southern California. I'll be sure to check all the universities and colleges down there!

All of these above me are great suggestions. I learned a lot of what I know from using computers since childhood. Started on XP, now I'm on 8.1 and 10.

 

You seem to want to know the bare basics, so I could start at the very bottom if you want.

 

The basic components of a computer are:

Storage Drive (This could be a Hard Disk Drive (has a disk that spins, and a read head that reads data from a very specific place on the disk), or a Solid State Drive (very similar to a flash/thumb drive, except extremely fast and can hold much more data), or more complex drives such as the Hybrid Drive (both of these in one, high storage, faster read/write speeds than a HDD))

CPU (Processor, this is arguably the most important part of the computer. It executes basic instructions and logic and math sent to it. Generally, the more cores, or the higher the clock count, the better it can do this. If you want to get technical, you have to consider both of those numbers. A 2.5 Gigahertz clock speed with 2 cores is really slow, considering modern CPU's are usually 3.3-3.5 Gigahertz with at least 4 or 6 cores.)

RAM (Randomly Accessible Memory. There are different types for different computers. Laptops and Desktops have incompatible RAM, and there are 4, soon to be 5, generations of DDR RAM. Each generation is a better iteration of the last, with more storage capability and higher speeds. RAM is volatile memory, which means that all data stored on the RAM when the computer is powered down, is lost. Storage Drives are non-volatile, which means they keep data stored on them when powered down, as you may have been able to tell by now)

GPU/Graphics Card (Much like a CPU, except the GPU's only function is to do graphical calculations and instructions. The better your GPU (Clock Speed, just like the CPU, and CUDA Core/Stream Processors which could be compared to the core count on a CPU), the more pixels it can output on your display, at a higher resolution, the faster. The speed it can output is measured in Frames Per Second. Depending on your system, this number could be bottlenecked by your monitor, which could cap the FPS limit at 60, or 75, or 120. Some of them go up to 144, and some have just come out that go over 200. I can't even fathom what that looks like, since I've only seen 60)

Motherboard (The difference between a good motherboard and a bad motherboard is often the overclocking ability of it. Many can overclock the CPU, and many of them nowadays can overclock the RAM too. This just means that their clock counts go higher, and they can do more per second or millisecond, often at the expense of their lifespan and definitely warranty (overclocking is not protected by the manufacturers, so it's purely at your own risk). Beyond that, the motherboard also has a BIOS, or UEFI. At its base, these are just menus where the user can modify their systems, and boot into specific drives or the first bootable drive. A lot of things can be done here, but it depends greatly on the series of the board, and the manufacturer. There are a lot of things about this that even I don't know about, so my words here are not the be all and end all)

PSU (Power Supply. This just delivers power to the components. Make sure your wattage (the number on the side, followed by W or MW or M) is high enough to power the system. Most systems can be powered by as little as 400W. There are different types of power supplies, that would be the MW and M types. The default type is just unremovable wires sticking out, while MW is semi-modular, and the necessary wires (usually Motherboard Power) can't be removed while everything else can. The final type would be fully modular, which means that all the wires could be removed or added. I would prefer modular power supplies if I could buy one, since it would be so much easier to replace than a non-modular one)

 

After all of that, you install your Operating System, or your OS. This is typically Windows, but some people can install Mac on custom computers, and some people prefer different versions of Linux. Ubuntu is the most popular one. You probably know a lot about this step though. For Windows, if you don't know already, I would recommend you learn some of the slightly advanced topics, such as Disk Management, general maintenance of the storage of your drives, typical Run and Command Prompt commands, etc. I recommend you get the program, CCleaner, by Piriform. This program does regular checks of your drive, and will suggest you clean up the junk on it to keep your storage drives in check. It's pretty customizable in what it removes, and it has plenty of other features too.

 

Another thing I would recommend is a good sense of Desktop Organization. I'll describe to you my personal setup. I used to have a monitor that would burn images after 5-10 minutes, so I decided I would make a changing background. I get multiple backgrounds and set it up to change after every 3 minutes. Then, on the Desktop, I hid all of my icons, and decided to use File Explorer whenever I wanted to access the Desktop. Then, I put together some folders: Shortcuts and Taskbar Shortcuts. Shortcuts is pretty self-explanatory, it's where I put all of the shortcuts for all of my programs that have one--they're all in one neat place, despite being spread out on two different hard drives. Taskbar Shortcuts is a little more complex. By default, Windows 8.1 does not allow you to put folders on your taskbar. This folder, Taskbar Shortcuts, is a folder of shortcuts of folders of shortcuts (god that was fun to type). I put organized shortcuts into named folders, and created shortcuts of those folders. Then, following this guide (bottom of page 2), I made these shortcuts able to be pinned to the taskbar, and then I pinned them. It shortened the amount of shortcuts I needed to have on the taskbar. You can even change the image the shortcuts use, and use any .exe for its icon.

 

I'm lucky that I absorb information quickly, because I learned how to build computers, and what the parts do, in about 3 youtube videos. The rest of the stuff here, I'm fortunate enough to have been using computers since age 6, and also I have a good google search ability I guess. I come up with an idea, and then I google my way through it. Knowing how to program is really helpful too, but that's a lot to ask of someone. If you ever want to go down that route, you can PM me, and I can send you the links to the books I used to learn (but let me preface it by saying that I had a teacher).

Wow. That is going above and beyond help! O_O Really appreciate the lesson. ( : I'll probably even print this out so I can take a closer look at it! Thank you for your amazingly thoughtful response!

[HeyYou]

Why would you want to move to Southern California? A place that no one can afford to live in?

[Shadyfan4500]

I wish I could tell you more about what the RAM does, or the CPU, but these are things that I don't know much about either.

[tm2dragon]

Why would you want to move to Southern California? A place that no one can afford to live in?

The fun answer would be ”Disneyland!!!”. Truth is my Mother is aging fast, I am very much NOT equipped to be her sole caretaker, and every family member or family friend we have who can help is located twenty minutes from each other down there.

 

Also, this place is boring as hell, has no active geek community, and I’ve yet to make one friend here in over five years. : ( Down there I already know people, and there are a ton of events, meet-ups, and locations to meet potential friends of like interests.

 

But yeah, the cost thing DOES suck. ><