The best
PC Hardware books:
Reddit reviews
From 3.5 billion Reddit comments
The best of PC Hardware books by number of unique Reddit comments:
Top Reddit reviews mentioning PC Hardware books:
Lol what?
Dude, you don't need any fucking classes to start out in IT
You can buy textbooks and earn certs while spending minimum amounts of money
Do not sign up for some fucking ridiculous 23k course. That's insane.
This field is so beautiful because you can dive in without any student debt whatsoever, don't hamstring yourself by going into debt like that
If you want an entry level job, go buy the A+ cert book on amazon
Maybe do network+ too(that's the path i started out with so I'm biased I suppose).
You're talking like less than 50 bucks for the textbooks and then a couple hundred bucks for the tests(total), and with those 2 certs you can easily get an entry level help desk job and start working your way up.
It beats the fuck out of manual labor, that's for sure
There sure are books!
My favorite authors are Mike Myers and Todd Lammle.
Here's a guide for the CompTIA A+ certification.
These books can be a bit pricey, but it's EVERYTHING you need to know for the certification. If you have this book and a computer to practice on, you have everything you need to pass. The book is nearly 1,500 pages long as well. If you struggle to afford the books, you can always search online for illegal copies of older versions and possibly even the latest version that I linked. I assume the copyright police aren't going to be breaking down your doors.
The A+ certification estimates 6-9 months of hands-on training to be able to pass, but it can definitely be done in a shorter amount of time. Don't get dissuaded if after a month you feel tired of studying. Even if you don't have the means to take the exam, the information you can learn will help you so much.
This book:
Elements of Computing Systems - https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Computing-Systems-Building-Principles/dp/0262640686/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518118693&sr=8-1&keywords=elements+of+computing+systems
Will do what you are looking to do.
Messers videos are good as they are laid out in the same order as the exam objectives, i did get this book to read and make notes from (also laid out in the same order as the objectives), i use a flashcard app to make notes and ask myself questions. with regards to the ports i did them in reverse also - what port is FTP ? or what protocol uses tcp/21 so i learnt them both ways
I would recommend his notes aswell, they are just a printable version of the videos, but i referred to this when i was reading the book and making my own notes to see if he had something i missed.
All the things he mentions have a chance of coming up on the exam, so i did my best to try commit as much of it to memory as i could.
Arstechnicas "Inside the Machine" is an amazing book if you want to really learn how a CPU ticks.
Amazon link:
I would recommend the hardback variant.
The actual nuts and bolts of PC building and such is really simply enhanced through reading Wikipedia, really. Absorb specs and numbers and learn the history of things. Some of it will also only come with time and exposure and conversations about them.
Não sei se seria complicado demais, mas tem o livro The Elements of Computing Systems: Building a Modern Computer from First Principles (por R$ 99 na amazon).
Ele mostra como construir um "computador", incluindo SO, bootloader, etc, que roda num processador que você também constrói virtualmente. E justamente p/ construir esse processador você parte das portas lógicas mais básicas e vai incrementando.
Não é tão "logic for dummies" mas me parece bem recompensador. (Está na minha wishlist ainda)
There is an all in one A+ book on amazon (https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X) This book is a good read through for general concepts - read it quickly, don't go super hardcore study mode on this book, its quite long. This along with professor messer (free, google it)after quickly reading through was all I used to get my A+.
If you have some knowledge of computers and perhaps built your own you could be ready for a helpdesk role already. I know all I had was "customer service" and some basic technical knowledge before I got my first job. Just be sure to word your customer service skills as if you were on the phone doing customer service - since this may be a large portion of the job. Asides from that - google common helpdesk interview questions, their answers, and then google the specific terms like dhcp and dns to understand how they work.
For me the biggest help was the All in One book by Mike Meyers people complain that he is long winded in the book. But I think the stories that he tells give insite and the full context needed to pass the 1002 exam. I'll add a link below.
This is also a very very good book:
https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Machine-Introduction-Microprocessors-Architecture/dp/1593276680
What are you using to study right now?
​
I have my second test today, but I've used Mike Meyer's book as well as his Udemy course. Then I used Jason Dion's practice exams. Those are all very popular resources to get started.
​
Another popular (and free) resource is professor Messer on Youtube.
This book is $35 and is most excellent. I've read almost every edition since its original release in 2009. (It's up to edition 8 now.)
This book is a full-blown advanced ASP.NET tutorial. You won't be disappointed. In fact, it tends to get some less-than 5-star reviews because some readers find it too difficult to follow (it's an advanced tutorial, FFS!)
Anyway, I have a copy and I flipped thru it. Still looks good to me! :)
Firstly I would like to say thank you for your curiosity in computers and thanks for asking colinw45, so my first suggestion would be go to your local library to look at books about basic computer repair and stuff like that or take a class at your high school career program or local junior college aka( 2 year) and yeah jus learn over time. Ive have learned about computers my entire life so like 18 years and I am still not a master. This book at barnes and noble or amazon is great its better if you get it in paper version because it is a good reference tool. https://www.amazon.ca/Upgrading-Repairing-22nd-Scott-Mueller/dp/0789756102
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/upgrading-and-repairing-pcs-scott-mueller/1116693453
Mike Meyers book is what I used. Here is the the link to Amazon.
> So you’re still not going to link it?
Marty mate, I've explicitly and repeatedly said 'you need to stand on your own two feet on this one'.
Here, fuck it. There you go. I hope your happy, you broke me.
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X
Basically the A+ bible right there. Mike Meyers cert books are pretty much the go to. For CCNA, they publish their own stuff.
This book goes into overkill on all the topics, it kinda explains things as the author sees it logically. I bought this book first and read it from start to finish and it was a long haul. i would recommend the passport version of the book, it is organised as the topics are on the exam and gives you the information needed with minimal extra.
I would also recommend watching Professor Messers videos as he gives you the information needed as they are in the objectives.
There is alot of great information on this post. I was actually in the same boat as the description you gave. Wanted to get into programming but did not understand how to actually apply the knowledge after going through some lynda/youtube courses.
I have purchased a study guide for the Comp TIA A+ certification after christmas to broaden my understanding on hardware, networks, and security. Hopefully it helps, but if there are any other suggestions please let me know! https://www.amazon.com/dp/1260454037/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_HNm-FbDR5BR2K
I bought this book to study. It's a bit thiccc at 1,318 pages of study content, but it helped me pass. I watched some YouTube videos because I was having a hard time conceptualizing how printers work; and made flashcards for things like port numbers and IP address classes (although the address classes wasn't on the exam at all). I'm sure there's probably shorter books to help cram the important information in; or if you prefer videos, Professor Messer has an A+ Certification series on YouTube.
I'm reading Mike Meyers' A+ Certification Passport, and it follows the exam objectives (which is one reason why I am using it). Prowse's Exam Cram also follows the objectives, too, though it is a little too thorough for my taste, discussing material that I don't think will be on either of the A+ tests.
You can find both of these books at https://learning.oreilly.com/, which you can check out through a trial account.
Awesome! I'm feeling more and more confident about this now! I'll most likely attempt a networking certification through CompTIA as well, but later on. I believe you're referring to the book that I saw on Amazon:
CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Ninth Edition (Exams 220-901 & 220-902)
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/125958951X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_nTIlybCJWQ4J1
It's the one I was considering buying, but I saw 2015 somewhere on the page and didn't know if it was still applicable.
You should be able to find the book on Amazon.
Here Its’s not called nand2tetris.
Edit: I was a little unclear. The book is not called nand2tetris, but the associated courses are/were. You can go to nand2tetris.org to find the author’s website and links to their coursera courses. You really don’t need the courses. The books is great.
I'm not sure of any websites but if you look up Professor Messer on youtube he streams a study group that you could follow along with. His channel is here:https://www.youtube.com/user/professormesser . You can buy the book from amazon for like 30 bucks I think. Good luck!
Yes everyone gets the cup, it comes with your webcam. How much IT experience do you have? Are you bringing any certs in with you(A+ maybe?). If not I'd suggest beginning to study for them now because they can eat a lot of time. There's a lot of resources for A+ out there that are free or close to it. I really liked Mike Meyers A+ book. It's $24 on Amazon but well worth it. Same for his Network+ book.
I used Mike Myers’ All-In-One guide and the Sybex A+ when I took mine a few years back. Both were good resources. I would highly recommend doing the included activities they mention in the chapters and take the chapter quizzes while reading through to enforce the concepts and hone in on what you need to work on.
Here’s an Amazon link to the newest AIO book:
Here’s a link to the newest Sybex book:
CompTIA A+ is not very difficult so you don't really need a lot of study material in my opinion. All you really need is the All-In-One book: A+ All In One exam guide . It will also help to take notes, flashcards, etc.
The Google IT Cert is not as "beneficial" as the CompTIA A+ just for the fact that most companies list the A+ as a requirement or it is more in demand per say. Its never a bad idea to keep learning so its not bad to get the Google IT cert, its just that CompTIA A+ is more recognized in the industry.
Of course it will help. Getting the actual study book on amazon will help as well. It's $30 and covers every last detail you'll need. I've never been much of a video guy. Reading and exercises have always been more effective for me. Maybe it will benefit you more too. https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-1001-220-1002/dp/1260454037/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=A%2B+certification&qid=1594741809&sr=8-3
I think these are the defacto study guides:
I would like to thank you for the referral. It helped me a lot!