Very General Question..how Do You Get Into Computers?

[Beat]

Hi guys, I'm really interested in learning about my computer more rather than just only knowing how to use it for gaming and other media.

What's the first thing I should do or learn?

My friend built my computer for me but I want to be able to know more about it myself..thanks.

[SteveGaming]

Hi Beat! I would suggest you study up on the science behind why Computers work; Learn what each part of the system does before you get into building or installing hardware just yet. I picked Computing Studies in school and that was kind of the beginning routes for me to get the background knowledge which then lead me into building my own systems for all sorts of purposes. You should basically learn what each part of the computer does and after learning this knowledge you will have a better understanding on what kind of PC you need for Gaming and Video editing for example. Your original post kind of lacks information so I'm not too sure how much you already know about computing but in a nutshell it's like anything with practice and research you should fall into it pretty easily. 

[xToFxREAPER]

steve was pretty much right on the mark, i really got into computers about a year ago though i grew up learning about them all my life, along with steves suggestion i would say familiarize yourself with your system bios.. never know when you may need it. After that though i would say its pretty much whatever interests you about computers. i got into overclocking gaming and video editing myself :)

[Crabtr]

Computers aren't hard, there's just an absolute ton to know about them. I'd suggest pretty much what Steve said. Learn about the individual parts, what they do, and how each one interacts with the rest of the system. Maybe take your computer apart, clean it out, and then put it back together and if possible make it neater than before (no cable spaghetti). From there maybe learn about the various architectures or learn a language. I learned HTML (I'd recommend it for the underlying concepts you'll learn and pickup) first in school which then propelled me to learning Python and eventually Bash.

[Villain]

Simply browsing tech forums such as this one is another way to learn more about computers. Since you didn't build your computer, you could also look for tutorials on how to build a computer on YouTube. Some of them are informative and will teach you what each individual part does. If you have any old computers that are no longer in use, you could open them up and take everything out then put it back together. That's how I learned how to build computers.

[Snickerzz]

Computers aren't hard, there's just an absolute ton to know about them. I'd suggest pretty much what Steve said. Learn about the individual parts, what they do, and how each one interacts with the rest of the system. Maybe take your computer apart, clean it out, and then put it back together and if possible make it neater than before (no cable spaghetti). From there maybe learn about the various architectures or learn a language. I learned HTML (I'd recommend it for the underlying concepts you'll learn and pickup) first in school which then propelled me to learning Python and eventually Bash.

lol cable spagetti XDD

[Humbug]

Since we aren't really going to teach the opening poster about PCs in this topic, we may as well use it to explain how each of us got into PCs.

 

When I was about 7 years old (1992) my uncle gave us an old Intel 386 machine with a black and white monitor. I would use it to play prince of Persia, Wolfenstein 3d, grand prix circuit etc and got hooked on pc gaming. Also learned to use the command prompt. I just used ms-dos for a few years before getting windows 3.1, and when I did I hated the GUI. Looking back I realize it's pretty telling that even at that age I wanted what I was comfortable with (i.e. command prompt) and didn't like the change. It's no wonder people are upset about lack of start menu in Windows 8.

[Guest]

This certainly won't answer all your questions but I think it's a decent place to start. Though I've written it more for people looking to build a system it still outlines the basic interaction of parts. http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/7766-read-before-posting-getting-a-new-pc/

[ofr057]

if your looking at some info on general electronic's eevblog is really good

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/EEVblog

 

i wouldnt say its basic but I'm starting to pick up stuff by watching it

 

dave did a teardown of a LED LCD today give it a watch

 

[Lukiose]

For me i really wanted to play a 'proper' game on high as my previous computer was a crappy C2D and 9500GT.

This propelled me towards linus and Google <<< and i learned computer hardware in my quest for a rig, still trying to understand and tweak the bios though.

[chingyg]

When I has a strong urge to learn about computers, I took apart the family computer and see if I could put everything back together again. Either that or I get yelled at. It's a good way to physically see each component if you don't know what they are already.

[Hyydrah]

Linus has some helpful videos on the NCIXcom channel on YouTube. I also recommend checking out TimeToLiveCustoms and TechQuickie especially. Good luck.

[Art Vandelay]

To get into computers, put your legs in to the bottom corner of the case, then try to push your knees against your chest and squeeze yourself into the case. Once you've done this, you will be in a computer.

 

I think that sufficiently answers your question.

[Nexus]

I got into computers through gaming. 

When i was young i used to play a lot of games on the consoles, but i was always loved rts games like the total war series or command and conquer. 

Because i was using the family computer i wanted to squeeze as much performance out of it as possible so i started reading about how to tweak the games i played.

Due to the limited nature that software teaking, i eventually bought my first hardware component. An fx 5200 by nvidia. I know its a pretty bad card but non the less i was happy for a while.

 

Eventually i decided to bite the bullet (after upgrading the RAM and changing the GPU once more) and built my own pc from scratch - minus a few parts such as the cd rom and hard drive.

Due to never being satisfied with the performance i searched online to find ways to make it run smooth and i became fascinated with overclocking. This is when i realized i was spending more time tinkering in the BIOS than actually playing games.

 

Somewhere during all this i became interested in programming and database design and now im basically an all-round computer nerd and proud.

 

If you generally want to learn more about computing and computers i would suggest reading on forums and start checking out sites such as bit-tech and anand tech etc to keep up to date with the newest hardware and news. If you do start to enjoy learning you will find you will naturally just learn things and know where to go to get the help you want.

 

Sorry for the tldr post

[TotallyKaos]

At first, getting the Apple Power Macintosh from my dad, it had a Performa 6400 CPU running at 200mhz, it was the more luxury one :D

And just out of curiosity, I started to pull shit out of the case and stuff, just trying to start it up again, putting it in again, pushing several buttons etcetera, just f*ckin' around until it gets rollin' again! 

 

That's how it started and that's how it will never-ever end!

[DLM_012]

Hi Beat! I would suggest you study up on the science behind why Computers work; Learn what each part of the system does before you get into building or installing hardware just yet. I picked Computing Studies in school and that was kind of the beginning routes for me to get the background knowledge which then lead me into building my own systems for all sorts of purposes. You should basically learn what each part of the computer does and after learning this knowledge you will have a better understanding on what kind of PC you need for Gaming and Video editing for example. Your original post kind of lacks information so I'm not too sure how much you already know about computing but in a nutshell it's like anything with practice and research you should fall into it pretty easily. 

 

Don't get too in depth with it though imo. Some information is purely technical/historical stuff that won't be useful. Just really try your hardest to focus on the basics. Thing A plugs into thing B via this interface and has _____ limitations and compatibility with _____. That's all computer hardware really is.

[Night]

"Very General Question..how Do You Get Into Computers?"

I have a very literal answer to your literal question. Open the side panel. Do it, seriously. I opened up an old PC my parents had they they gave up on and told my mum what all the parts were called. Doing that gave me a lot of confidence in my own knowledge and then later that year (Last year) I ordered all my own parts and built my own PC. A lot of help from NXIC and LTT's youtube channels.

[Deleon.David]

Funny story

 

I love gaming, and i gamed more than i studied.

I had a nice laptop (i did not know what the specs are) and i ran the game i was obsessed with on its integrated graphics

but yea i was gaming more than i studied. my father got so sick of it, he literally took the laptop and smashed it in front of me.

Afterwards i looked for a job. I managed to find one that pays me 10 dollars an hour, (waiter).

during the time i have not spent playing games, i worked, studied (still studying fyi) and researching computer specs, models, builds, how to assemble, etc.

while researching i found linustechtips channel and the forum. linus turned me into a computer enthusiast.

 

it is an expensive hobby. but it's satisfying. i'm able to look at my computer everyday and say. "hey i worked, and built that all by my self." (i'm still 17 btw)

[joelthezombie15]

the way i learned was a very long and round about way that looking back made no sense. first i learned how speakers worked and that it sends electrical currents to a magnet that changes the air pressure and in turn makes noise. and from that i took the electrical things i learned and figured out that either electricity is on or off and there is no inbetween. then i asked my dad what code computers use and he told me they used binary (1's and 0's) and he told me that one means that electricity is on and 0 is off and thats how cpus work (roughly) then i took a few classes at school which helped a bit. then i started looking at hardware and at that point i learned EVERYTHING from linus either on his channel or on the ncix techtips. then i started reading books and taking more classes ( im in high school so they were free) and now im building my first computer. but im still kinda shaking on software.

[Chivpcgamer]

My dad "bill" started a small software company in Redmond, Washington : )

[DLM_012]

"Very General Question..how Do You Get Into Computers?"

I have a very literal answer to your literal question. Open the side panel. Do it, seriously. I opened up an old PC my parents had they they gave up on and told my mum what all the parts were called. Doing that gave me a lot of confidence in my own knowledge and then later that year (Last year) I ordered all my own parts and built my own PC. A lot of help from NXIC and LTT's youtube channels.

 

Strong this. 

[911^NEmeSis]

Just read, read and more reading!

Talk with like minded individuals like we are doing here right now but most of all try and enjoy it!

[Jay123]

I basically got sick of console gaming, watched videos of how to build PCs on YouTube, built one, follow YouTube channels such as Linus' to extend my knowledge and enjoy the content.

[HEXiT]

A LONG TIME AGO IN A GALAXY FAR AWAY.... I saw STARWARS  and the same year i was introduced to the atari 400... 1979. my cousin had 1 of the very first atari's imported into the uk i was taken to his house 2 days before xmas and was introduced to computers for the first time... i was 8 years old and new there and then i wanted 1. 

[XiaoPigs]

I grew tired of using those crappy Dells that my parents thought were the greatest things in the world. Started to learn more about computer hardware in general. I just kept exploring forums and watching plenty of tech videos(mostly Linus's) to educate myself more and more. After about 2 - 3 months I got confident that I could build my own system and voila got into computers!