How do people learn all this stuff?

[1crazyEye]

Hi, computer noob here. I really want to learn how to build awesome PC's. I try to watch Linus' videos but his channel is geared toward intermediate to advanced PC enthusiasts as everything I hear just sounds like random acronyms of letters and numbers. So my question is what is the best way to learn? Is there some kind of spreadsheet of all the components and their stats? I just don't know where to start.

[Ophidio]

Watch some techquickie videos from LMG to learn some stuff. Also just read around on forums, do research of your own, buy a book that has info you need. There are plenty of ways to learn everything it's just taking the time to actually do all the research you need.

[Aytex]

Well your gonna need to know the basic parts to know how to build one

There are lots of tutorials other than linus's videos though 

this is some of my favorite ones

 

 

[y_unit265]

This post reminds me of myself about 2 years ago. I had absolutely no idea how and what was driving a pc, untill I purchased the cheapest I could find and took it apart. Then I found a couple videos on youtube, and from there on, my knowledge kept growing. I don't think I'll ever know everything. But the only way to learn is to just keep watching and maybe try and get yourself a very cheap computer you can fiddle with.   Learning takes time, there is no way around it.

 

The first thing I ever broke was a calculator. I tried cutting a single line in the ribbon cable from the board to the display. It didn't work anymore   Then I got the chance to throw away a desktop at my school. Instead I asked them if it was okay if I was to take it home instead. I still have a case fan with only a 12v and ground line. I still use that fan on my desk to blow wind over my mouse ^^

Edited June 11, 2016 by y_unit265
added information

[LabRat]

4 minutes ago, y_unit265 said:

This post reminds me of myself about 2 years ago. I had absolutely no idea how and what was driving a pc, untill I purchased the cheapest I could find and took it apart. Then I found a couple videos on youtube, and from there on, my knowledge kept growing. I don't think I'll ever know everything. But the only way to learn is to just keep watching and maybe try and get yourself a very cheap computer you can fiddle with.   Learning takes time, there is no way around it.

this ( thumbs up ) learning by doing..............  talk to people who build qould help too. maybe somebody will let you watch and maybe even let you get your hands wet.............. building is easy. software/proper installation is harder. bios takes some getting used to too/

[1crazyEye]

So I understand how to actually build a PC and what components do but how do people know like what parts/ brands are better, what bottlenecks what and stuff like that? Just search reviews on YoutTube?

[y_unit265]

3 minutes ago, 1crazyEye said:

what parts/ brands are better

Have a look at reviews. You most likely won't be the first person to buy something.

 

4 minutes ago, 1crazyEye said:

what bottlenecks what and stuff like that?

Ah, the first time I heard this. Went and did a lot of research on the googles. It took me about 3-4 days of research before I started to understand. However, even though I know have a little bit of knowledge, I still have to look up information written by other people.

 

Keep in mind that there is nothing wrong with asking "dumb" questions, they do not exist! The dumbest question is the one never asked.

[Guest]

Not only on youtube. There are also lots of reviews which are in text format. (like the post you just made) Manufacturers will tell you what their newest products are, and what they are used for. (like western digital hard drives, with their color coding) With that information, you could go and compair things, by searching for reviews.

 

However... There are MANY different kinds of computers. Some are specialized for rendering. Some are made for bitcoin mining (not that many anymore due to stand alone mines), some are made for highest FPS or mhz in a particular benchmark. Some are made for game X, while others are made for game Y,

 

There are also people who want a completely silent computer, whcih needs a different aproach. Same goes for computers with the least power consumption, with a high performance. It all depends.

 

I would suggest you chose a category, and try to find all relevant computer parts. Where the focus has to be. Where you can gain, where you can overclock, how top optimize things...

 

*PS: just to explain a bit more about game X and Y, I really like the game Space Engineers (open world/sandbox game). FPS isn't the biggest concern, it just has to be playable. You can build anything you want, untill you hit the limits of your computer. SE is one of the games which does benefit from 64+ gb of ram, while most AAA+ titles work fine with 8 gb of ram.

[soup]

7 minutes ago, 1crazyEye said:

 how do people know like what parts/ brands are better, what bottlenecks what and stuff like that?

Depends^lots .

 

Anything can bottleneck anything else you just need all the components to be roughly at the same performance levels. 

All brands have "Friday" models and even crappy manufacturers can make a "worldbeater" but generally certain btands have a good reputation some have a bad one some are known for having very variable quality .

There is no such information gathered in one place rather lots of reading forums (both the LMG ones and others. Tom's, OC3D etc) and reading lots of reviews remember even having the best of everything it is possible to have a problem component so there is an element of luck but with lots of reading you can make the "best" (for you) decisions.

Good luck.

 

[Guest]

@soup Bottlenecks depend on the task you are doing. It's depending on the software/game you are playing. Some games will make your CPU bottleneck the system, while other games might make your CPU go idle.

[Jacktastic-Mofo]

I learned to build computers about 5 years ago from Pauls video at NewEgg, the best way to learn is to familiarize yourself with the parts, how they work, and what they do, and then learn how they interact with the software. I'd suggest building a PC with a Core 2 Quad as it'll cost very little money and be a great system to mess around with to learn new stuff without risking loosing a bunch of money on damaged components.

[soup]

45 minutes ago, Dutch-stoner said:

@soup Bottlenecks depend on the task you are doing. It's depending on the software/game you are playing. Some games will make your CPU bottleneck the system, while other games might make your CPU go idle.

Yup, that was sort of what I was getting at, you can't say A will always bottleneck B it all depends .  The idea is to choose components such that  everything performs to roughly[1]  the same level in whatever use caseyou are going for (Game X, game Y or WHY) .

 

[1] To my mind 100% CPU use being at 90% of GPU and 90% of RAM is not bottlenecking but 100% of CPU use at 50%GPU and 50% RAM is.

[Kadleli]

I would start watching Techquicke and learn everything step by step, or remindind yourself that you want to learn all that stuff just for gaming.Another way is trying to upgrade your pc(or simply thinking about it). What that means is to figure out what fits in what, or what you can do and what not.

[TheSuspect]

Experience. If you really like the subject, you'd make an effort to get a good knowledge around it. Techquickie could be a nice place to start

[suchamoneypit]

2 hours ago, 1crazyEye said:

Hi, computer noob here. I really want to learn how to build awesome PC's. I try to watch Linus' videos but his channel is geared toward intermediate to advanced PC enthusiasts as everything I hear just sounds like random acronyms of letters and numbers. So my question is what is the best way to learn? Is there some kind of spreadsheet of all the components and their stats? I just don't know where to start.

techquickie videos are a great place to start. Also, look at posts on the forums. Even if people ask a question and I don't know the answer, I go to the thread and look at the problem and the discussion about it, and this way I can learn about things I normally wouldn't (occasionally I will ask a question myself in the thread).

 

Over time you will grow your knowledge.

[TheRandomness]

I learnt by wasting my life time here c: You pick up bits from other users and combine that to get your knowledge. Also, lots of youtube from people already mentioned.

[htoby]

48 minutes ago, TheRandomness said:

 

I learnt by wasting my life time here

 

Me too

[Iron couch]

Techquickie is the answer to all your questions.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

Get a cheap old system that you're not worried of wrecking and just dink around. You'll learn things faster by following tutorials and just trying out things yourself for the stuff a tutorial can't teach you.

 

[BuckGup]

7 hours ago, 1crazyEye said:

Hi, computer noob here. I really want to learn how to build awesome PC's. I try to watch Linus' videos but his channel is geared toward intermediate to advanced PC enthusiasts as everything I hear just sounds like random acronyms of letters and numbers. So my question is what is the best way to learn? Is there some kind of spreadsheet of all the components and their stats? I just don't know where to start.

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

 

Also over time you will learn. I remember trying to figure out what BSOD and MOBO meant 

[g12601]

I learned something by encountering LTT. I watched a build log. Then I learned some more things while I was dusting my computer. And then I built my computer a month later.

[CurryCalgs]

8 hours ago, 1crazyEye said:

Hi, computer noob here. I really want to learn how to build awesome PC's. I try to watch Linus' videos but his channel is geared toward intermediate to advanced PC enthusiasts as everything I hear just sounds like random acronyms of letters and numbers. So my question is what is the best way to learn? Is there some kind of spreadsheet of all the components and their stats? I just don't know where to start.

Lots of people have been learning over the years you just gotta keep educating yourself. Each upgrade you do learn as much as you can to make a educated decision. dont be afraid to look like a retard cause we were all like that. Just absorb as much as you can and use good sources. Each time theres a acronym you dont understand google it and look into it. you will be surprised how over time you just acquire general knowledge about computer hardware and software. 

[SteveGrabowski0]

9 hours ago, 1crazyEye said:

So I understand how to actually build a PC and what components do but how do people know like what parts/ brands are better, what bottlenecks what and stuff like that? Just search reviews on YoutTube?

Digital Foundry has probably the best hardware comparisons. They'll show you exactly what kind of performance difference you're getting in games with an i3 vs an i5 vs an OC i5 vs an i7 vs an OC i7 vs an FX-8350 vs FX-6300 and so on. And then similar for gpus. Check their youtube channel, it's a great way to get up to date on cpus, gpus, and RAM.

[W-L]

11 hours ago, 1crazyEye said:

Hi, computer noob here. I really want to learn how to build awesome PC's. I try to watch Linus' videos but his channel is geared toward intermediate to advanced PC enthusiasts as everything I hear just sounds like random acronyms of letters and numbers. So my question is what is the best way to learn? Is there some kind of spreadsheet of all the components and their stats? I just don't know where to start.

By watching Linus and not doing what he does

 

In general though just reading online and videos, once you start picking up on certain things or want to know more doing further research into those areas always helps.

[xentropa]

12 hours ago, 1crazyEye said:

So I understand how to actually build a PC and what components do but how do people know like what parts/ brands are better, what bottlenecks what and stuff like that? Just search reviews on YoutTube?

Experience and fanboism you build up over the years.