Help a non-techie get into tech

[jaredsusername]

Hello LTT community,

 

I want to preface all of this by saying that I'm a 16 y/o, so I can put as much time as I want into reading about this stuff. I've been watching all of the LMG channels' content for a while now, because I've always been interested in the idea of building computers. I know the basics of how to put a computer together from watching build guides, but I want to get way deeper than that into tech, and videos from channels like TechQuickie are helpful, but I want to get way deeper into everything. I'm always immediately confused as soon as Linus or Luke get super technical about anything, such as when Linus talks about what the servers are, or when the mention the amount of ghz a processor can run at.

 

The reason I'm posting about this on the LTT forum is because I know how nice the community is around this channel, so I figured you guys would be the most helpful. I don't want to take a half-assed approach at this, I'm actually genuinely interested in this topic, so I'm asking you guys to link me to any reading material, videos, online courses, etc. that I could look at to further my education in the field of computers.

 

Thank you for your time,

Jared Lindquist

[Divide_By_0]

Well Jared, I would advise you bring yourself onto a lot of forums online, and maybe make yourself a part of some close to home MakerSpaces or Tech Conventions/Groupings? 

 

The best way to learn about tech is to just do it.

[RS2007GOD]

17 minutes ago, Divide_By_0 said:

Well Jared, I would advise you bring yourself onto a lot of forums online, and maybe make yourself a part of some close to home MakerSpaces or Tech Conventions/Groupings? 

 

The best way to learn about tech is to just do it.

i agree. buying cheap old gear and learning to overclock is a fun way to get some knowledge hands on, is fun too. just research what your buying first

[Troy1307]

17 minutes ago, Divide_By_0 said:

The best way to learn about tech is to just do it.

I second this ^^

 

Just find something you want and make it happen!

 

The way I got into tech is pretty much just playing around with everything I could get my hands on. Parents have an old computer they're not using anymore? Take it apart and make it better! 

 

"Just DO IT" - Shia LeBoeuf

[Jack02]

I pretty much just watched Linus' build guides and tried stuff on my own. I can't really explain it. Over time you just learn what CPU frequencies are etc.

[Zoompz]

6 hours ago, Troy1307 said:

I second this ^^

 

Just find something you want and make it happen!

 

The way I got into tech is pretty much just playing around with everything I could get my hands on. Parents have an old computer they're not using anymore? Take it apart and make it better! 

 

"Just DO IT" - Shia LeBoeuf

Or in my case destroy it beyond repair.......

[JasmineJasmine]

Additional answer with the comment below: IMHO, business development is a very good way to break into a startup that has built a prototype and is now looking to "monetize" or enter into strategic partnerships. Look for startups that have launched a product. Your economy background is probably useful for business case development, although probably as a freelancer to startups, not as full-time job. You can also probably be the "business" co-founder if you can find a "tech" co-founder.

[laminutederire]

Ask your questions, I think it's the better way to learn.

[Valli]

Computerphile, pcper(spective) are some great youtube channels, that will help you get a deeper understanding of the technology. Another great thing to do is to follow tutorials on how to make redstone computers, cause that will defiantly teach you alot, as the circuts in minecraft, are mostly inspiired by their reallife counterpart.
Maybe the first great thing to learn would be the binary number system, you will be encountering it again & again

Good luck dude

[Raxul]

i'm currently in the same situation as you, 16 y/o and want to learn deeper into this stuf. but because of my economic problem, all i can do is tinker around with stuff at my school (with permission of course), also i usually ask the professionals around the internet, and if they said something i don't understand, then i'm starting doing some research around Online like wikipedia, or looking for books related to the topic

[minibois]

Well if you get confused at even the GHz of a CPU, you may want to start at the basis of PC component specs.

You can compare multiple CPU's/GPU's with each other and look at the specs and research specs (such as L2 Cache or tflops) and see what they are. That way you will learn a lot and understand what Linus is saying when running down specs of a product

[Networking Wolf]

On ‎7‎/‎26‎/‎2016 at 11:52 PM, jaredsusername said:

Hello LTT community,

 

I want to preface all of this by saying that I'm a 16 y/o, so I can put as much time as I want into reading about this stuff. I've been watching all of the LMG channels' content for a while now, because I've always been interested in the idea of building computers. I know the basics of how to put a computer together from watching build guides, but I want to get way deeper than that into tech, and videos from channels like TechQuickie are helpful, but I want to get way deeper into everything. I'm always immediately confused as soon as Linus or Luke get super technical about anything, such as when Linus talks about what the servers are, or when the mention the amount of ghz a processor can run at.

 

The reason I'm posting about this on the LTT forum is because I know how nice the community is around this channel, so I figured you guys would be the most helpful. I don't want to take a half-assed approach at this, I'm actually genuinely interested in this topic, so I'm asking you guys to link me to any reading material, videos, online courses, etc. that I could look at to further my education in the field of computers.

 

Thank you for your time,

Jared Lindquist

if you want to pursue a career I would recommend college for computer science  

[pyr0]

On 27/07/2016 at 4:52 AM, jaredsusername said:

Hello LTT community,

 

I want to preface all of this by saying that I'm a 16 y/o, so I can put as much time as I want into reading about this stuff. I've been watching all of the LMG channels' content for a while now, because I've always been interested in the idea of building computers. I know the basics of how to put a computer together from watching build guides, but I want to get way deeper than that into tech, and videos from channels like TechQuickie are helpful, but I want to get way deeper into everything. I'm always immediately confused as soon as Linus or Luke get super technical about anything, such as when Linus talks about what the servers are, or when the mention the amount of ghz a processor can run at.

 

The reason I'm posting about this on the LTT forum is because I know how nice the community is around this channel, so I figured you guys would be the most helpful. I don't want to take a half-assed approach at this, I'm actually genuinely interested in this topic, so I'm asking you guys to link me to any reading material, videos, online courses, etc. that I could look at to further my education in the field of computers.

 

Thank you for your time,

Jared Lindquist

I would get computer parts and use the forum. Before August last year, I was an idiot. When I had a PC built for me in 2012, I missed out the important stuff. I asked for a 3 GHz processor and radeon graphics as the drivers were open source or something and Linus Torvalds said nvidia was unhelpful to linux (I was obsessed with linux at the time). I got a shitty pentium, a dodgy chinese power supple, a motherboard that had it's ethernet port break after 4 months, a cheap nasty CIT case and a radeon hd 5450. When I built my PC, I spent 3 months researching and me and my friend both built computers based on the spec I had come up with. My PC worked and I gained knowledge on how to build computers.

 

The most important part is troubleshooting though. My friends PC kept breaking, and I was lucky enough to have the first shot at fixing it. Through doing this I learned to identify a lot of problems and memorise POST beep meanings, and when I built a £150 PC for another friend, the knowledge came in handy. I learned how to update a bios through DOS, Set custom GPU fan curves, and make Ancient Xeons work with modern games.

 

Maybe I am rambling a bit, but the point is to get out there, build things, fix things, and persevere no matter what. Working with older parts is the most effective method of educating yourself, as they break more often and are cheaper to acquire.

[themoose5]

Along with what's already been mentioned here I would also suggest taking some computer classes. I'm not sure what resources are available to you (my high school had a computer repair course and a tech shop) but I would check out your community resources for something of the sort. Also any maker/hacker spaces would be a great chance to learn about tech as well. 

[NumLock21]

Getting into tech takes time and patience. It does not happen over night. Reading book, watch tutorials, might give you some knowledge. Getting your hands dirty, is where you will truly experience it. 

 

[ttoks]

I'm 100% agreeing with the other's on here, just jump into it.

 

A little preface here, I am technologically dumb, I grew up in a house in the middle of the bush (forrest, ect) with a diesel generator and a wind turbine for power, tank water and no phone line, dropped out of high school at 15 to to do an Apprenticeship, never knew much about computer's ect, I played games in my PS1/2/3 but never got into computers past check e-mails and buy stuff on E-bay until about 12 months ago when I started watching LTT, i got hooked, lurked the forums here for a long time before signing up, and just absorbed it all.

 

now I've build my first gaming PC, learned how to configure things, trouble shoot (alot to learn still), OC the CPU and GPU safely, and I spend way to much time thinking about how it works..

 

But what interest's me most about PC's, is that i did not realise how much engineering, physics, quatum mechanics, I love learning HOW a PC works, not just what it does, so i'm loving that as well.

[ZimFreak]

On 7/26/2016 at 11:52 PM, jaredsusername said:

.. I'm always immediately confused as soon as Linus or Luke get super technical about anything, such as when Linus talks about what the servers are, or when the mention the amount of ghz a processo

There's nothing wrong with that. Nobody know this stuff from common sense. What I did to learn about cars (And now I'm a gearhead) is just google EVERYTHING you don't understand. Even basic phrases like "What is a server" and "What does GHZ on a processor mean". Read a lot and you'll learn to break it down - "Well 1 Hertz is one cycle of something per second, and giga means 1,000,000,000, just like how a gigabyte is 1,000,000,000 Bytes. So a 1 GHz processor can perform 1,000,000,000 cycles, or calculations, per second."

To find this you'd prolly google "Hertz", "Giga", seperately as well as "GHz" And after 5 mins of reading you'd learn a whole lot. 

Repeat with any concept. To learn about cars, I made hundreds of searches about different engines, piston configurations, how a turbo works, etc. After you search for a few minutes you'll start chaining dozens of related searches together before you even realize it.

Think about how amazing and powerful Google really is. Not too long ago people had to consult Encyclopedias (expensive) or even experts in the field (more expensive). We really have a gift these days with search engines and wikipedia.

 

Basically what I'm saying is don't just limit yourself to youtube. The internet is a vast place full of knowledge.

[ImNewToThis]

Hi! I have been into gaming for a long time and I want to build a gaming PC but I don't have lots of experience with the parts or what is a good and what is bad. I know what each part does and all of that but I need help choosing the right parts for my PC. Any help would be appreciated! My budget is $500 to $1000 and maybe a bit over $1000