Ian Sinclair's Build Your Own books have established themselves as authoritative and highly practical guides for home PC users and advanced hobbyists alike. All aspects of building and upgrading a PC are covered, making this the book the computer retailers don't want you to read! By getting to grips with the world of PC hardware you can avoid the built-in obsolescence that seems to be part and parcel of the fast moving world of PCs, and escape the need to buy a new PC every year. You can also have a PC that keeps pace with the ever increasing demands that new software applications place on your system.The new edition of this book is based round building and upgrading to the latest systems such as Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon motherboards running Windows 2000 / ME. As well as guiding you round the inside of your PC base unit Ian Sinclair also covers monitors, printers, video capture, DVD drives, USB and parallel port accessories.... By reading this book PC owners will get to grips with the world of PC hardware and can avoid the built-in obsolescence that seems to be part and parcel of the fast moving world of PCs, and escape the need to buy a new PC every year. The new edition of this book is based round building and upgrading to the latest systems such as Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon motherboards running Windows 2000 / ME. As well as guiding users around the inside of their PC base unit. The book also covers monitors, printers, video capture, DVD drives, USB and parallel port accessories, and much more. According to a New York Times article it is estimated that between 2000 and 2007, 500 million computers will become obsolete. The National Safety Council estimates that by 2004 315 million PCs will be obsolete. Two points that highlight how most people are unaware how simple the process of upgrading their own PC is.The third edition has been updated throughout with new and expanded sections including: · Sound capture and editing · Video capture from analog and digital camcorders, and TV / video · New fast motherboards, including RAID and other types with up to eight IDE devices controlled · Very fast processors in the range 1.5 to 2.0+ GHz · Cooling and fan-noise problems · Using large hard drives (60 Gb and more) · The new USB-2 standard * Covers all aspects of building and upgrading a PC, making this the book the computer retailers don't want you to read * Guides PC owners to create the PC you really want, not just the off-the shelf package offered by manufacturers * Helps you create a PC that keeps pace with the ever increasing demands that new software applications place on their system