Looking into PC parts, all them bits 'n bobs

[oldmeme]

Since I was a wee lad, I was always into building stuff with Lego, glue and paper or whatever I could get my hands on. I love to build and as I've gotten older, Computers is an obvious choice for something I could look into in terms of building or figuring out how things work, inside and out.

I know most of the basic knowledge about putting a fairly basic machine together, but I'd love to know how how to determine which parts would be better than which and why (eg. like why the Pine Trail cpu is better than older netbook cpus, physically and performance wise or the difference between DD2 and DD3 memory).

I don't think I'll be looking into computer related courses for college, so are there any websites or UK/IRE magazines out there that could provide me with similar such knowledge?
It's just a hobby more than a real source of use for me, but it'd be one of my top hobbies nonetheless.

Thanks for any info.

[BBloke]

Good luck on your quest meme. It's a jungle at times but it starts to make sense round about the time when they change all the hardware!!!

From reading and what not it's always best to start with consideration for a processor type, intel or AMD. Then start reading on the mobo. I find they tend to be the worst of the bunch. Different extras and peripherals: due you need digital output/spdif. How many usbs. Ethernet. Crossfire/SLi. Things have gotten easier though but there are still some hiccups and trip potentials.

I've found tomshardware and anandtech reasonable sites for reviews and information gathering. The latter is a preference as TH tends to lean toward preferred manufacturers.

[Devvil]

Was about to say the same there about Tom´s hardware

Try checking neoseeker aswell. good review site

[MuG]

http://www.bit-tech.net/ are good for news/reviews.
Good luck in the world of pc lego meme

[oldmeme]

Thanks very much lads, great help from all of ye

Looking to spend the my midterm studying, reading up on comp parts and trying out a couple of different OS for my netbook. Thanks again.

May bring up this thread again if I get confused.

[Devvil]

Talking about OS for netbooks you totally should try this one: http://www.jolicloud.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Flynnstone]

It has the word cloud in its name

[MuG]

Give nlite a go meme, you can tweek your windows install and remove most of the crap.
http://www.nliteos.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

+1 on nlite! Rocks for dropping sata drivers onto xp install cds

[oldmeme]

Tried Moblin so far from a USB boot and all was good but when I tried a HDD install it shat itself and almost formatted my HDD. It was pretty bare bones so I'm not worried about it. Jolicloud looks like a killer for me but the express installer is buggy on my windows so I'm downloading the USB iso atm.

Will give nlite a go too, there's a few programs in particular I'll never be using.
Thanks again lads