Where to learn about computers?

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Guest

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Hello, I'm new here. Where can I find the best place for learning about computers? Hardware and software... I'm quite a noob, by the way..
 
PCKid777

PCKid777

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I built my first system almost a decade ago - by reading many of the FAQs on the forums at THG, hardware reviews, and system builder articles and forum posts.

Stick around here for a bit and you can learn a lot. :)
 
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Guest

Guest
I will stick around here. :)

I cannot be more spesific, because I have no clue at all. I need to learn <i>everything</i>. :) What site is the best one for a complete noob?
 
ksampanna

ksampanna

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I recommend read reviews of products like CPUs (processors) & GPUs (graphic cards) & other hardware you might find interesting. You'll slowly get to know about the terminologies, the way these things work, etc. Subscribing to a pc tech magazine available in your region also is a good idea. The magazines have regular "know-how" sections which explain about the various components of computers, etc.
 
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Guest

Guest
Thank you so much! I will follow your recommendations, and hopefully I will learn. :) I appriciate all of your answers.
 
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Lmeow

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Asking questions is always a good idea. :)

I'm a total software noob too. Hardware is just so much better. :D

How 'noob' are you? We can help provide some specific terms that might help you understand what the reviewer is talking about.

I'm supposing you know what a CPU and GPU and RAM is etc. If you don't, feel free to ask.
 
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amnotanoobie

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What specific part about computers do you want to lean?

Do you want to learn about how programs work? Or do you want to know how to make programs?

* If yes, unfortunately this is not the forte here at Tom's. You could ask some, but you can't really expect that there would be someone who could answer (as this is mostly a hardware site). I know that there are programmers here, but probably not as many as compared to a dedicated site about programming (even software has many sections, usually divided by programming language).



Do you want to:
- know how to assemble computers?
- know what part of the computer has gone bad
- know what part of a computer does what
- discuss the direction or trends within the PC community
- how to overclock (we get that here a lot)
- know what's the best computer parts that could be put together with a specified budget (we also get that a lot)

* If yes, then welcome to Tom's. Though some information could easily be accessed on wikipedia (because in some instances people just indicate google it, or lmgtfy).



 
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Guest

Guest
Well, I'm as noob as you can get. :) I know what CPU and GPU is (even if my knowledge is very shallow...). Ram... Is that memory?

I welcome every tip I can get about how I can learn. Can you tell me what terminology I need to learn? (f.ex. terminologi like RAM etc...) And what all the numbers mean? (f.ex. 4GHz etc...)

Oh, I'm embarresed about how little I know...

Sorry about my engligh, by the way... :)
 
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Guest

Guest



I want to learn all of this.. ...over time... I just don't know where to start. :) Thank you, by the way, for making a noob like me feel welcome on this forum. I really appreciate it. :)

And to correct myself in the previous post; I ment 'sorry about my english', not engligh... ;)
 
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Lmeow

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Your English is fine. :)

I can explain several computer terms for now.

RAM is the memory, the temporary location for some data. The capacity is measured in bytes, most common is the gigabyte nowadays, which is 1000 x 1000 x 1000 bytes, otherwise 1,000,000,000 or one billion bytes.

As for the 'GHz', it means Giga Hertz, i.e., one one billion hertz. Hertz is a measure of waves or cycles per second, which means that a 3.0GHz processor runs three billion CPU cycles a second. The same processor at say 2.66GHz will be slower than the same or architecturally similar CPU at 4.0GHz. However, different CPUs will run at different speeds. For example, AMD's Phenom II X4 945 processor runs at 3.0GHz, however is beaten by the Core i5 750 processor which only runs at 2.66GHz - in this case, Intel's architecture or CPU design is superior as it only has to run at 2.66GHz to beat a CPU at 3.0GHz, however this does not mean that Intel is a better company. ;)

A GPU is the actually graphics chip on the card, much like a CPU but with graphics. The graphics card itself holds the heatsink/fan (HSF) which conducts heat away from the chip, and cools the chip. It also has the memory chips which act similarly to the RAM of a computer, but instead holds graphical information.

When you read graphic card reviews, you'll hear the term 'FPS' constantly being used, which means frames per second - which is how many frames are rendered a second. The higher the FPS, the more frames which means the game looks smoother and means a nicer game play.

Just a few common terms which you might like to know.
 
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Guest

Guest
Thank you, Lmeow! :) I learned so much from that post. I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to explain these things to me. I'm very grateful!

I'll try to read as much as I can about these basic topics. And if there's something I don't understand I'll post the question here, and maybe I'll be so lucky as to get help from all of you yet again.

You've been so helpful! :)
 
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Lmeow

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Lol you're welcome, I'd much rather spend my time on tom's rather than studying. :D

 
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Guest

Guest


Well, you seem to know a lot allready, so maybe you don't need to study. Lol. (Just kidding!! We all need to study!) :)
 
Ubrales

Ubrales

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My father in law after his retirement wan to learn computers . As he was aware of basic knowledge in computers as hes working on computers in his job but that was general PC info as he is working mainly on MS Office only and don't have much knowledge about hardware and internet Now he is retired and free and one of my sister in law is out of country so he is curious about learning So please suggest me how can i start him teaching or should i use any book or other services to teach him.

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There are 2 choices available to your FIL

1. Enroll in a Community college or local library that teaches such tings. This is self-explanatory.
2. You first teach him how to surf the net and how to run searches, and what searches are all about. Keywords, key phrases, and the order in which keywords are inputted for the search. From here, he can learn some of the basics about how a computer functions.

There are plenty of good articles regarding every aspect of computers and articles catering to every level of individual.

The key point is to stay with him as he is doing all this. This will give him a good secure feeling, and an ardent desire to learn more. Just make sure that it is HIS idea, and that no one else is pushing him in this direction.

The 3rd way of learning a subject is through years of experience in that field, but this is not an option in this case.

To sum up - 3 ways - 1. Structured learning thru college, 2. Self taught, and 3. Experience
 
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