Not a clue but would like to know

norrie rugger

Hey guys, I could pull apart a PC and but it back together.
Can upgrade the memory. Hell I could probably put an entire build together, with a video tutorial and a list of parts.

The physical aspect to it would not be daunting to me. I struggle with knowing what parts to look for and more importantly WHY.
Is there anywhere that is doing a part time course that would be good in the theory aspect of PC building?

Monotype

You could read articles and watch videos but if you want an actual course, you could do the Comptia A+ which covers what all the parts do and how they work together (+a qualification if you pass the exams). You can do it with fas online for 14 weeks for €120. You'd have to be willing to spend a lot of time studying it though.

I should point out that these courses would explain what each part does - to know what part to actually pick, you have to keep up with recent hardware and how it performs relative to others. To achieve this, you have to read online articles and forums.

norrie rugger

Keeping up to date would not be an issue. As you mentioned, it is knowing what each part does and how to get the best out of them is the issue

Monotype

To get the best out of each part is really down to experience. If you built a system from scratch and optimise it yourself, you'll learn how to overclock and see where the limits are. Another few builds solidify your knowledge - you don't need guides and manuals anymore and you learn that each system has different limits.

Calibos

I'm not sure its a course you need. Like you said, you could strip and rebuild a PC already. Same here. In fact I fixed our Xbox360 before the Red Led of Death was famous. Our 360 new sounded like a Jet engine. I read that they dolloped on the Thermal Paste in the factory and there was probably too much. Found a guide for opening the 360, removed the heatsinks and saw there was indeed too much on the CPU and none at all on the GPU!!. Cleaned up the chips and applied artic silver. While I was inside I could see that the airflow inside was dreadful. Air would take the easiest route from the vents at the front to the fans in the back and miss the GPU heatsink entirely and a lot of the CPU heatsink. Insulation tape and a cornflakes box made the DIY air ductiing which meant that the only way the air could get to the fans at the back from the front was right through the fins of the heatsinks. 2005 Launch XBOX360 has been quiet as a mouse and never given an ounce of trouble since, 6 years later.

My problem like yours was that I was so out of touch with the latest gear. Last time I bought a PC was a Dell XPS in 2005. (I'm typing on a 2001 Dell Dimension ). Thats not something you will learn on a course. I did a 2 year NCVA level 3 Networking course in 2000 and the PC maintenance module of that course never taught me anything I didn't already know about putting together a PC. In fact some of the info in the course was actually out of date.

You'll learn what you need to know by telling the lads here what you will be using the computer for and then the lads will recommend the parts needed to achieve those goals and if they don't tell you straight off the bat why you need that part, or why its the best for the job, what it does, where to get it, then you can ask for clarification and they'll give it.

I have learned tons from the lads in my 2 page thread in the space of a week, from the direct advice they gave, from their links for further reading, and from researching on other hardware forums. ie, you'll learn more with the help of Monotype et al and Google in the space of a week than you'll learn on the course in 14 weeks for 120 euro.

Monotype

^^ Very true. Those courses are nearly always out of date. You can't exactly blame them at the rate that technology changes though, as they'd be rewriting their material every week.

I let the tech world fall off the rader a few years ago when I was very busy with exams for about 6 months. When I returned, I didn't have a clue what any of the graphics cards were, how much they had improved, which company were now ahead, etc. It took a few months just to catch up.

You could bookmark a few sites and read forums. See what is recommended and what products are shot down - why does the person's 600W Coolawesometek €10 PSU get swapped for a 450W amazon or a i5-2500K instead of the i7 or i5-2390T?