Q: I asked a similar question about getting a barebones, but heres my question. i dont want to become cpu masters like you guys, but is getting a barbones system a good way to learn about ahrdware and computers in general?
A: The best way to learn about computers is to have one that works and gets on the web. Then get junk from friends or relatives and fix it. Thats how I got started. You can look up the errors / problems you've encountered and address them. Its time consuming but you learn a lot. Get some help from tech savvy friends too but don't let them do it for you. If you want to make your studies useful, work on your A+ certification. Get a book or some CBT's to train yourself to the point where you're ready to take the test. Practice on your junk PC's and eventually, you can get the certification. After that you can get a job or get vendor certs and start fixing your friends computers and get paid by the vendors (Lenovog, HP, Dell etc..) when you do warranty work for them. I've trained five people to get their A+ by giving them a basic introduction to the hardware components and then having them fix stuff. I help them by answering some questions when they get stuck, but I'm not the easy source for info they probably hoped I would be. I teach them to find the answers not memorize them. Thats the difference between experience and free information. Information is best when it comes from experience. Free information is easily forgotten and gets stale (less relevant daily) because things change so fast in this business. Problem solving skills are priceless. If you don't want to get that deep, you can still use the A+ study material anyway. It is by definition, the basics. You can get a bare bones system if you want too, but I think its smarter to practice on junk. Thats my opinion. Good luck.