After providing a brief orientation on the appearance of various PC components and their purposes (and a slapdash foray into software), Rosenthal shows you the most cost-effective ways to improve an old computer's speed. He accurately names more random access memory (RAM) as the single best improvement you can make to a computer, then goes on to show you how to carry out a processor upgrade or replace both the processor and the motherboard. The book's motherboard-replacement instructions would be better if they were less text-heavy--illustrations might have helped to clarify this fairly elaborate procedure.
Later, the author goes on to show how to add and replace hard drives, covering several standard models. He also talks about modems, sound cards, CD-ROM drives, and other popular upgrades before offering some strategies for tracking down the source of mystery problems. --David Wall