Limited Income Dilemma

[JakeTehSamurai]

I'm a 15-year-old high school student. I have a car, but can't drive anywhere except to school and work, and none of the places I've went to to apply hire under 16 (Luckily for me, I turn 16 on September 12, meaning McDonald's, here I come!).

On my birthday, I will be recieving somewhere between $100 and $200 in birthday money. However, with that money comes a choice.

I'm an avid pursuer of learning, and I want to get into the field of network security, so I figured I should get a few books about programming and such to start up early. However, I am running an extremely low-spec computer (300 MHz processor, 64 MB RAM, 6 GB HD (although I have a 200 GB external), one CD-RW and one floppy. Generic soundcard and a 64 MB Nvidia Graphics Card (got it from my brother)).

Do you recommend that I put this money into my savings account (it has ~$50 in it at the moment) and put the money together piecemeal until I have enough to purchase and assemble an entirely new system at one time, or to spend the money now on Network Security handbooks and programming manuals?

I realize that this comes for the most part down to personal preference, but I would prefer both equally.

Pros of waiting:

When I do start programming and sniffing packets and checking ports and such, I'll have a much faster system to do it with.

Cons of waiting:

In the meantime, I will have to rely on my local library for the books I want to read.

Pros of buying the books:

I will be able to learn a lot of the basic theories of network technology and hacking (white-hat all the way for me).

Cons of buying the books:

While I learn the theories, the practice of those ideas will have to wait even longer until I get a system ready to perform those tasks.

I just wanted to get some input from more experienced users.

[poppy]

What would I do? If I were in your shoes I would:

1. Place the money in savings and accumulate enough for a system.
2. Start researching now on what system you would like.
3. When you decide on a system, post here and the good folks here will help you in your decision.
4. Once you reach a decision, start dropping hints to family members what you want. Christmas is just around the corner! ;)
5. When you start working, budget some of your earnings for a system and place into savings, even if it is a small amount. It won't take long for it to accumulate. You'll have a good start with the birthday money. :D
6. Continue with the library studies, but also take advantage of the many on line study materials. You'll find some good links at the top of The PC Guide forum.
7. You could even use some of your earnings to purchase books every now and then to start building your own library of reference material.
8. Stay focused. :)

[Whyzman]

I think poppy is on the right track...

You can save money utilizing the library and on line resources...

One of our alumni, Ghost_Hacker has this wonderful site with numerous resources:

http://ghost_hacker.home.mindspring.com/

[hockey man]

In the mean time you could play around with dos. Learn all those nifty cmds.

[saphalline]

I agree with poppy and the others. You need a new system first! Although I would refrain from dropping hardware hints to family members (unless they're computer geeks) for the simple reason that there are many mistakes that can be made when buying hardware! :eek: One little letter off a model number and you've got something completely different! Let a few of them buy you a mouse or a keyboard or something, let the rest of them contribute cash to your system fund, and do your hardware shopping yourself!

I would also suggest spending some time at your local large-scale bookstore. Barnes & Noble is great for grabbing a snack and getting lost in a book... for free! :D

Then, to truly test your mettle with your new system and skills, reformat that old system and slap a slim Linux kernel on it. Slackware or something like that. Now, get a shiny new WinXP system on the same network as a slim Linux system and (here's the kicker) get them to talk to eachother! ;) Yes, it's simple, but having done it once will give you a much better experience of what it's like out there in the IT world. Mostly you'll be dumping a hodge-podge of various systems and network appliances together and you're the one that will have to make sense of it all!

And keep us updated with your budget. We'll help you spend your money! :cool:

[poppy]

As saph said:
Let a few of them buy you a mouse or a keyboard or something, let the rest of them contribute cash to your system fund, and do your hardware shopping yourself!

That's what I meant even though I didn't convey it too well. :) Saphalline has some additional good advice, as always.

Also, as he said, when you are ready we'll be glad to help you spend the money! :D

[Erik]

I agree with what everyone else has already said. Save up some money and build yourself a better system. If you are serious about wanting to do some programming the current system you have just won't cut it. Unless you like the idea of trying to compile a program, and then going out for dinner while waiting for the results.

Also there are plenty of free materials available to learn about that kind of stuff online and in the library. They should be more than suffice for getting a solid foundation in the basics. Also you will have plenty of time to do further learning in school. Having a capable computer to work with will be more important than the little bit of extra knowledge that you might get from a few additional books. This is the type of stuff best learned by doing, not reading.

[JakeTehSamurai]

I'm starting to compile bookmarks of parts I'll look up when I get the money to build this PC. I'm hoping to keep the cost of the PC under or at US$1000. Here's how the breakdown goes, I think.

Processor/Mobo and accessories: $200 (mobo= http://tinyurl.com/8lryp)(proc=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103377)
RAM: $200 (1 or 2 GB, depending on how much other stuff costs)
Case and Fans: $100
Hard Drive: $100
Optical Drives: $100 (1 DVD-RW, 1 CD-RW)
Graphics/Sound Cards: $100
Monitor: $200 (?)

I already have spare speakers, keyboard, and mice. I'll be comparing prices between Tom's Hardware, TigerDirect, and NewEgg. Comments about these sites and the mobo and processor I've linked to would be much appreciated. Within the next week or so, I'll hopefully have the other stuff priced.

[poppy]

Also, start looking over saphalline's sticky here:

http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=39018

[FrankSG]

Jake--I want to commend you for wanting to learn. I do agree with poppy. Be patient and I'm sure that things will work out for you. Remember, there is still a lot you can learn on the computer that you currently have. Someone made the suggestion to learn DOS. I think that's a great idea. Even though, most of us don't use the DOS commands very often, I think it's good to learn it. Good luck to you.
~Frank~

[saphalline]

I need to update that sticky. Hopefully I can get to that this weekend, so we'll see. Lots of price changes have happened in the last month, but then again that's why classicsoftware suggested the monthly updates! ;)

[poppy]

I agree that it probably could use an update, but you have to admit that it is a very good starting point regardless! :)

[JakeTehSamurai]

A question about monitors. The one I am currently using is a 17" CRT (14.5" viewable). I've budgeted $200 for a monitor. Should I get another CRT (like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824197002), or move up to an LCD (http://tinyurl.com/c77wg, http://tinyurl.com/8q5r8)? I haven't had any problems with this CRT (I've had it for about 4 years), and it seems like with a CRT I can get more screen space for less cash.

Also, I'll probably stick to buying a new monitor, because I'm not too keen on getting a refurbished one.

EDIT: New links.

RAM: The mobo I'm looking at has three slots for memory. Should I go with three 512MB (http://tinyurl.com/cxo4s) or two 1GB (http://tinyurl.com/cqkae) and keep one of them open for another 1 GB?

Case: http://tinyurl.com/8epn4

[jcnoernberg]

I remember walking to work at 15 to bag groceries... do you have internet access now? You can find any info you need on there for the most part, then there's the library. Just remember, you don't need to throw money at an interest to gain something...

[saphalline]

JakeTehSamurai - Ok, have you actually read my sticky!? It doesn't look like it yet because the hardware you have picked out is really really out of date! That's the sort of system I was recommending about two years ago! :eek: Read my sticky (http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=39018) for the latest core parts and my recommendations. It may be a month old, but it's a lot newer than the stuff from two years ago!