Knight Electronics has several pre-assembled tools kits available for retail purchase, and has asked us to feature one of these kits for you. Their complete line-up of tool-kits can been seen here. Knight Electronics caters to vocational schools, and other technical education programs, providing the students and staff with tool-kits for hands-on practical training. Kevin Knight, the Marketing Manager for Knight Electronics has asked me to evaluate this tool kit and make suggestions that would bring this took kit more into stream for what PC Enthusiasts want and need.

     Aside from specialized power tools required for case mods, like a complete Dremel set and a grinder / jig-saw, I think this kit is very close to perfect. All of the tools come neatly arranged in a black zip-up hard case. As for the tools included in the kit;

• 3/16", 1/4" Nut Drivers
• Three-Claw Part Holder
• Tweezers
• T10/T15 Reversible Torque Driver
• Spare Parts Tube
• IC Extractor
• #0, 1, 2 Phillips Screwdrivers
• 1/8", 3/16", 1/4" Flat Screwdrivers
• IC Inserter 4-16 Pin
• 25W Soldering Iron
• Solder Reel
• 6" Adjustable Wrench
• 5" Needle Nose Pliers
• 8" Wire Cutter
• Reverse Action Tweezers

     With this kit I have constructed four Personal Computers from the ground up and handled field repairs on a good dozen or so. I used this kit exclusively with only minor exceptions, which I will cover later. As you can see from the list above, the items of absolute necessity are present -- Three different sized Phillips & Common-edge Screwdrivers, and the 1/4" nut driver (for installing motherboard stand-offs). From just these seven  tools you can handle just about every instance of computer system repair and construction. Aside from the rare instance that a CMOS/BIOS chip needs to be removed from the motherboard, there isn't much need for an Integrated Circuit (IC) puller and inserter. I think the IC puller and inserter are left-overs from the old PRE SIMM and DIMM memory days, when memory came in a Dual Inline Package (DIP) chip and great care had to be exercised during handling for fear of damaging the very thin and fragile "legs."

    My additions to this kit are purely personal and should in no way detract from the usefulness of this kit. That said, I'll start with the most controversial. I add a standard 3/16 inch magnetized apex holder fitted with a #1 Phillips. The #1 Phillips perfectly fits the screws most commonly used to mount the motherboard to its risers. With the magnetized apex holder, screws will stick on the #1 apex while your working upside down. No more chasing loose screws all over the motherboard and enclosure when they fall off the screwdriver.  I've taken a lot of criticism from quite a few people over this idea. "Magnetized parts around computers......." Sure! Why not? The silicone on the motherboard is nothing more than a huge collection of nano sized transistors and diodes, and there is no way a magnetic field can switch their logical state. Also, a loose metallic "electrically conductive" screw can finds its way into all sorts of things that can produce sparks. Last I heard, sparks ARE bad! On the other side of that argument, no - I would not carelessly place that magnetic screwdriver anywhere near the Hard Drive or any other magnetic media, such as floppy disks.  My last Addition is more of a replacement. I take out the IC Extractor and Inserter and put in a small 6-inch ¼ inch drive breaker bar and an assortment of ¼ inch drive sockets, with my favorite being the 5mm. Since we American's know the logic and ease of the metric system, but are just to resistant to change to use it, having a metric socket around only makes sense and paid off when I was working on a generic aluminum enclosure and the 1/4 inch nut driver did not quite fit the motherboard stand offs.

     Assortment of tools and a handy carry case? $33.25. Shipping and handling to get it to your door? Less than $10. The ability to have all the necessary tools to handle almost any PC repair or construction job? Priceless.......  Ok, so it's not an original - but its the truth! This case measures a little over 13 inches tall, almost 7 inches across, and a tad over 2 inches deep. Which means it should fit perfectly on the bookshelf when your not using it. That kind of convenience is simply immeasurable. While the tools themselves are not the highest quality, they are more than adequate to handle the light-duty work associated with computers. All in all, I consider a composite too-kit such as this one a necessity for any PC Enthusiast.