Beginner at Building/repairing PC's

[JSFord]

Ok, so Im wanting to get into the computer engineering field so i figured I'd try and learn what i could on my own before I'm able to go back to school for it.
so i went out and bought a little basic computer toolkit and got ahold of a stripped down computer. its pretty much just the mobo and PSU. I'm not even aware if the mobo is working or not. so thats why i made this thread, so that I can use one thread to ask just general beginner questions instead of making a new thread for everything i encounter. which leads me to ask:

1. is there a way to test the mobo and psu to make sure their functional without having to put RAM, HD, etc.etc. in it just to find out?

2. I plan on purchasing a soldering iron for use with my work, what wattage/type should i look into? I was just gonna get something cheap from radioshack right now.

thanks in advance guys, everyone on heres been a big help with some general computer questions before, I'm hoping to be able to jump in a little more in depth now.

 

[Abstract Hero]

You can use a multi meter to test a psu I'm not exactly sure on which wire combinations to test but it's possible.

Here this is a great guide. Driverheaven Guides: testing your psu with a multimeter

As per motherboard that might be difficult. There are a lot of connections and variables to take account for and the only easy way to test it is buy the cheapest parts to make it run and try it.

What kind of mobo is it... that might be a step in the right direction.