How to determine what's compatible?

[DavidT]

Hello there!

I plan on building my own PC. It's going to have pretty much the latest stuff i.e., Intel QX6700, Intel BX2 motherboard, 8800 GTX video, nice case, etc.

My first question is...how does one determine what's compatible and what isn't?

It's easy to tell that the above CPU and motherboard are made for each other but what are the components that require more scrutiny for compatibily? I was thinking about building a custom system on the Dell website just to see if the included components will work together but am not sure if that's a good idea or not.

There are so many parts out there, video cards, power supplies, etc.

Once I get my list together I'll post it for advice but I'd like to have a heads up as to what to look for first.

Great site! I'll be using it for sure. I'm pretty psyched up about doing this build. It'll be my first one.

Thanks alot,

David T.

[Rob]

Hi, David! Welcome to the forums!

Once you have the CPU and motherboard, you want to make sure you have compatible RAM. The Crucial Memory Advisor like I have on this page will help with that.
http://www.mysuperpc.com/ram.shtml

The motherboard will follow a "form factor". A desktop computer is almost always a form factor ATX. The computer case needs to support the form factor of the motherboard, so an ATX computer case.

The video card will be either PCI Express or AGP, with most motherboards nowadays using PCI Express since that's the newer technology. Notice it's the motherboard that dictates which technology should be used.

The hard drive will be either SATA or PATA, with most motherboards nowadays supporting SATA since that's the newer technology. Again, notice it's the motherboard that dictates which technology should be used.

The optical drives will be PATA.

The sound card will be a PCI card (not to be confused with PCI Express).

When it comes to the power supply, make sure you're buying a new one so it will have all of the types of power connectors expected by today's technology. The power supply will sometimes come with the computer case, but many cases do not include the power supply.

Have fun with your build, and please do post back with your progress and questions!

[DavidT]

Thanks for the response Rob.

I'll keep you posted with both my progress and more questions for sure and when I'm done I'll get you some picts. I'm going to wait till April to buy the CPU as I've read that by then the QX6700 will have come down in price by a few hundred bucks. That's enough to pay for my case.

Thanks again!

David T.

[Dan]

I have been wondering the same thing. How does one choose? Its almost mindboggling the choises.

Dan

[Rob]

How does one choose what? The components? If you're trying to understand everything about everything then yeah, it's mind-boggling, with no end in site because things change virtually every day. A good place to start are the recommendations I make on my home page which list a set of components in the "sweet spot".
http://www.mysuperpc.com

Components get better all the time. But they can still be combined in such a way as to make a low-grade computer. So it's important to buy components that go well together and make the most of your money. Retail computer makers typically emphasize the processor speed, but then devalue the purchase by using slow memory, a slow video card, and such things.

The set of components I recommend will work well together. They will be balanced. You will not have a fast processor that cannot live up to its potential because of an insufficient motherboard. That sort of thing.

For some components I include multiple recommendations, trading off price for performance. But I don't stray far from the sweet spot. It's wasting money, in my opinion, to spend too little or too much for a computer.

As you can tell from the My Super PC graduates, many people use a different set of components than what I recommend, and that's fine. But you'll do ok by starting with my recommendations, then branching out from there as you gain more understanding.

As you come up with specific questions then please post them on the forum. Probably other builders have a similar question.