Building A Computer Advice - Topic

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Feb 23 2015 02:55pm

Quote (Rapture @ Feb 23 2015 04:31pm)

It's not usually a huge concern but it does exist. If and when doing a whole new computer build, you don't often have to worry about it and PCpartpicker actually tells you any possibilities of incompatibility when putting it all together there.

The main thing to watch for in terms of compatibility is Mobo vs whatever. That's where I would say most, if not all compatibility issues arise, particularly in a new build.

So how does MObo Compatability work vs cpu/gpu etc.

Rapture

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#12

Feb 23 2015 04:59pm

Quote (Effaced @ Feb 23 2015 04:55pm)
So how does MObo Compatability work vs cpu/gpu etc.

A mobo only works with a particular set of CPU's. All mobos have a CPU socket. That socket has to match the chip. So for example the Fx-8320 only fits AM3+ sockets.
Some mobos may not work out of the box with a CPU and would need a bios update to work with a CPU, this happens in the case of new processors coming out for a socket that's been in production for awhile and in some way the mobo is just not suited to deal with the new processor [idk the fine specifics of how/why its incompatible]

The same thing might work for a GPU but I've never heard of a new mobo not supporting GPU, afaik it's something that might just be on older mobos, even then idk how prevalent that problem really is.
I think its a matter of the PCIE slot, as some older mobos only have 2.0, when the card might say its 3.0. PCIE slots are all backwards compatible however, so that shouldn't be too much of an issue unless the mobo is so old that it only has 1.0 slots [which again are backwards compatible but it significantly slower than 2.0/3.0 so it would limit performance]

You also need to make sure the RAM is supported by your board. Not all boards can support all RAM speeds. Usually not a big issue because boards support a lot of speeds, but it is something to watch out for.

That's all i can think of right now

aneas

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#13

Feb 23 2015 06:17pm

Nice to see someone's actually interested and doing some research on his own

What is your budget and what is the purpose of your new build? What will you be doing with the PC mostly and which programs will you use? Do you have any older parts left or a monitor that you'd like to re-use?

Effaced

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#14

Feb 23 2015 06:27pm

Quote (Rapture @ Feb 23 2015 06:59pm)

A mobo only works with a particular set of CPU's. All mobos have a CPU socket. That socket has to match the chip. So for example the Fx-8320 only fits AM3+ sockets.
Some mobos may not work out of the box with a CPU and would need a bios update to work with a CPU, this happens in the case of new processors coming out for a socket that's been in production for awhile and in some way the mobo is just not suited to deal with the new processor [idk the fine specifics of how/why its incompatible]

The same thing might work for a GPU but I've never heard of a new mobo not supporting GPU, afaik it's something that might just be on older mobos, even then idk how prevalent that problem really is.
I think its a matter of the PCIE slot, as some older mobos only have 2.0, when the card might say its 3.0. PCIE slots are all backwards compatible however, so that shouldn't be too much of an issue unless the mobo is so old that it only has 1.0 slots [which again are backwards compatible but it significantly slower than 2.0/3.0 so it would limit performance]

You also need to make sure the RAM is supported by your board. Not all boards can support all RAM speeds. Usually not a big issue because boards support a lot of speeds, but it is something to watch out for.

That's all i can think of right now

Thanks for your assistance sir

Tis appreciated. So must make sure your CPU matches your socket and don't be that guy that buys a LGA Mobo before realizing that you have a PGA CPU, which doesn't really happen anymore.

@ Aneas, I don't need a new computer. This forum build me one half a year ago for roughly 1k. Just wanted to find out the what where and above all why. Anything else you guys can think of or provide is appreciated, I thrive on knowledge. Thank you all!

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