On my website, I've included a complete checklist which will ensure that all of your parts work with all of the other parts. I suggest you thumb through it before you complete your purchase.
I've included the list here for your convenience:
The formatting got a bit messed up, if you want you can find it in it's original form [link removed]
* CPU
o CPU Socket Type matches Motherboard Socket Type
o CPU FSB is equal to or lower than the Motherboard FSB
+ In the case of AMD, CPU HyperTransport is equal to or lower than the Motherboard HyperTransport
o Motherboard BIOS can support your CPU (not an issue unless you’re purchasing a very low quality motherboard along with an excellent CPU)
* CPU Cooler
o CPU Cooler compatible with CPU type
* RAM
o RAM type compatible with Motherboard (DDR2 DDR3)
o RAM amount under maximum amount of RAM motherboard can support
o Your RAM is divided in this manner:
+ If motherboard has dual channel, your RAM must be in a multiple of two
+ If motherboard has triple channel, your RAM must be in a multiple of three
o Motherboard has one slot available for every stick of RAM you plan on using
* Video Card
o Motherboard has one slot available for the video card (PCI Express, PCI Express 2.0 x16, etc.)
o If running in SLI, both the video cards and motherboard must support SLI
o If running in Crossfire, both the video cards and motherboard must support Crossfire
* Sound Card
o Motherboard has one slot available for the sound card (PCI Express, PCI Express 2.0 x16, etc.)
* Hard Drive
o Motherboard has one SATA slot for each hard drive you have. SATA 1.5 GB/s and SATA 3.0 GB/s are compatible with one another.
o If you’re running RAID 0, your hard drives should be the same
o If you’re running RAID 1, your hard drives should have the same size
o If you’re running RAID at all, make sure your motherboard supports the specific type of RAID you intend to use
* Other Drives
o Check which slot each drive uses and make sure there’s an available slot for each drive on the motherboard. Generally, each drive will take one SATA slot while a floppy drive has its own special connector.
o If you use a floppy drive, make sure your motherboard supports floppy drives
* Power Supply Unit
o Make sure it has the connector that your motherboard requires. A 20+4 pin connector can satisfy either a 20 or 24 pin adapter on the motherboard.
o If you’re using a single or dual core CPU, make sure that you have one 4 pin connector in order to power it.
o If you’re using a quad core CPU, make sure that you have two 4 pin connectors in order to power it.
o Make sure that there’s enough 4 pin molex connectors for all of your drives (usually not an issue because the molex connectors can extend off of each other).
o If you’re using a floppy drive, you need to make sure that there’s a floppy drive (4 pin Berg) connector
o Check your cards to see if there are any power requirements – sometimes the video or sound card requires power. If so, make sure your power supply has these connectors.
* Motherboard
o All of the motherboard requirements have been discussed earlier
* Case
o Check the form factors on each of your drives
+ Any drives that can be accessed from the outside (CD drives, Floppy drives, etc) require an external drive bay of the correct form factor (3.5 inch, 5.25 inch, etc)
+ Most hard drive today have a form factor of 3.5 inches – if so, then make sure your case has an internal 3.5 inch drive bay for each hard drive.
o Check the form factor of your motherboard (ATX, Micro ATX, Tower ATX, etc.) Make sure that your case supports this form factor.
o Check the form factor of your power supply. Make sure that your case supports this form factor.
o Especially in small cases, powerful recent graphics cards have a tendency to not fit properly. If you’re purchasing a small case, find out whether or not large video cards will fit – this might require some work on your part.
Edited by admin, 14 January 2009 - 03:37 PM.
link removed
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