Compatible?

[Rawpulse]

Sorry for such a newbie question, but I know how helpful you guys are. Anyway, when buying parts, how do you know if they will be compatible with each other? Also how do you know if the wires will be long enough? Any help would be appreciated.

[Katreat]

Best method is to describe and link your parts from a site like newegg here in the forums and let the experts check them out. You can start by checking out some of the computer builds that have already been listed to get going in the right direction.

Kat

[marine63]

motherboard will say the type of socket it has if you want a amd athlon cpu go with the am2 or 939 but if you want the intel get 775 lga. this will be easy since newegg will have the different processor compatibility in different categories also it may say wat type of cpu it will work with. i suggest intel since it has better performance and run cooler but it will cost more. I suggest the core 2 duo specifically the e6600 2.4ghz. also you need to no the FSB or front side bus. it will say on the site and also you may need to look at the manufacturer's site on the product to see the complete specs also look at cpu's fsb speed. when buying get the retail box kind this will come with a fan and thermal compound already put on it this will save you some troubles of finding the compatible cpu heatsink/fan and buying thermal compound.
now the ram the motherboard will say which type of ram ull need and how many you can hold . the types are ddr1 ddr2 and sdram i think thats wats it called. i suggest the ddr2 240 pin the motherboard will come with 2 or 4 slots for ram i think 2GB is enuff for a gaming computer but if you want more w/e its ur money right? also youll need the dual channel on your motherboard and make sure ur ram is dual channel. this will speed up the ram btw 2 or more ram.
hard drive the connection will be either pata or sata. i suggest sata make sure the motherboard has sata and the harddrive is sata. the harddive it will say sata in the name. look for sata 3.0 in the motherboard if ur getting a hard drive and optical both sata make sure the motherboard have 2 or more sata connections
floppy it will say floppy if you dont no the connection is a flat short connecting thing wit a twist in it
optical such as dvd or cd or blu ray drives will be connected by sata or ide i suggest sata
powersupply will say 20 or 24 and +4 pin also check the motherboard
videocard will b vga agp or pci express i suggest the pci express or also known as pci-e make sure the motherboard have a pci-e slot
case itll say what type of motherboard it can be fit in there i suggest a mid tower case. it is bigger and easier to build in and not as expensive as full tower. it will say things like atx or micro atx and things like that i recommend the atx motherboard. the motherboard will say if it is atx or w/e also u need to no the dimensions or the motherboard and what the case can hold. also look at the expansion part itll say the 5 inch something (optical) and 3.5 (floppy and harddrive)
if this is ur 1st time building i suggest getting a barebone kit. which is a incomplete computer usually a case with a motherboard installed. sometimes it may some wit something like a cpu or ram or something. and this is pretty much take and sit in the components in. but it may not be as good as if you build from scratch.

i believe thats it. also go to google videos and type in computer building and such im sure theyll talk a bit about compatibility. and watch this http://www.pcmech.com/video/build_your_own_pc_1_of_2/
http://www.pcmech.com/video/build_your_own_pc_2_of_2/
also read some of the articles on this site
http://www.build-gaming-computers.com/
some of the information is out of date but still good
riney

[doubledragon5]

First off what is your budget? do you prefer AMD or INTEL? What would you be doing with it? gaming, internet, email etc... This would help us is in giving you a idea on what parts to buy.. Check out these two sticky's

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=131236

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=130280

[marine63]

http://stage6.divx.com/user/letslear...ild-a-computer
good video on building computers (at least i think it is )