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Building My own PC.

WhiteIphone5

WhiteIphone5

macrumors 65816
Original poster
May 27, 2011
1,182
2
Lima, Peru
I haven't gotten into hardware for a while, mostly software work and kind of forgot how to build a pc.
so far this is what i know.
There are two different type of motherboards. One hold an AMD Processor and the other one holds an Intel processors.
the higher (watts) Power supply the better? for Graphics cards and such?
i know about HDD and SSD, disk drives too
but im more concerned on the processor parts, can any processor fit into the right motherboard say intel. Can i just buy an i7 process and install it into any asus or other branded mobo? can i just buy say a 800 watt power supply when the requirements on other parts require say 400? can any motherboard fit onto any casing out there? also does it matter what Gen is the processor?
thank you so much guys
also please Moderators if this thread needs to be moved, please do so.
 
There will be some backwards compatibility in some motherboards to accept older generation processors, but that will vary by brand and from one model of motherboard to another. So you will have to be very careful and research the specs of the motherboards that you are considering to make sure that it will be compatible with the other parts that you are choosing.

Unless you are going to run multiple GPUs, you will not need the PSU with the most wattage. What may be more important when choosing a PSU is to find one that actually fits the power requirements for your components. You may budget a little extra wattage for the occasional high intensity compute tasks.

Let's see if I can help answer some of your questions with more specificity...

Re: AMD versus Intel, yes there are two types of CPUs and therefore two types of motherboards. In order to fit an Intel CPU, the motherboard must be Intel-compatible. Therefore you will not be able to buy an AMD-specific motherboard and fit in an Intel CPU (or vice versa).

Generation of the processor is also important when choosing a motherboard (see my first paragraph). An Ivy Bridge board may not be able to accomodate a Sandy Bridge processor, and vice versa. So, choose your CPU first then find a motherboard that will be compatible and has the features you require (USB 3.0, number of SATA ports, etc.).

For motherboard fitting to cases, you will need to pay attention to the format of the motherboard. Most common are ATX motherboards. For smaller builds, people will use microATX or even ITX motherboards. Most descriptions for cases will identify which format of motherboards are compatible.

A little more on power supply needs... if your parts require 400 watts, 800 would in most cases be needlessly excessive. 500 or 550 would be more than sufficient. More important when choosing a PSU is its overall reliability. You'll want at least a Bronze certification, maybe even perhaps Silver. Gold certification is usually overkill, but if you can find one for a nice price then go for it. Pay attention the brands, there are certain brands out there with higher reliability and reputation than others... Off the top of my head, you should be good with brands like Antec, Corsair, Silverstone, PC Power and Cooling (though they got bought by someone else, can't remember right now).

To learn more about building PCs and choosing the right components for you, check out forums and sites like:

http://www.hardforum.com
http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc
http://pcpartpicker.com/ *really helpful for putting together parts for your build
http://www.newegg.com *order parts, but they also have useful calculators for picking a PSU
http://www.silentpcreview.com
http://www.tomshardware.com *hardware reviews
 
Processors have their own socket size, and it will be on the specification page of that processor. You just need to find a motherboard for that socket. Motherboards come in different sizes, such as ATX and so on. Whatever size you get (again, it will be on the specification page of it), you need to look for a case that has that size compatibility.

And you need more wattage on a power supply depending on what you are hooking up to it.
 
As others have said, the CPU may dictate the motherboard, or the other way around, depending on which is more important to you. If you find a motherboard that has features you like and can't find a comparable one with a socket to fit your CPU, you'll need to decide which is more important.

When deciding on memory, look at the QVL (Qualified Vendors List) for your motherboard, that will list specific modules that they have tested to work "for sure". The motherboard manufacturer will have this available on the downloads area for the board.

Think about your cooling setup. IIRC, Intel has stopped shipping a cooler with even their retail CPUs, allowing you to pick the one you want. I'm not sure what AMD does. If you want to push your system AT ALL, consider an aftermarket cooler. I use the CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ (there's an Evo version now, use that one) that is generally considered the best air cooler for the price (around $30 with a fan). You want to make this decision before building as many aftermarket coolers require a plate be installed on the back of the motherboard making installation easier when the board is outside the case. Even though many cases include a cutout for this purpose it'll still be MUCH easier outside the case.
 
WhiteIphone5 said:
I haven't gotten into hardware for a while, mostly software work and kind of forgot how to build a pc.
so far this is what i know.
There are two different type of motherboards. One hold an AMD Processor and the other one holds an Intel processors.
the higher (watts) Power supply the better? for Graphics cards and such?
i know about HDD and SSD, disk drives too
but im more concerned on the processor parts, can any processor fit into the right motherboard say intel. Can i just buy an i7 process and install it into any asus or other branded mobo? can i just buy say a 800 watt power supply when the requirements on other parts require say 400? can any motherboard fit onto any casing out there? also does it matter what Gen is the processor?
thank you so much guys
also please Moderators if this thread needs to be moved, please do so.
Click to expand...

With this I think it's likely you've never built a PC..
 
In that case you need to actually buckle down and do your own research. There are tons of guides on the web on how to do this. FGI.
 
hallux said:
Think about your cooling setup. IIRC, Intel has stopped shipping a cooler with even their retail CPUs, allowing you to pick the one you want. .
Click to expand...

Nope, Intel still ships coolers with 1155s, 2011's come without the heatsink/fan


@OP: Do visit forums listed about like hardforum, or overclock.net/f, or my personal recommendation: linustechtips.com (That's Linus from NCIX, for those in the know), and there will be a multitude of people who will help you, and might even walk you through the install.

Also, all things considered, do think hard about your "usage" before you settle on parts. For example, going i7 when you're just going to game or dabble a bit in photo/video *might* be considered overkill, something that an i5 processor will be able to handle easily. So, do figure out what exactly you want out of your system, the usage, and how long you're going to be using it.

Edit: Speaking of Linus, here's a comprehensive build guide by him, it's pretty long and detailed, so after you've figured out what components to purchase, you can go have a look at it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roFb3TNePIg
 
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