Gateway Parts

How do I know if all my computer parts will work together when building a computer?

I know your CPU has to match your socket on your motherboard but other than that how do I know if my computer case,power supply,memory(DIM.RAM),Video card,mechanical storage, SSD,Optical drive how do I know all of these will work together? because theres many different variations of each part.

Public Comments

1. Most things should work together, you gotta make sure in the motherboard manual that the RAM you buy is compatible with the motherboard. Make sure your power supply has enough power to run everything. Another thing is that you gotta make sure (if your video card is long) that your card will fit inside your case.
2. Make sure your RAM is compatible with the motherboard Make sure the PSU is powerful enough to power your system. Video card is usually te greatest concern here Any modern motherboard will be fine with an SSD, optical drive Make sure you have a big enough case if you buy a large high end video card
3. There are a few "standards" you need to know, like ATX (the form factor that refers to the size of the mother board and what size case you can use with it) Then there is the RAM type...DDR2/DDR3 your mother board spec will show you that. Then there is the connectors for Peripherals like IDE or SATA most new mother boards take SATA only so your hard drive and optical drive need to be SATA. your PSU needs to be powerful enough for the video card you chose and most advertisers will give you the minimum wattage requirements for your machine with there card. To be on the safe side, what ever the min. is...add 20%. Since your mother board holds, or connects to all your other components you need to chose which one of what type that will give you the best advantage. The mother board comes with a "manual" that will give you all the necessary spec. for all the other components. You can usually down load the manual from the manufactures web site BEFORE you buy the board so you can see there tested recommendations that will fit that particular board. Look for the QVL (qualified vendor list) for the type and speed of ram the board will take, and the CPU support list for all the CPUs the board is capable of, also if there needs to be a bios update to take some processors. Building a rig is not a hard job...but...getting the RIGHT components to do what you want IS!!!