How to Make Sure All Your Computer Hardware is Compatible

[Love Pulse]

So you’ve decided to build your own computer, but you’re not exactly sure where to start. Or maybe you are sure, but you don’t really know how it all goes together.

Building your own computer system can be an exciting and rewarding experience. Nothing displays your style quite like a custom built computer.

At the same time, it can often be confusing and seem overwhelming. After all, no one wants to mess up their brand new rig after having saved up to buy it!

There are many parts that make up a computer system and they all must be compatible with each other to work, otherwise, your system may not run smoothly, or even run at all. 

In this article we are going to discuss how to check all your PC parts and ensure they are all compatible with one another.

Motherboards and Processors (CPU)
Your first decision is deciding what processor and motherboard you’ll be going with. These two components go hand in hand and are the deciding factor that determines compatibility for the rest of your build.

You see, many of the other parts have broader compatibility than a processor-- or are less important-- so this factor often ends up being the driving force behind your whole build.

Common Processors
Generally, there are two main lines of processor you’ll be choosing between for a gaming PC: AMD’s Ryzen line and Intel’s Core line.

The Ryzen line has been made fully forward and backward compatible for the foreseeable future (and it only just started in 2017, so you shouldn’t have to worry about that unexpectedly changing anytime soon).

However, each new generation of Intel Core processors needs a new motherboard to go with it.

Sockets

To make sure your motherboard will be compatible, you will need to look at what socket and chipset your processor is compatible with.

The socket refers to the physical slot on the motherboard that holds your processor in place. This should be easy to determine by just looking up the socket size for both the processor and motherboard you intend to use.

If you try to pair a processor with the incorrect socket type, you can ruin the processor and/or motherboard. Below are a couple of examples to help you know what to look for.