Compatible motherboard for CPU?

Cisco001

What is his budget?
What is the main use of the PC?
Will he overclock the machine?

Cisco001

sillygoose wrote: »

Thats my way too. CPU is often the most expensive component. Then you have a wide range of motherboards so I pick one with the ports and onboard stuff I want at a decent price.

One thing I did learn recently that I have not done in the past is to factor in decent CPU cooling. I have been using coolers supplied with the chips and they are rubbish! (especially on an overclocked 125 watt quad chip!)

Just changed it for a £28 Zalman Performa and its set it free, 15 degrees cooler at rest and hardly pushing 40C all cores flat out. Temperature before was frightening so I had to keep the reigns on.

Video card more important if it is a gaming PC

Cisco001

almillar wrote: »

I (and I thought everyone else) decide on the CPU first - AMD or Intel. Then you pick the model of CPU, which dictates the socket, then you'll have a number of motherboards at various prices and various features to choose from.

No. I look at overall budget and what application first, then decide what components would be best value

Cisco001

sillygoose wrote: »

Thats my way too. CPU is often the most expensive component. Then you have a wide range of motherboards so I pick one with the ports and onboard stuff I want at a decent price.

One thing I did learn recently that I have not done in the past is to factor in decent CPU cooling. I have been using coolers supplied with the chips and they are rubbish! (especially on an overclocked 125 watt quad chip!)

Just changed it for a £28 Zalman Performa and its set it free, 15 degrees cooler at rest and hardly pushing 40C all cores flat out. Temperature before was frightening so I had to keep the reigns on.

IMO, stock cooler is OK, if you
a) do not overclock
b) have a good case which provide enough ventilation
c) do not mind it is noisy.

almillar

Sorry Cisco, yes, I was diving into the technical - budget is of course the first thing to consider!

Lum

Stoke wrote: »

I had a very bad experience with ASRock, but to be fair, it was about 10-15 years ago, so perhaps you've got a point.

ASRock is Asus's budget brand. They're usually decent.

ABit were always problematic, pushing performance above all else, including stability and reliability. They were finally killed by how the handled the bad caps fiasco, carrying on using the known bad ones long after every other manufacturer had admitted their mistake and moved on. Personally I say good riddance, but maybe I'm just bitter as I used to have an ABit KG7-RAID that made some really messed up design choices and never quite worked right.

I'd disagree with the advice to start with motherboard BTW.

I'd start by deciding between Intel/AMD, then pick my motherboard, with half an eye on whether I want to have the option for SLI or Crossfire in the future. Then divide my remaining budget between CPU/GPU/RAM etc.

Deciding between Intel/AMD and nVidia/ATI is largely a religious debate. Personally I'm an Intel + ATI girl.

It's also worth bearing in mind that upgrading the motherboard is the biggest pain in the backside job, with the CPU coming in second. Everything else is easy.

I would also advise him not to cheap out on the case. This can make all the difference between an easy to do neat installation with good airflow, and a messy install, many cut fingertips and overheating.

Look for a case that has cable routing grommets around the motherboard tray as these allow you to run all the cabling behind the motherboard and not interfere with airflow.

xxdeebeexx

Good Luck!


I have just been through this - TWICE- with both my sons.


My younger son is patient, thorough and systematic.
He chose his components by googling the parts he 'liked' and then inspecting other peoples builds to see their combinations.


He was 15 (going on 45) when he built his, last Easter.


The computer was built by watching a youtube video.
It took about 18 hours to build as he (we) were slow and had to keep checking and rechecking.


When he turned it on it worked perfectly, first time.


My older son has just built his.
He is 18, impatient, knows everything and thinks that everyone else (especially me) is stupid.


His research was ... mmm... shoddy and ended up buying incompatible cpu and motherboard (delivery was 24th December! so his plans for Christmas were ruined)


It took him about 24 hours to build his computer because he had to take it apart 3 times!


It worked perfectly once it had been put together properly.


The best advice I got from MSE was try to get most things from the same supplier as there may be difficulties if one of the items fail and needs to be returned.


Both boys used Topcashback which paid out very quickly.
Some of the components came with downloadable game codes (the unwanted codes were sold on Ebay)


My biggest worry (as a mum) was handling really expensive components and worrying that something might break.


I was 'moaning' to another mum about the stress the computer caused over the Christmas holidays.


Her reply - 'What a fantastic thing to do! What an amazing achievement'


GOOD LUCK!


dx