CPU Motherboard Compatibility Guide

G

Gsusruls

New Member
Hey all. This is my first post here.

I'm looking to build a new gaming rig. I'm preferential to AMD, so I'm leaning towards the latter Phenom series, but I'm also open to considering the i5 or i7, since I hear that intel currently has the lead in the technology race. I've saved for a while, so I'm somewhat flexible economically. I am aiming for the $800-$1200 window. I'm hoping for this machine to be able to give me a solid framerate with maxed specs on most games for at least 18 months.

My problem goes like this. I don't mind doing a little research or reading to savvy-up, but google has been remarkably unhelpful in providing specific how-tos when it comes to learning useful information on part compatibility. That is, every link looks like either this:
"Is a [insert CPU model] compatible with [insert motherboard model]"
or this
"When shopping for a CPU, make sure that the socket type and bus speeds match those of the motherboard."

What I need is a good middle ground. HOW can I tell that the socket type matches? HOW can I tell if the bus speed of the motherboard will support the full firepower of a CPU? What other compatibility issues should I be aware of and how do I tackle them?

I'm partial to newegg, so if anyone has suggestions on this, examples from their specifications and details lists would be extra useful. But at this point, I'll take anything.

I look forward to whatever you can throw at me. Happy gaming (too corny?) !
Sorry for being so wordy. Thanks in advance.
 
socket type from mobo should be same as cpu.

If you doubt, always double check. manufactures will provide CPU support list on their official website
 
in a year your build won't be maxing out any mainstreme games lke cod, might not max bf3, but if on medium resolution with lowere shading you'll be fine, and like above, i5 2500k, z68 mbo, get a gtx 570 i think, pic a case that suits you, a 1tb caviar blue or seagate barracuda, might want a 32gb ssd, anything more is over 100. and windows disk will need to be oem, otherwise won't work.
 
Resulting Parts List - My Pending Rig

Thanks for the responses, everyone. I didn't get quite the compatibility education I'd hoped for, but I did follow up on the intel and graphics card suggestion.

Here's my parts list. I was hoping that you guys could take a look at it and let me know if I've hit the mark. I did go a tad over budget, but I've saved up for a while for this (over 2 years), so there's no guilt.

CPU - i5 2500K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost)
4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

MOTHERBOARD - ASUS P8P67 PRO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131703
ASUS P8P67 PRO (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

GPU - EVGA GTX 570
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130595
EVGA SuperClocked 012-P3-1572-AR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support

PSU - CORSAIR HX850 850W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011
CORSAIR Professional Series HX850 (CMPSU-850HX) 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

RAM - G. SKILL Sniper 8GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231416
G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR

CASE - Cooler Master HAF 912
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233
COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

HARD DRIVE - SAMSUNG Spinpoint 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

OPTICAL DRIVE - ASUS DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM

EXTRAS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181015
CORSAIR CWCH60 Hydro Series H60 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler

EXTRAS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018
Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler

solid state drive
-


A few questions, if anyone can lend a thought...

1) Are these parts actually compatible? I'm hoping I didn't overlook anything obvious.

2) Will any of these parts cause significant bottlenecks (ie will the Mobo prevent the CPU from reaching its full potential?)

3) I'm Planning to do some overclocking (CPU, GPU, RAM). When prices come down, I'm planning to do some SLI with the GTX 570. Will these parts support that (so far, I've never overclocked. Still have to read about it)? Will the PSU support SLI and overclocking?

4) Since I plan on doing some SLI, would I be better off with a Radeon 6950 in Crossfire instead? Would a Radeon 6950 be compatible with the rest of the parts? Note: I have a 22-inch screen and will not be going over 1920x1200 and will not be using multiple screens (I heard Radeon takes the lead in screens over 2000 or multiple screen layouts).

5) I gave very little thought to the Tower, the Optical drive, and the hard drive. I basically just picked out cheap stuff. Does anyone have any better suggestions?

6) Regarding the CPU fan and the Cooler, someone from work suggested them. I don't have any idea how the cooler works yet. Is this worth looking into (or possibly even necessary to look into - I don't know what kind of overheating to anticipate. I still have to read up on overclocking and SLI/Crossfire).



Once again, I'm terribly wordy. Sorry about that.

I know I've said a lot and asked a lot. Any insights or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks for the last bit which you've already answered - I did some reading, and the parts you suggested benchmark very well on recent games such as Crysis 2 and Metro 2033.

Looking forward to your thoughts, and thanks in advance.
 
1) all are compatible but no win7 oem 64-bit, which is 100 bucks normally, usually on sale for 90/95, just misset out on 80 buck sale, but you're fine otherwise.

2) No

3) Yes, they'll be fine, was wondering about psu watts till i saw that, and really could go for 750-800, but that's much safer and will be perfect.

4) Idk bout that, but you'll be fine either way, fps so high it'll be unnoticeable till bf3 probably.

5) Tower is fine, optical fine, i like western digital caviar blue and seagate barracuda better, just preference and i believe they are better quality, but again preference.

6) You can't use both liquid and fan cooling, and i've been told the h60 is greaat, only need these for extreme oc'ing though, which gets very complex.

and i'll look at the build to suggest any changes, mainly i always look at combos to shave some off.
 
i would change to and add in thes, may go a little bit more over budget, but the z68 is more for overclocking then the p67 motherboard chipset

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.689889

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284

could go fo the blue instead of black hdd, but for 25 bucks it sonds nice, but someone else can and should say if any of this is wrong or bad or anything, and i think the nactua cooler is better than the h60, but idk and both, adain, are for extreme overclocking, not just experimenting, and with these parts there is no need at all now or for a while really, and you won't be able to see a real difference cuz of how fast it is by default.
 
Thanks for your thoughts and recommendations, jonnyp11.

First point. I'm a tad confused by this:
"all are compatible but no win7 oem 64-bit"
then this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...na&AID=10521304&PID=4169961&SID=1hb5hex9elsbo
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

How can you tell that my proposed rig won't support that OS? I have no idea how to check for that.
When you posted the link to it, is that because your proposed CPU-Mobo combo will make my rig now support that OS? Again, how can you tell?


Second Point. You wrote:
"i like western digital caviar blue and seagate barracuda better,..."

Yeah, I see that you added, "1tb caviar blue or seagate barracuda" to your original suggestion.
I went browsing through newegg for hard drive/optical drive combos. I found the following:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.679809
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.679779
They both include the Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB and they both bring down my total cost. So I'll probably choose the one with better specs/ratings.



Third, thanks for the CPU Mobo Combo suggestion. I think I will do it.
That gives me this motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131730
ASUS P8Z68-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Is there something in the specs which tells you that its better for overclocking than my selection?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131703
ASUS P8P67 PRO (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

If it's too much trouble to explain, I understand. I ask a lot of questions :D
 
It all looks pretty good, but I think liquid cooling is kinda pointless, more for serious, hardcore overclocking and noise issues. Air cooling with give you the same performance, but just a little louder. Liquid is just a hassle, in my mind. Look into an after market cooler. And yeah, this setup should give you a couple years playing current games.
 
on the win 7 part i was saying i didn't see it listed and it is a fairly important part of the puzzle, can't use a computer with no os.

for the chipset overclocking part, all i know is i remeber seeing a list saying what each chipset can do, and z68 is the only one that supported both gpu and cpu overclocking, idk if it's impossible on the others but it isn't supposed to so it's probably got a reason to say not to, and if you ask anyone in here that knows more, they'll say if you can go for the z68
 
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