PC Component Compatibility Quick Reference

Anthony Farrell

15th April 2019

PC Part Considerations
When selecting either parts for a PC - either a new PC or to upgrade an old pc, you will
need to ensure compatibility as follows:
• The motherboard ts the case
Computer cases are designed to accept certain sizes of motherboard, and motherboards
larger than what the case was designed to accommodate will likely be impossible to t
in the case.
Motherboards usually come in one of the ATX, micro-ATX, or mini-ITX form-factors,
which all have the same base mounting hole layout, so a motherboard that is smaller
than the maximum the PC can support is not a problem.
• The motherboard accepts the CPU
Each motherboard will have a specic socket that accepts only certain CPUs, and each
CPU will have a specic socket that it is designed to t into. If these two are not
identical then the motherboard and the CPU cannot work together.
So for example if your motherboard has an AM4 socket, then you will need to use an
AM4 CPU with it.
Also be aware that often CPU maunfacturers will make newer CPUs or newer moth-
erboard chipsets that are physically compatible with older ones. These will generally
work with older hardware that it is physically compatible with, however might require
a BIOS or rmware update to work. If you are using a combination of new and old
hardware then if they use the same socket then they can work together just ne, how-
ever be sure to check for any recent BIOS or rmware updates to ensure compatibility
rst.

Also note that just because a CPU ts in a socket that doesn't necessarily mean it will
work, although this is usually only the case with high-end Intel CPUs not working on
older chipsets - AMD CPUs will generally work in any motherboard that will accept
them, however will usually require a BIOS update to do so if one is newer than the
other.
For example, the i7 8700K will only work in a Z370 motherboard, not an Z270 moth-
erboard, despite both being socket LGA-1151.
Motherboards should list what CPUs they accept on their product specications, al-
though sometimes list the highest tier of a given product they will support, with all
lower products in the stack for that generation of products as a given.

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• The motherboard accepts the RAM

Each motherboard will have a specic number of sockets for RAM - usually a multiple
of 2, and will only accept one specic type of RAM.
For desktop systems this will be a type of DIMM module, and for laptops this will be
an SO-DIMM module.
You will need to ensure that the RAM you are selecting ts the motherboard it will
be socketed in.
So for example if your desktop PCs motherboard accepts a DDR4 RAM DIMM, then
you will need a DDR4 DIMM module to t into it - no other type will work.
• Your graphics card [if appropriate] has a correct and suitable PCIe slot to
plug into on the motherboard
Modern graphics cards pretty much exclusively use a single PCIe x16 slot for their
interface to the computer.
You will need one of these slots if you are using a discrete, dedicated graphics card.
In addition if you are using a dedicated graphics card you may also wish to check that
the slot being used on the motherboard is in fact an x16 slot, as not all PCIe slots
that accept such cards will actually run at x16 speed - running in a slower slot will not
actually prevent the card from working, but it can reduce the performance of the card.
• That you have a good quality power supply with sucient output
Having a poor-quality o-brand power supply is a good way of killing o your PC
components when it dies, however beyond this obvious statement; gamers or users who
have high-end systems will want to make sure that the power supply for their PC will
be able to supply the demands of the systems components.
For most users who do only basic work such as text editing or emails, these demands
will not be high, but for gaming or professional systems the power demands can be
much higher.
Many cheap PSUs are often horribly over-rated, and can not deliver anywhere near
their rated power, as well as having poor safety implementations - if they even have
them at all.
This means the computer may not work or suer issues if it tries to draw more power
than the PSU can actually supply.
A good quality power supply is a denite requirement for a computer in this author's
opinion, and this only gets more important with higher powered systems.
• That your power supply has the correct power outputs for your CPU, moth-
erboard, and GPU
Modern motherboards use a single 24-pin connector as standard, and all modern power
supplies will have such a 24-pin connector as an output.
Older power supplies, however, may still have connectors for the old 20-pin standard,
which will not work with current motherboards, so if you have a power supply old
enough to use such a standard then you will need to upgrade it to use more modern
hardware.

Modern power supplies also typically use a single 4-pin power connector for the CPU,

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which plugs into the motherboard - typically on a slot near the CPU.
Some motherboards have an 8-pin slot though to allow for more power to be delivered
to higher end systems.
Whilst it is sometimes possible to run a CPU with an 8-pin power conenctor o of a
single 4-pin plug, it is of course still advisable to get a power supply that is designed
for such a load and has an 8-pin plug by default.

In addition, modern gaming GPUs will also typically require additional power directly
from the PSU, in addition to what it receives via the PCIe slot.
These cables are always a 6-pin or 8-pin PCIe power connector, with modern GPUs
typically accepting either one or two of these such connectors in some conguration,
with some very high powered cards wanting three.
What power connectors the GPU will want will depend entirely on that GPU, and such
requirements can vary, even for the same model of card, dierentiated by the specic
requirements of the manufacturer of each card.
GPUs that do not receive these power connectors will generally not work at all, and if
the GPU is the only source of video-output of the PC this can render the PC unusable
as it will not display anything since the GPU won't have enough power to actually
run.
Note that many GPUs will still turn on if they do not have sucient power, but will
often only display error messages about the lack of power available to them, unable to
work normally until they are given sucient power.
• That your PCs case can physically t your GPU
Whilst they tend to be standard heights, and widths are often not a problem, many
modern GPUs are very long, and some cases might not have enough space inside them
to accommodate very long GPUs.
For lots of cases this will be because things like hard drive cages are positioned behind
the PCIe ports the GPU would plug into. For some cases these may be removable,
however for many they are not.
As such if using a long GPU you will want to make sure it can actually t inside the
case.
Also note that some GPUs have the PCIe power inputs on the end of the card, which
means additional length will need to be factored in to account for these connectors,
however the cables may be able to route around the obstruction, for example an empty
hard drive bay might allow PCIe cables to route through to the card just ne, however
this is a very case-by-case consideration.
• That any older monitors can be connected to the PC
As PC hardware evolves the display standards monitors and GPUs use evolve too, and
this means that if a user is upgrading their PC but not their monitor (which does tend
to be the norm), then it may be the case that the old monitor does not accept any of
the outputs of the modern PCs graphics card.
In such cases it is often possible to buy a converter cable, such as an HDMI to Dis-
playPort cable, however for conversions from digital to analogue, such as between

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DisplayPort/HDMI/DVI-D and VGA, passive cables may not work as the signal needs
to be actively transmitted to something the older hardware understands.
Checking compatibility between your new systems video outputs and the inputs avail-
able on your monitor is very useful, and can save lots of hassle and conversion cables
down the line.
• That you have a method of installing the Operating System
Your PC will need to have its operating system installed somehow in order to be able
to do anything, and the OS will almost always be installed by either an optical disc or
a USB stick.
You will need to ensure the PC in question has a disc drive or free USB slot (as
appropriate) that can be used to install the operating system.
For most PCs this is not a problem, as most modern OSs can be installed via a USB
stick, which modern PCs should have plenty of ports for, but those building new PCs
that intend to use older OSs that have installation discs (such as Windows 7), or prefer
to use discs to install the OS will need to ensure they actually factor in a disc drive to
the system.
Such OSs may also use that same disc as a recovery disc, so having a disc drive will be
useful long-term in case that is ever needed as well.

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