Resources for building computers

Question

I want to build my own PC. I've never built one before & I find the variations in chipsets and CPU pins, etc a bit confusing at times. What I'm after is a site that is kept up to date with the latest hardware that says if I have this CPU I can use these motherboards, which can take this ram & these cards & so on.

I guess I could trawl Wikipedia for this info, but it's not really designed for this, does a site exist that has this info?

Answer 1

I suggest you to visite Toms Hardware website. They have a section for custom computer and people here are very happy to tell you if everything is compatible and will suggest you if your part is the best for your money.

Here is the forum for homebuilt.

Answer 2

Newegg has a pretty robust community there which has whole sections devoted towards computer builds. You can also check out the websites (and the print versions) of the number of magazines out there devoted to computer enthusiasts (PC Mag, Computer Shopper, etc.) and there are dozens of websites out there that are all for hardware geeks always looking for the best information on building their rigs.

Answer 3

There are several blog posts at techcaddie.com that will get you started

Here is the front page: http://techcaddie.com/blog

Answer 4

I highly recommend tom's hardware for benchmarks, tips, tutorials and more.

Their charts are particularly nice, CPU, GPU, memory and hard drives.

Answer 5

Talk to the guys at HardForum. I've found them to be the best at squeezing the most bang out of every buck.

Answer 6

This is a very good book for new system builders Upgrading and Repairing PCs, 15th Anniversary Edition by Scott Mueller

Answer 7

I've always liked Sharky Extreme. They track weekly prices of components and have good buyers guides for certain price ranges.

And of course, you can't build anything yourself without Newegg.

Answer 8

Lifehacker just posted this computer hardware chart on Deviant Art