Selecting the Right Motherboard

by Dan McDonald
(Eugene, OR, USA)

If you want to build your own computer the first thing I always think about is the CPU.

Decide how much money you'd like to spend on a CPU. Decide if you want Intel or AMD, dual core, quad core or even a server model. Once you've decided on a chip that's half the battle.

Then you should decide if you're going to need a great graphics card or not. You can get motherboards with built in graphic cards now, but most of them will not be upgradable. In my opinion this limits the life of your PC. I would be more tempted to pick out a nice graphics card, preferably with HDMI capability, or at the very least TV out. This will give you lots of options as to what you can connect to your PC.

Sound is usually built in, and unless you're an audiophile the standard built in sound will be just fine.

RAM is key, but you probably won't find that a new motherboard is compatible with anything less than the current top of the line when it comes to RAM. For instance right now you can pretty much only buy something with DDR2 or possibly DDR3 onboard. Buy RAM to fit your motherboard, not the other way around.

Finally getting a fast hard drive is a good bet. Mostly new motherboards will come with SATA II standard. If you buy a new hard drive it will have this capability, but make sure you check before you plunk down any cash.

If you pick your motherboard to fit your chip, and you buy relatively new gear, this process will really not be as complicated as you might expect. Be careful, and before spending money make sure all your specs line up. Then have fun building your dream machine!