Finding compatible components for a Motherboard / CPU

Hello,
How can I find out which CPU fans are compatible with a given motherboard/CPU?

And how can I find out which CPU I am able to upgrade to, on a given motherboard?

I've googled, but can only find specific answers to specific requests - I'd like to know how to find this out when asked.

Thanks,
Amber

 

Running CPU-Z should give us enough info to work out what you need, failing that, a cellphone camera and screwdriver

If you could attach the output from the CPU and motherboard tabs, that should be enough to make some educated guesses.

 

Adding to satrow's advice, consider the both amount of free space around the CPU and how the fan mounts before buying one.

If the diameter of a CPU heatsink/fan exceeds that of the OEM (Intel, AMD, Dell, etc.), you'll need enough free space around the CPU to mount it. I have run into issues where...

• Installation of the fan is impossible due to memory (especially "gaming" RAM with tall heat sinks) or expansion cards blocking space.
  
  
• If the fan does fit, it may block access to memory slots, power connectors, etc. In this case you may have to remove/reinstall the fan when working on other parts of the PC.

How the fan mounts is important depending on how much time and effort you want to spend on upgrading it. Although some smaller to mid-side aftermarket fans use the same pins/brackets as an OEM fan, most larger ones come with and require a special plate that mounts on the back of the motherboard to hold it in place. Unless you're building a new system from scratch (or have a case with a "trap door" opening allowing access to the bottom of the motherboard), you'll have to remove the motherboard to mount the fan.

Hope this info. helps.

 

Go to the motherboard manufacturer's web page for that model motherboard. In the specifications section will be a list of compatible cpus.

 

That's a lot to ask for as we like details and the devil is in the details. It sounds like you want to do some general tech help. The above posters gave you some good leads. You may want to delay whatever it is that you want to do as you're clearly not ready for this and need to do a lot of homework. Please don't take this wrong, I'm only trying to help. Good luck.

 

Thanks for your responses.
I was hoping there was a simple - go here and see this compatibility list
Thanks abekl - I did find a list of compatible processors for the motherboard I'm looking at right now.
I own a retail shop, and have quite a few customers asking me to order them parts (usually for them to install themselves) - and right now it's a CPU fan. I was hoping to avoid grief by bringing in the wrong one, and was hoping to find a method of determining compatible ones.

I don't have the PC here, but the motherboard in question is an ASUS M3N78 Pro...

Cheers,
Amber

 

Unless the customer is building a screaming monster overclocked system, a standard (OEM) size fan/heatsink will usually do. I've been building, repairing and upgrading PCs for almost 10 years. Aside from sticking with quality parts (returns and service callbacks suck ), I normally use the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid :-D) in buying and stocking parts.

(No offense to benchmarking junkies; however people in your league normally order online or shop at a mega-store such as Fry's or MicroCenter. :major)

Here's a well-reviewed (and inexpensive) AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3 socket fan you might consider (although the specs don't state "AM3", it's the same mounting bracket as the AM2 processors):

http://www.directron.com/a4022.html

Hope this helps.