Start with the motherboard, they are all designed for a specific range of processors, they will also accept specific types of ram and require a PSU with a specific power output.

if you start with the MOBO you should go wrong as they description will tell you whats it's compatible with.

BTW don't expect it to be much cheaper that a store bought one, you used to be able to save about 30-40% a few years back not any more.

Jenn,

If you expect to find a site that can give you the details, in general, FORGET IT! If you REALLY want to find out all the stuff you mentioned, like you have parts, and you want to get a board that is compatible, HERE is what you do:

1. Find out the SOCKET, voltage, speed(REAL EXTERNAL CLOCK SPEED! NOT the approximate related speed companies like AMD may use, or the multiplied speed INTEL may use), name, etc... of the CPU you want to use. Find out the speed, connector type(including number of conductors), size of memory, and name of your memory, and the speed and type of connector for your disk drive.

2. Search the motherboards for the socket type for the CPU, and narrow down from there. A given socket may NOT be compatible with YOUR CPU, even though they are PHYSICALLY 100% compatible. HOPEFULLY, they will mention YOUR CPU and clock speed. If they don't, you will have to check clock speed, and voltage. The SAME caveats apply with memory.

3. REALIZE that they NO LONGER CARE about compatibility, so it is possible that even items 2-3 years old may be TOTALLY incompatible with EVERYTHING!

4. For the disk drive, there ARE companies that make enclosures to adapt older technology drives to newer technology systems. The lower the number on the more general connectors are compatible with most stuff. So USB 1.0 would be more compatible than the new esata. but the more specific connections are usually the fastest. esata IS faster than USB 2.0, but apparently not faster than USB 3.0. Frankly, I don't know WHY they have SO many serial standards! It is STUPID! But that just illustrates the point I started with.

5. ALSO realize that expandability may be a concern, etc...

BTW M Thompson is right. Don't expect to really save anything. I told this to a friend of mine about 13 years ago, and he didn't believe me. Back then, it was HARDER than now. MORONIC handling of expansion, poor standards, etc... So I showed him. We went out and bought the parts, and I showed him how to put it together. The standoffs had to be just so. They depend on the case AND the motherboard. THAT should be BETTER NOW! And the powersupply has to hook up right or you can blow everything. I THINK they improved THAT. And you have to break the cutouts for expansion. A lot of times, you don't have to worry about that now, they have a standard cutout that a block in the motherboard fits up to. And THEN you have to put everything else in. ACTUALLY, it's usually easier to do that BEFORE trying everything else. And you have to plug various cables in and connect the power up to the drives, etc... Anyway, it probably took about an hour just to assemble it, and the drivers were a problem. Any money we saved was spent on the cuts and effort. It SHOULD be better now, but you really won't save much, and you SHOULD know what you are doing. BE GROUNDED! DON'T touch the pins on the circuts! OBSERVE POLARITY! Get GOOD conductivity on the heat sink, and use the RIGHT ONE! Some of those units now look like THEY could be computers, they are HUGE and FANCY!

steve

"BTW don't expect it to be much cheaper that a store bought one, you used to be able to save about 30-40% a few years back not any more. "

This is true, but the performance is much better than a store bought machine usually.

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I kind of realized it would cost about the same, but the features is whats important. Thanks for all your helpful replies! Now I have some stuff to go on