by Martin Brinkmann on December 02, 2018 in Hardware – No comments
One of the things that PC users have to make sure when they shop for new hardware for their devices is that the new hardware components are compatible with the device.
It is quite difficult for people who are not very tech-savvy to determine if a component, e.g. a video card, memory, or processor, is compatible with a PC.
Information is found in a variety of places, e.g. the motherboard manual or the manufacturer’s website.
Amazon launched an option on its website recently that customers may use to find out if a PC component is compatible with their device or another component.
An Amazon Partfinder is displayed at the top of the page if Amazon enabled it for the component.
You may use the widget to select a brand and model, e.g. a motherboard brand and model, or a PC manufacturer and model name of the PC, to determine whether the component is compatible with it.
Amazon may suggest that it is compatible, that it is not, or may tell you that it has no information on compatibility.
You may click on a link to display a list of compatible components that match your query. If you look at RAM, Amazon will display compatible modules for the selected device or part.
Partfinder works only for devices that have model numbers; you may select a prebuilt PC or laptop, or a component such as a motherboard. The list is limited to what is available on Amazon and it is quite likely that you may run into issues finding certain models or components.
You cannot use the tool at this point in time to create a list of compatible parts if you plan to build a PC on your own. You could pick a main component, e.g. the motherboard, and check other components to ensure that they are compatible.
PC users who want to build their own rig might want to stick with PC Part Picker for now or other services, e.g. Alternate’s option to build a compatible system in Germany.
It is still recommended to double-check the suggestions to make sure that Amazon’s assessment is correct.
Closing Words
I don’t know how popular Amazon is when it comes to buying all parts to build a PC rig from scratch. I never met anyone who did that; all prefered PC-specific vendors, e.g. Newegg, instead. Amazon seems popular when it comes to certain PC parts, e.g. a new Solid State Drive or a computer monitor though.
Now You: Would you use Amazon’s Partfinder tool? (via PC Gamer)