How do you type accents by pressing accent symbol then a vowel? Details Below?

I'm currently using EN (US) language pack and able to do it, but gettin new PC soon and not sure if it will work. What happens : I press ' ` ~ " ^ and nothing appears until I press Space or another letter. If the letter is a compatible vowel, then it appears as an accented vowel ( � � � �). If it's a constenant then it appears as a ` ' ~ " ^ before the letter.