Recommend a socket 775 mobo that supports 45nm CPUs

[nmX.Memnoch]

A 9600GT card will definitely let you play older titles on the higher settings, or at higher resolutions with mid-to-high settings. Especially when you compare it to your current Radeon 9250.

Sometimes you really don't realize how "bad" your gaming experience is until you get a higher-end video card. You may think you're running your games fine with your Radeon 9250 now, but put in a better card and you can feel the difference. The games play smoother, you can turn settings up to see what you've been missing in the way of visual quality, you'll have less eye strain because you won't have to focus on a "stuttering" screen (smoother frame rates), etc, etc.

[puntoMX]

... you'll have less eye strain because you won't have to focus on a "stuttering" screen (smoother frame rates), etc, etc.

I would like to add that if you play games on the native LCD/TFT resolution, you eyes are getting less tired too, although screens have become better with non-native resolutions...

E-66, if you have the cash for it and you like to play some newer games (2007/2008) then I really would consider the 9600GT, if you don’t care that much about the latest titles, then go with the x1650pro and swap it out when you want something more. It will be a shock for you any way when you see the speed change you will get with your new system like nmX.Memnoch already said .

[E-66]

The newest games aren't important to me. I also noticed that the 9600 requires its own power connection so that would mean I'd need a new power supply too.

I don't have anything against the x1650 card, but is there anything comparable from nVidia I should look at? You said earlier that at the lower price points ATI has better cards but I figured I'd ask.

What's the next level up in ATI cards I could look at as well? There are A LOT of rebates showing on Newegg right now. Cards that are normally $70+ but with $30 rebates taking them into the $40+ range.

Edited April 14, 2008 by E-66

[puntoMX]

From there you will get the ATI HD2600XT or nVidia GF 8600GT both need a good 350W PSU or a normal 400W PSU or up. Most 9600GT cards come with 2 Molex (5.25") to a 6 pin PCI-E powerconnector so you can use older PSUs that still have the power but not the connector.

[nmX.Memnoch]

The newest games aren't important to me. I also noticed that the 9600 requires its own power connection so that would mean I'd need a new power supply too.

What's your current system specs? You may have to get a new power supply anyway.

[E-66]

It's an Antec SmartPower SL300S, about 3 years old.

Specs: http://www.antec.com/specs/sl300s_spe.html

[puntoMX]

That would be enough to pull a HD2600XT or nVidia GF 8600GT. The +12V line is rated at 15A and the +5V line at 30A. Some crappy new PSU makers will sell this as 400-450W!

[E-66]

Glad to hear it, thanks. I'll have a look and see what's available in those two series of cards and get this whole project nailed down.

Two more questions about memory: If I overclock the FSB to 400MHz and get DDR2 800 memory I won't be overclocking the memory, but what's the deal with voltage? I see some memory listed with a specific figure, like 1.8v, while others have a range, 1.9v-2.1v. What should I be looking for? I was reading some memory-related threads on a forum and someone commented that it's possible the motherboard wouldn't boot if the memory required voltage over 1.8v, and that you'd need to temporarily use some cheap DDR2 to get the board to boot so you could get into the BIOS and change the voltage settings to support higher voltage memory. The post was from 11/2006.

Second question - how much of a difference is there between 5-5-5-18 and 4-4-4-12?

Edit: I'm still not sure what voltage memory I should be looking for, but what about this Corsair memory with a $40 rebate?

Edited April 17, 2008 by E-66

[nmX.Memnoch]

Edit: I'm still not sure what voltage memory I should be looking for, but what about this Corsair memory with a $40 rebate?

That's a rather high voltage for DDR2 800. The lower timings are likely the reason for the higher voltage (basically the memory is "overclocked"...the speed in MHz may be standard, but the timings are faster than the memory chips are rated for at 1.8v, so they require a higher voltage to maintain system stability at those settings).

This happens quite a bit more often with memory than you might think. While it may be perfectly safe to run the memory at the higher voltage, it will also make the memory get hotter than normal. Also, if you reduce the timing to the normal 5-5-5-18 or somewhere in that range, you'll probably be able to lower the voltage to 1.8-1.9v.

[E-66]

So that Corsair would normally run 5-5-5-18 at 1.8v and only runs 4-4-4-12 when upped to 2.1v ?

Regardless of the difference between 4-4-4-12 and 5-5-5-18 when measured in a lab, what real-world difference is there in typical PC use?

Edited April 17, 2008 by E-66

[nmX.Memnoch]

Regardless of the difference between 4-4-4-12 and 5-5-5-18 when measured in a lab, what real-world difference is there in typical PC use?

The real-world difference isn't noticeable. We're talking nanoseconds here...

[E-66]

The real-world difference isn't noticeable. We're talking nanoseconds here...

Ok, glad to hear it, but why do people make such a big deal about getting the tightest timings that they can if the performance increase is negligible? Just because the potential is there to be tapped?

[nmX.Memnoch]

You'd be surprised in the enthusiast market.

[E-66]

I've got the motherboard and video card taken care of, so hopefully this is my final question about components for this build.

Memory: I'm still not clear on what I should be looking at as far as voltage. Lower is better I guess, but in the specs on Newegg I see some memory listed with single voltage ratings, and other with ranges, like 1.8-2.2v.

I'll be fine with 2GB, so if someone could scan these offerings from Newegg and make some suggestions I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

[Zxian]

CORSAIR XMS2 2x1GB DDR2 800 - $25 after MIR

Honestly, I don't think you'll get much better than that. I've got two of those kits in this workstation here, and they do the job just fine.