_AKIMbO_

Don't feel like an idiot. It's your first build and we all make mistakes in buying parts our first time around. For instance, on my first build I purchased 2 sticks of 1gb DDR2 800mhz ram and later found out that the best route would have been to purchase 2 sticks of 2gb DDR2 1066 ram. On the bright side, if you don't want to return the card you can always keep it as a back up or utilize it as a phsyx card...so all is not lost my friend.

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behickma

I just PM'd a mod and asked 'em to move it. Since this is getting moved out of the new members area and we'll be able to ask questions in it, how do y'all feel about the Sparkle GeForce GTS 250 card? I almost got that one, but since I've always been an on-board video user, or always bought the cheapest card I could find, I didn't realize how different all the types of gfx cards are. I almost bought this Sparkle gfx card, but it was about twice as much as the one I currently have. Would that be considered an above-average upgrade compared to what I just bought?

_AKIMbO_

What's your budget for a video card and will you be playing any games at all?

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behickma

since I'm not heavy into gaming [at least not yet] I'm thinking 200 bucks would be a good ceiling to have for a gfx card. I'd like to have some available headroom when playing games, but at the same time don't want to pay 400+ for a gfx card that I'll never be able to realize its full potential. I play some Unreal Tournament, Crossfire, some Warcraft [NOT WoW] and starcraft, but like i said nothing too heavy into gfx.

kevingreenbmx

I would go with a better brand, something like EVGA or XFX. they just make higher quality stuff.

the GTS 250 is really just a re-branded 9800gt which is a re-branded 8800gt if i recall properly...

I would strongly urge you to go with GTX 260 or higher, but that would not be a bad card.


edit: i read the posts before mine, you want something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102858

or this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130434

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_AKIMbO_

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130434 This is a good choice and should last you a while. It's not the fastest gpu out but it's still real fast and will play all the latest games at decent frames.

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behickma

awesome. I will certainly look into those later on tonight. I appreciate the links. Now i REALLY regret not joining this forum before buying stuff, I feel I could have gained some valuable knowledge and saved myself a little time!! Also going to look into that overclocking guide tonight when I get a few minutes and see if I can't find a better CPU fan. If it helps, I at least remembered to get some paste to put on the CPU so I'm not going to burn it up! lol

kevingreenbmx

yea, i just looked up the CPU cooler you got and it looks identical to the I7 stock cooler. you may want to return that with your 9500.

If you need a good cooler for pretty cheep look at the XIGMATEK Dark Knight.

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axeafordmartin

the 9500gt isn't that bad im running it right now and its fine for what i do and yes i play alot of games. the 9500 will do you for a while, i would wwait for the gt300 series and use the 9500gt as a phyx card later

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goobergump

This. While people have already given you helpful input, I will second this post out of the blue as it happens to a lot of first time builders. Shorting out my mobo took 5 years off my life.

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