i am helping a friend build a new computer. i am not quite sure if the hardware is compatible. i will list the specs below. a questions first . if i go with an ati/amd video card, does the systemboard/motherboard need to have crossfire chipset, or will nforce chipsets work fine? also, i've seen a few am2 systemboard/motherboards list support for DDR, i thought am2 was only compatable with ddr2 ram. processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Windsor 2.2GHz ram: CORSAIR XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 675 (PC2 5400), a total of 4 sticks for a total of 2GB videocard: SAPPHIRE Radeon X1800GTO motherboard: none chosen yet due to video card questions thanks in advance for any and all help.
AM2 is DDR2, but DDR2 is sometimes referred to as DDR PC2. Your set up looks OK, but 8800GTS 320MB's have dropped to £176~
personally, at this point, i would opt for a core 2 duo.. even though they are a little more pricey, i think they get far more performance for the price than the X2s as far as i know, you dont need the crossfire chipset unless you are planning on running crossfire.. you may want to get that just in case you decide later on to add another card... or same with nvidia.... SLI can seem like overkill, but in a year or two, if you wanna drop in another video card, you will be bummed you didnt spring the extra $10 for the SLI motherboard.
