SDRAM will NOT fit in a DDR board. There are certain boards out there that have dedicated DIMMs to both DDR and SDR, but you cannot mix the two under any circumstances. I would also advise against getting on of these "hybrids" because SDR is out of date... But this might be a cheap alternative. I'd hate to see you stuck with a board you'll have to upgrade soon again though.

Keep in mind, if you have 640mb of memory, it is probably in a 256mb/256/mb/128mb configuration and hybrids have (at most) two SDR DIMMs and 2 DDR DIMMs. If you are using 512/128, that works out well. If you are using 128/128/256/128, then that's even worse.

If you buy a hybrid, you will only be able to use two of your memory modules. A notceable performance hit will occur as well from using dated SDR, but all in all, it should work fine and if you do not have the money for DDR ($43 = 256mb), then it might the right choice for you.


You will not NEED onboard graphics and sound unless you really want them. The onboard graphics and sound usually raise the cost of the board. Since most people who are interested in integrated motherboards use the onboard stuff, they save money by not buying the "real thing" so to speak. This is probably not you and you should avoid integrated motherboards... But if you find a good deal on something that has integrated LAN or audio, it's no biggie. You do not have to use it. You can always use your own hardware instead.


The main requirement for a good graphics card is DDR memory. So don't buy antyhing using SDR memory.

Some good buys might be an ATI Radeon DDR or Geforce 2 MX DDR for the extreme gamer's budget - $40-60 USD range...

A Geforce 4MX and Geforce 2ti 450 or so would comprise the next price group... You should be able to get one of these for about $70-100 or so.

Anything above would probably include Geforce 3's and whatnot. To give you an idea, my ATI Radeon 64mb DDR is decent for gaming, but not great. It plays just about every game out right now very smoothly at 1024x768. In very rare circumstances, I have to turn it down to 800x600 (nothing new drivers usually won't fix. hehe)

You won't be breaking any speed barriers, but any of the budget cards listed should be more than sufficient if you are a casual gamer.

It should be a piece of cake. It slides right out and slides right back in. in order to take it out, you'll have to pull a lever on the side.. It's a "realease" mechnism.

Once you have it out of the old board, you can pop it into your new board just by sliding it in. Make sure the lever on the new board is up before putting it on there though, otherwise it won't go all the way in. Once you drop it, push the lever down until it is tight.. Simple stuff.

What might NOT be so simple is putting a heatsink snuggly on. Most clipping mechanisms require a lot of force to set in place (at least 20lbs of force), so be prepared to struggle a bit.

The standard socket A clips can be pretty poorly setup, making it very possible to jab your motherboard with a screw driver or whatnot. If you are not experienced with clamping your heatink/processor down, I suggest you place a slice of sturdy plastic or rubber and place it inbetween the clipping mechnanism and the motherboard. That way, if your screw driver (or whatever you'll be using) slips, you'll have some extra protection.