Recommendations: ATI X800 GTO? ATI X800XT

Hmm.. those timings seem a bit.. off... for DDR.

Did you mistakenly get DDR2? You're system needs DDR, not DDR2. They are totally different memories. Most DDR333/400 memories are 3-x-x-x or 2-x-x-x timings. 5-x-x-x timings are usually DDR2's, which wont work for your system.

You also need to double-check the cooler as mentioned by wolfram. The AIW's have a big, metal shielded tuner on the top (for tv tuner) and therefore use a different cooler model to provide clearance for the tuner.

OCZ Premier PC3200 1GB 2X512MB DDR400 CL2.5 3-3-7 184PIN DIMM Dual Channel Memory Kit W/ Ramsink
this one would it work with my system sharkfood? doesn't say ddr2 unless CL2 means ddr2
so what kind of cooler would u recommend for an ATI X800XT besides the stock one? i can either get coolers from ncix or tigerdirect

Why would you upgrade the cooler?

cuz i read some reviews from ppl who've had the card for awhile..some say it heats up really badly and that purchasing a 3rd party cooler like the arctic cooler rev 5 would bring the temps down during hardcore gaming >_<

Yes that's right. wolfram has an X800GTO and it was giving him heat artifacting and all sorts of other heat-related problems recently (he even scorched his finger touching the memory on the card! OUCH!). But he got an aftermarket cooler for it and all is well. Ask him which one he got, I'm 100% sure it will fit ur card as well, since they share the same architecture.

nah Rage don't think i can get the same aftermarket cooler as the other X800s..my AIW won't snug it in right.. i need a different one ..maybe a zalman fatal1ty

Oh, right I forgot it was an AIW version. Well, I think the Fatal1ty should be great in that case.

Ahh 2.5-3-3-7, that's the timing. And yes, those should work fine.

Those are CAS 2.5, not CAS 5 and they are DDR's, so those will work fine. Good deal.

I had a X800GTO. And after I applied some AS5 on the core, the problems went away (at least on the games). But now I sold it, and I'm gonna get a X850XT, and mount the Silencer 5 rev.2

And yes, get rid of the stock HSF, because X800 series cards run hot ( that damn toasty R420-23 or R480 core) and their RAM run very hot to the touch. Just make sure that the RAM's get cooled too. They really need it
And hopefully, you'll find a good cooler that fits on your AIW card.

yeah i think i had some artifacting in cs just now....kinda went purple.... ARGH!!! what fits on the AIW X800XT? and also have another problem when i install the updated catalyst drivers in the settings i can't see the little preview of the car driving on the road...it give me a direct x error

Do you have Direct X 9.0c June or later?

yeah i just downloaded it and installed it. it doesn't artifact anymore just now i exited cs ..cards temp was around 67 ..soo i think i'm just gonnna put at 100 percent when i game...anyway not much improvement in cs...im sure you guys know the map called office.. around the spawn point of the Ts goes down to around 30..going outside in the snow around 17.. around the hallways its around 89..hmm somethin not right here? i've uninstalled the latest drivers and try omega ones ..hmm

Keep in mind, there are some occasional spots that even a Core 2 Duo with SLI will spin down to 30-35 FPS when playing Counter Strike:Source due to laggy/faulty network coding on Valve's part. They are few and far between though so 90% of the time, framerates should be stellar.

Also, if you're playing with VSYNC on, it's a problem to ensure you get triple-bufferring working right else you'll have LOTS of 30/sub-30 framerates. DXTweaker is the only tool I know of that can get this working, but some other CS:S pro's here might know easier methods.

I'd also highly recommend going with the Catalyst 6.9's and CCC. Just install .NET 2.0 Framework from MS, then uninstall all ATI drivers, boot in safe mode and use Driver Cleaner Pro for all ATI filters... then boot-up normal mode and install the 6.9 CCC Full driver install. I'd also create a "Default" profile with all default settings, except add Geometry Instancing for D3D Settings and Force Triple Buffers for OGL (if you have an LCD). Lastly, you should also make sure your monitor shows up in desktop properties as the correct monitor and NOT "Plug N Play Monitor".. It's a bit odd, but several LCD's and CRT's will have problems with Windows -> CCC if they have default PnP versus real monitor INF and proper refresh rates.

Lastly, I'd run some overall system benchmarks as well as defrag all your drives. Did you install your new memory as well? You should have >1 gig memory, correct? I'd download/run CPU-Z as well and provide the register dump (zip and attach) here as we can likely diagnose how the new memory and FSB:HOST ratio is and determine if you need any BIOS/BySPD tweaks for your new memory. Northwood's need really well tuned memory and you can likely buy some more fps if this isn't 100% optimal.

i'm going to try all that sharkfood.
i have a question regarding the CCC when ure configuring your settings.. you know the car driving on the road...letting u see the details of which u selected..for some reason i get an error. i believe it is something to do with DirectX..once i get the 6.9 running after cleaning out all the drivers i'll fill you in with some more issues regarding this.

Hey guys Now I'm getting this error with the 6.9 CCC drivers I've attached the screen shot!

hmm got another question if my card is running around 60 deg c during game play or around 70 is that still considered ok? hmm

70C is just fine for this chipset. I'd say the "average" is about 82-86C range for maximum peak operating temperatures for these R4xx series chips (which you're is).

I'd be more concerned with the SmartGART tab in the CCC to see if the error is SiS AGP GART related. Make sure SmartGART has AGP read/write and I believe your board supports up to 4x. You may need to upgrade your chipset/agp drivers for this mammoth card to work trouble-free in your SiS chipset motherboard.

my fast write is on
AGP write was off
AGP read is on.. soo i'll try and turn on AGP write see if that works out..
FAST write ON is fine right? thought it was suppose to be off

Enabling fast writes sometimes causes display corruption since it speeds up relay of information to the monitor. Unless ur getting graphical anomalies of any kind, I don't think it needs to be turned off.

hmm ok, i guess i'll leave it on if it doesn't downgrade the fps i get.
Sharkfood I used CPU-Z i'll attach the file! thanks alot buddy