just installed a new graphics card, a geforce FX 5500 128MB however my motherboard only supports 4x not 8x AGP, the card supports both 4x and 8x. the game plays noticably better although i haven't tried it with 4v4 but so far its played good with minor skipping when there's lots going on on screen, the graphics were on full since i had reinstalled the game and left the defaults on, turned off the cinematic window though. problem solved...for now lol.

i'm also thinking of getting a new motherboard but i don't have a clue really of what to look for, i know what i want from the board but does it have to be compatible with my computer etc, am i able to take my CPU off my existing motherboard and onto the new 1, same with the memory? if anyone got any advice pm/email/msn me or post in here. thanks

i don't really have any desktop toys or anything of the sort, i'm aware of how much computer resources they consume so i tend to stay away from them. i have been clearing some stuff off my computer lately, uninstalling old programs, putting lots of my music and films etc onto dvds so i can reformat and reinstall windows as i think the last few times i did that it kept some of my data on the drive and made it unaccessible leaving me with just over 17gb free on a 60bg hard drive! it was my own fault tho lol. the only thing i'm worried about when installing windows is that i'm sure i read somewhere that XP Home can only be reinstalled 3 times! i've reinstalled twice now.
with a new motherboard i'd like it to be cheap as chips but i wouldn't sacrifice power and functionality too much for value as i'm looking for a PCI Express ready motherboard, maybe a 64bit processor, but that would be a while off yet as many programs aren't 64bit compatible. i've just ordered a 512mb stick of RAM off crucial.com so i'll have a 1gb of memory to work with
 

i'll let u know in here how the reformat goes. another reason i want a new motherboard is so i can get a seriel ata hard drive, using an ide at the mo, i've seen some converters (SATA to IDE) but i'm can't be arsed messing about with them. at the moment i've been browsing ebuyer.co.uk and ebay for parts but i'm relucant buying off ebay in case summt goes wrong and i got no warranty then have i? ebuyer have some good deals now and then though

excellent thanks doca! for a meanie admin ur helpful! thanks again mate