i have just bought a new intel d975xbx2 motherboard and processor (core 2 duo e6700), the memory i will be using is (2x) 1gb ocz memory for running at ddr2 800. I am building my new computer from scratch and dont know much at all about graphics cards. the intel board i have is ati crossfire cretified. up to press i have in the past only used nvidia graphics cards, so ati is a completely new thing to me aswell. what i want to know is what should i get? im under the impression i should buy a good graphics card and then a cheaper one and crossfire them? oppinions appreciated. or even can i use nvidia and sli them? i play games like half life 2, counterstrike , etc and want to get hd graphics.

You have a Crossfire board so SLi is out of the question. SLi is strictly for nVidia cards...to run Crossfire, you must use ATI cards. This article should help you make a choice: http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/09...

Setting up a SLi or Crossfire system usually works out to be terrible value and the extra performance is poor considering how much it costs you. Just buy one good graphics card and leave it at that. Mattwizz3 : Vista Home Basic A7N8X-E Deluxe 2.2GHz Sempron 2GB DDR400 GeForce 6800Ultra

thanks for the link its a good page, can i use a single nvidia graphics card with this board or am i constricted to ati only?

You can use either in terms of single card... TMP-Man Asus P5P800 PAT P4 506 @ 4009Mhz 1.3v Thermaltake CLP0024 w/ 1700RPM 92MM + AS5 2GB OCZ 2-3-2-5 DDR400 120GB/300GB 7200RPM HD Leadtek 7600GT AGP 590/1600 VF700 ALCU AS5