At what resolution would you be playing them? What size and type monitor do you have? The monitor type and size will most likely determine the resolution you would use. Higher resolutions require more graphics horsepower. If it's a CRT monitor, you can lower the resolution and the games will still look OK. On an LCD (flat panel) monitor, the game would probably look noticeably worse when running at a resolution other than the native resolution of the monitor. Go here for an explanation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_resolution Check out http://www.screenresolution.org/ if you are unsure of what resolution you are using. Here are some common resolutions for LCDs that I am familiar with. 4:3 (square) 1280x960 1600x1200 16:9 (widescreen) 1366x768 1920x1080 16:10 (widescreen) 1440x900 (my 19" LCD) 1680x1050 (my 21.6" LCD) 1920x1200
Regarding grounding and static discharge, I have gotten to the point that I always wear a wrist strap nowadays. I was more haphazard in my youth. In addition to the wrist strap, I also like to keep my case grounded by using a spare power cord. I pulled out the two power supplying prongs leaving just the ground prong. I plug my PSU into the wall with that cord which presumably keeps the system grounded. I don't know for sure if it works, but it makes me feel better. You could probably achieve the same effect by switching the PSU OFF and leaving it plugged in with the standard cord, just so long as the PSU is switched OFF. To discharge any residual electricity on the motherboard and components, I push the power button a couple of times after the PSU is switched off. That causes the motherboard LEDs to go out and removes the residual power. Oh, speaking of power and grounding, be SURE to install the motherboard using the correct hardware and plastic stand-offs. Back in the day, I missed some of the plastic stand-offs and the motherboard about got fried because it made contact with the case while the PC was on. Just do a Google search for plastic stand-off motherboard to get an idea of what I'm referring to. I didn't see any mention of thermal grease/compound/paste. There are a lot of differing opinions on how to apply it (middle dot, surface spread, vertical/horizontal stripe, etc). I'd guess that any of those methods would work if you are not planning to overclock the CPU. I think the biggest mistake when applying thermal grease is to use too much of it. You may be best off looking to the website for your brand of thermal grease and following the instructions that the manufacturer provides. Arctic Silver employs the surface spread, middle dot (BB), and line methods depending on the model CPU you are using. Here are a few links that may provide some insight. http://www.arcticsilver.com/instructions.htm http://www.frozencpu.com/resource/r8/How_to_Apply_Thermal_Paste.html http://www.maximumpc.com/article/howtos/howto_install_cpu_and_apply_thermal_paste I think some of the techniques from the last two links are useful regardless of the model CPU you use such as cleaning and preparation. However, I am partial to the Arctic Silver instructions that vary depending on the model CPU you are using. They just make the most sense to me personally.
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