If you can wait until you find a $250 deal for an XL go for it. I got the connect3d XL and I can run every game I've played except Far Cry at full everything (Doom 3 is not installed). It came out to be $254 shipped and it was worth every penny.
That was my motto. I picked up a Connect 3D x800xl for 254 w/ free shipping from Monarch and it was amazing. I didn't experience any problems with it and I saved some money.
I haven't overclocked it, but the PDP Patriot 2 x 1gb set (link below) does 2-3-2-5 1t on a DFI Ultra-D
http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=140291&Category_Code=DDR-PDP
I noticed the difference. I recently built a rig for a friend using the PDP Patriot 2x1gb and everything is generally smoother than my PC. I noticed the loading time difference as well...but it could just be going from a 2.4c@2.8 to a 3500+