Advice... need a new Vid Card but my budget is limited

[Pete]

You can't buy a used card? A <$120 9700P will be clearly better than the 9600s, and arguably better than the 5900XT--all for much, much less. I'd check the F/S forum here. And a 9700P is fast enough to last you quite a bit longer than those other cards.

I'd with Matthias, tho. If this is a stopgap card, a ~$50 used 128MB GF4Ti is probably the smartest move. It'll be pretty close to a 9600P, albeit without AA or AF: Digit-Life, THG VGA III, THG VGA IV.

 

[lordtyranus]

9700

I also think you could save nearly a $100 with a mobile barton/NF7 combo.

 

[WW2Planes1]

Just from experience. I'm currently running an A64 3000 w/ a GF4 Ti 4200 and the Far Cry Demo is playable at 10x7 w/o AA or AF. it' doesn't look fantastic, but it looks pretty nice. You might find that an old GF4 is all you need. It just depends on how good you want the game to look. (Also looking for a new video card, but I'm holding out for the 6600AGPs to come out, and my budget is more than yours)

good luck. choosing components is always a pain, prices just get lower and the fastest just gets faster.