Need Help Finding the last part for my new rig

[Volkswagen]

am building a new system and I want to order today but I am not sure what to do with the video card....Here are the specs of the system

Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 w/ TT Big Typhoon
2 x 1 GB DDR2 800mhz Gskill
Gigabyte DS3 965P
Corsair HX620W
WD 37 GB Raptor

I currently have a nice 19" LCD that I plan to use for another couple of months maybe till 2008 which is when I planned to upgrade to Vista and a nice bigger screen along with a DX 10 card ( hopefully by then vista will be stable/safe and DX10 games will be arround) Right now I play CS Source and F E A R but plan on playing STRIKER Crysis etc......So what do I do go with something like the Connect 3d X1900XT for $200 after $15MR or a eVGa 7600GT for $99 AR and stepup to the mid range nVidia DX10 cards that are comming out in march? In my old S754 Rig I had a X800XT which i sold for a decent price so I was hoping of getting something better then the 7600gt but if it is only for 3 months or so and will do me good in the long run I guess I can live with that I am open to suggestions

BTW I am not a hardcore gamer but when I game I want to game the way its meant to be so the game needs to run decent at acceptable settings....With my school/work schedule I wont have a lot of time to game till summer when I graduate

So please help me make the right choice here and give me some suggestions so I can order my new system when I come back from work

Thx, Adnan

 

[daveybrat]

Text

This XFX 7900GS Extreme is only $159 after rebate and will blow away a 7600GT. Best bang for the buck to tide you over until the budget DX10 are out. :thumbsup:

 

[hardwareking]

if u get the evga version of the 7900 gs u should be able to step-up to geforce 8xxx card l8r.
U could get urself a 8600 ultra when nvidia release it.

 

[Yakyb]

id go with the x1950pro its an excellent card

but the evga step up program is a great suggestion also.

however i have heard rumours that AMD/ATI plan to be able to run a second GPU as a Physics card once support for one is required so maybe the 1950 pro could be the option

 

[chizow]

Unfortunately the EVGA step-up program is kinda weak. Its better than nothing for sure, but its not a great deal or a truly viable option for most. They price step-up cards at full retail MSRP ($650 for a GTX, $500+ for a GTS) and deduct the amount you paid for your trade-in card from your invoice. You also only have 90 days to step-up, which really isn't that long of a time frame. Considering most won't pay full retail at any of the better e-tailers (or B&Ms), the difference in price is considerably more than the actual retail difference. For instance, if I were to step-up my GTS to a GTX, I'd have to pay @$220 before shipping just for the step-up (650-430) and they don't cross-ship so you'd be without a video card for 5-10 business days as well. I'd probably pay less for that upgrade going through FS/FT and buying a new GTX.

As for your card decision, I'd probably go with a $100-$150 card to tide you over til DX10 games are released and you're ready to move to Vista. Most of the mid-range cards can drive 1280x1024 DX9 titles (except for Oblivion) without any issues. I don't think the mid-range 8 series cards will be that much of an improvement in DX9 titles though, so if you're waiting on DX10 and a new LCD later in the year, I'd wait to buy something nicer when you're ready to drive DX10 games at a higher resolution.

 

[Volkswagen]

well i ended up with the eVga 7900GS KO for $175 and a $20MIR bringing the total to $155....I wanted the X1900XT from connect3d which was on newegg for $215 with a $15MIR but today when I orderd my parts it wasnt listed at all on the newegg website and all ive seen was a Saphire X1950XT for 245$ so I decided to go with this geforce for now....Before typing this reply ive seen that newegg lowerd the price on that saphire X1950XT to 230$ with a $30MIR bringing the total down to $200 and I was like damm...How much is the X19xxxt better compared to the 7900gs?