Help Picking a Video Card

[L337Llama]

Hello, I am planning on building a pc. So far, ive decided on using an e2160, a gigabyte p35 dsl, and 2gb of ram. I am using a power supply from an older computer I have, which is a nice 400 watt one. Its also powering 1 sata hdd and 1 sata dvd burner.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modul...views&op=Story&reid=14

There is a review for it.

The video card is the last part I need to decide on. I can't change the power supply, so what ever video card I use needs to be able to run with the parts listed on the 400 watt.

I am gaming on a 19" lcd that does 1280x1024, and I don't plan on getting another monitor. I'm not sure what the power draw would be, and I might get an 8800gt if the psu is ample. The most it does on 12v rails is 26A between the two of them. I'm mostly interested in getting the most performance for the money. Also, I was wondering if there has been any news on 9600gt, if there is anything about how much power it uses. I'd consider waiting for it if it's not too long.

I'm open to any advice or opinions or suggestions, and thank you for taking the time to read or post.

 

[zeroburrito]

8800gt

 

[Narse]

8800gt

 

[mageslayer]

8800gt

 

[arnav]

I second all these replies

I just got mine three days ago, and it is pure fun. Especially if u r like me. My Last graphic card was nvidia GeForce 3 Ti200. So, playing my old games like NFS Underground, Most Wanted on all High settings is amazing. I never they could be like that.

Go for it man! unless you have bigger pockets then wait for the 9800

 

[Sylvanas]

Whats your budget?

 

[L337Llama]

I can get an 8800gt, but my main concern is my power supply, if its gonna be enough. I want to overclock the e2160, but if the power supply isn't enough, Im not getting another power supply that would be, I'd get a video card that would use less power, and hopefully be as good of a value per $$. I am slo very curious about the 9600gt, how close it is to the 8800gt and for much, and if it will deliver more performance per dollar.

 

[Piuc2020]

The 9600GT is apparently releasing on the 21 or 28 of February, can't remember.

It has good specs in terms of memory bandwidth but it only has 64 shader processors, early benchmarks done by a chinese site (PCOnline) show that it's generally better than the 8800GS which in turn is a bit slower than the 8800GT but faster than the HD 3850 so a 9600GT is between a 8800GS and 8800GT, leaning more towards the GS side though, and that 64 shader number is a bit dissapointing.

The brightside is that it's supposed to be pretty cheap (should be around the price of a HD 3850, meaning 150-180) and that it will require less power so if you can wait it should be a pretty good card performance wise but if you can afford it a 8800GT would be a great buy and is available now for pretty low prices (newegg has one for $229 with a Zalman cooler and other sites have it on sale or with rebates for less than $200!).

 

[LOUISSSSS]

3850 is a better value than the 8800gt. $/performance wise. gaming at 1280x1024 u really don't need a 8800gt. i game at 1680x1050 and its still more than enough (i'd say too much, but theres never too much for a computer enthusiast.)

the 3850 is a great performer not only for the money but is almost as good as a 3870 which is pretty much = 8800gt

 

[secretanchitman]

8800GT.

 

[qbfx]

3850 should be more than adequate for 12x10