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So I'm looking at getting a new computer here soon, and the one I want is all pimped out except for the vid card, so my plan is to put a new one in right off the bat. The only problem is it's been several years since I've been shopping for one. I'd like one that I can put in and not have to upgrade for a while. Suggestions?

Well if you go by

then if you go with a top of the line nvidia you won't need to upgrade for probably 2-3 years.

I think what video card you put in depends largley on your gaming habits/tendencies. If you routinely buy the latest and greatest games, then even a so-called top of the line might not last three years. I have a Nvidia 6800 Ultra. Three years ago that was a kick-butt card. Now I'm not sure if it's even considered average lol. At the same time, all I play is MTM 2, Flatout 2, a little UT, Half Life 2 and a few other older games. I'm just not a big gamer. For what I play, however, that card is awesome - the games look and run without a hitch.

Anyway, something to consider.

i have a Nvidia GeForce 7300 LE card and it has been really good, i play 1nsane, mtm2 and 4x4evo2 and most i can play online with everything set high as in graphics and no lag what so ever

and my 6600 is awesome, especially compared to my 5200fx i had b4, i h8ed that thing, ok performance but 0 compatiblity with any games. especially fonts in games. My laptop has a 7600 in it and it can max graphics any game I throw at it thus far.

Toms Hardware puts out a round up of video cards from time to time the latest one can be found here.

Best Gaming Graphics Cards for the Money: September 2007

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/09/05/ ... the_money/

Since its a new system I'll assume it has a PCI-E slot for video instead of AGP so Ill only quote them.

One other thing I think of to consider: what OS are you getting with your new PC, Cale?

If you're getting Windows Vista, remember that Vista supports DirectX 10 and games will one day require DX10, so if you want to be set for the (short-term) future you should consider getting a DX10 graphics card now: that narrows the choice to either GeForce 8xxx and Radeon 2xxx series.

If you're sticking with Windows XP, that only supports DX9 so a DX10 card will be wasted (unless you plan to upgrade to Vista at a later date) so you can save some money by choosing from the last generation of cards (GeForce 7xxx and Radeon 1xxx), but that will put a lower cap on your performance ceiling. However you could take the approach of 'wait and see', by buying a cheaper card now and upgrading it to a DX10 card at a later date (though I know you said that's not the way you wanted to go).

Making things more complicated is that DX10 is not really "here" yet, and by the time it gets really established any DX10 card you bought now will likely have been superceded IMO. DX9 is going to be around for some time to come - the installed user base is just too great - but nevertheless if you're going with WinXP and a DX9 card you have to be aware that it's nearing the end of the line. Of course all this only matters if, as Cope says, you like to get into the latest and greatest releases.

(FWIW, I'm running a 3.0GHz Pentium HT and GeForce 6800GT at home - about 2-3 yrs old hardware. Last night I loaded a demo of Colin McRae DiRT and was unpleasantly reminded how fast the technology moves. At 800x600 it was only just playable...)

i got this feeling MS gonna get a backhand and patch XP to work with DX10. they seem to have made vista undewr the asumption that everyone wants to upgrade. Vista rappidly became a diabolical and lots of people do not want to upgrade from XP. With mac's supporting windows now, and Linux with windows emulators advancing, MS needs to focus more on making their current customers happy rather than trying to make a computer for 80 year old people.

Agree Slayer.

Thanks, everyone! Woody, that's exactly the info I was looking for. I want to get a new system that will run all the latest-and-greatest for at least a couple of years. I'm not a builder so I'm going with a well-known consumer model that has all the goodies on it. I know saying that I'll get beat over the head with, "It's gonna suck and you can't upgrade and it'll break in a month..." but I want something that I can just plug in and use.

DiRT is one of the games I'm looking at so that's part of the reason I want a new one