What video card should I get

[got philk?]

This might not be the right place for this. Sorry if so.

If you could get any video card what would you get? Forget about money, and don't worry about the computer. None of these are factors. I am looking to get a new video card.

Currently I have the radeon 3550. It's fine for Madden and NBA live and such. But when I get to Medal of Honor or those higher end graphic games...meh....not so much. Can you guys help me or give me some tips one what to go with?

Thanks much
phil

[kibaxx7]

I have a GeForce MSI NX7300LE (256MB, PCI Express, TV-Out/DVI) and most games run smoothly at 1024x768 (games like FIFA 07, Call Of Duty 2, Need For Speed: Carbon, PES6, Quake 4), but I gotta tell you, it's not cheap.

[got philk?]

Would you recommend GeForce over ATI Radeon? If so, why?

[BigKaboom2]

The best video card setup in existence right now is two NVIDIA Geforce 8800 GTXs in SLI.

[got philk?]

Ok

My wife and I just got a new laptop last night. Now I'm thinking more along a budgeted purchase. I really don't want to pay much more than $250-$300. With that price range, is there one I should better go with?

BTW, I do have a pci express. But is there anything else to worry about?

Thanks guys,
Philk

[kibaxx7]

Would you recommend GeForce over ATI Radeon? If so, why?

Never had an ATI Radeon, that's why I recommend you GeForce

[got philk?]

So I looked up some things. Take into consideration I really do know nothing about video cards when I ask this question...

I'm assuming that a GeForce 7900 is "better", or more powerful than a 7300? Is this correct? Or are they just different models that do different things...I really feel dumb. I just play the games fellas. I don't make the computer. I have people...

[BigKaboom2]

I've got a 7900 GT, which is an excellent card, but the 7950 GT is more widely available now and is in your price range. It's only PCI Express. The other consideration is that Windows Vista is going to be released in 12 days along with DirectX 10, which isn't supported by 7-series NVIDIA cards, only the 8800s, which are horrifyingly expensive. I'm holding off until the second generation of DirectX 10 cards, I'd imagine.

I prefer NVIDIA over ATI because ATI's Catalyst Control Panel is horrendous and driver releases are not as frequent.

[got philk?]

Yeah, a guy in another forum mentioned the whole directX 10 and Vista development.

Will there be drivers for existing video cards? Or should I honestly wait a bit longer...

[BigKaboom2]

The drivers will definitely continue to support current video cards. The NVIDIA drivers right now support the 8800 GTX as well as the ancient MX series AGP cards perfectly. It just depends on whether you play a lot of games and would buy DirectX 10 games before your next upgrade, I suppose.