8600GTS 256 or 512?

You should go with 256meg one. No need for 512megs with these cards.

if u can , wait for 8700gts , if not go for x1950xt which is alot better than 8600gts and its even cheaper :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

But does the x1950xt have Directx10 support?

nope but as u know in current games there isnt a lot of difference between DX9 and DX10 , also it will take some years for games to be fully DX10 ,

X1950XT leaves a 8600GT/GTS in dust  

If you dont plan on playing the latest games 256 will be fine but if you will be playing them then the extra ram will come in handy.
Mactronix

It's a waste.

Pretty much but it cost more and no dx10 SM4. No hardware HDCP. No 8xAA or 16xAA.

To the original poster you should maybe wait for 8700gts. We are not that far off. Only 2 months left for this card to come out. Hold out long as you can. You can get a 512meg card that will be very close to 8800gts in performance but cost only $250 or so. Not $370.

ATI is also coming out with 2900pro which is in line with 2900xt performance according to ATI. So watch for these as well.

Marvelous
Sorry its probably me i have had a long day, but on the one hand you say not to worry about getting 512 get 256 and on the other you are telling the op to wait and get one with 512 ?
Mactronix

Situation changes depending how powerful the card is and whether or not you can use AA. These 8600gts are just not powerful enough and 256meg is plenty sufficient IMHO. While the 8800gts and upcoming 8700gts can surely use it for higher resolutions with AA.

No, X1950 doesn't cost more and there is no point to DX10 SM4 on a slower card like 8600, especially if it had only 256MB memory as that is too little memory to support the future games higher texture sizes you'd need for DX10 feature implementation.

In other words, buy a midrange DX10 card today and by the time games with good DX10 features come out, the card will have to be replaced again. Today you're better off with a card having more raw performance, the last-gen cards that're discounted to same price range as 8600GTS.

I agree 8700GTS would be worth waiting for, except that when it first debuts, it is bound to have a higher positional pricing and it may take some time for it to normalize to a lower market average selling price (unless some companies decide to start out with aggressive rebates).

Of course it cost more. Show me where you can purchase 1950xt for $133 after rebate? I can't even find a 1950xt let alone for $130 price range. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Why is that I can use full dx10 effects in bioshock while gaining 1-2 fps with dx10 compared to dx9?  

Sure it's not most powerful card on the block but perhaps the latest dx10 hacks are not coded properly. You can still use dx10 effects on medium settings if the game was slow or use dx9 on high settings. While you can't even do that with dx9 card.

As for price inflation you can buy the card for retail price at a retail store since places like newegg inflates their prices by 10% when they first come out.

get the 256, the card doesnt have enough power to run at resolutions and textures that require 512

This 1950 does intrigue me...
Would a card with Directx10 support be better in terms of video editing and rendering? I am more concerned with that than gameplay although I plan on gaming somewhat...and I would like to try out Bioshock...

Also how long would I need to wait for the 8700? I am currently building a system and don't want to wait too long...

The mid and low end 8 series have enhanced Purevideo software which helps with HD content. Not sure about the HD 2000 series. The 8700 is slated for release in November and will come in 256 and 512mb versions.

http://vr-zone.com/articles/Nvidia_G92_is_D8P%2C_Priced_%24_199-249/5250.html

Ok, I've decided to go with X1950XT considering DX10 isn't supposed to be fully implemented for another couple of years unless you can change my mind. Now, should I go with the 256MB version or the 512MB? And where can I find it for ~170? I can only seem to find it for 200 or higher (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Description=1950XT&x=0&y=0).

the 256 is probably out of stock forever, it had cost ~165, now only one left on newegg is 512 for 200