x2 4200 + 8800gt/hd3870

I currently have an x1950xt with a x2 4200 and wanted to wait till g100/r700 came out but Ive been thinking about my cpu and it looks like the next generation cards might get bottlenecked. Should I wait or upgrade to one of the new midrange cards. I like to game at 1280x1024 4aa 16af. This will probably be the last upgrade to this system.

Yes it will bottleneck, but it will be a big improvement over your current card so you'll be fine.
My X2 holds back my 2900pro, but framerates are solid so it does not spoil my enjoyment.

Cant oc cause I have a laser locked mobo from hp and Im sure as hell not buying another mobo/processor/ram setup so I guess I'll just pick up an 8800 or hd3870 thanks for your help.

CPU bottlenecking only really occurs at resolutions below 1600x1200, and if you're boying a high-end card you'll probably be running higher res than that anyway.

Not necessarily because even at resolutions like 1280x1024 some newer games are demanding enough to warrant a high end card if the eye candy is enabled.

with x1950xt and 1280x1024 I do not see a reason for you to upgrade unless you are going vista for dx10 or want to start a new system upgrade with a new GPU

I run Vista with a 19" LCD 1280x1024 (max) and the 8800 is a big improvement over the 8600 for me. I may upgrade to a 22" if my budget allows and I can use only a single-slot card because of system limitations.

??

My x1950GT bottlenecks my AMD 64x2 4200 on Command & Conquer 3 running at 1280x1024 resolution during heavy, heavy fighting. And I got 2 Gigs of Kingston Hyper X DDR800 ram too. (However it is running at 667MHz)

Your current video card is pretty awesome.

If I was you I would upgrade your CPU to a 64x2 5600 or 6000 (Assuming you have an AM2 board) before looking for a video card stronger than the one you currently own.

Keep in mind that the AMD 64x2 6000 Energy Efficent model which runs at 89 Watts ( a big drop from 125W) will likely be available before this month is over.

I would invest in that first before looking at a 8800GT or a HD38XX

I remember this time last year when Tom's Hardware was doing benches on the 8800GTX and they found out that an AMD 64x2 5200 was holding back the 8800GTX by a good amount and that the 8800GTX peak frame rates did not begin to reach it’s peak until it was hooked up to an Intel Core2Duo e6600.

Once again though, it was holding back framerates below 1600x1200.

And who cares if it's 100 fps vs. 140 fps at 1280x1024 when the monitor can only display 80 Hz?

At higher resolutions, the bottleneck pretty much dissapeared... didn't matter which CPU was used. Check the article.

What I'm saying is that most LCD monitors on the planet are running at 60 Hz, which means they can display a maximum of 60 frames per second without tearing artifacts. Even CRT monitors cap out at about 80 Hz, or 80 frames per second.

So if your CPU is 'bottlenecking' you down to 100 fps vs. a newer CPU that's getting 140 fps at 1280x1024, it's an irrelevant bottleneck because no monitor could display the difference.

As resolutions go higher and framerates drop to the point you could see it on your monitor, the graphics card becomes the bottleneck and the CPU difference matters much less, in many cases it's almost completely erased.

Haha, doesn't really matter since most of the 8800gt's are out of stock and the ones in stock are overpriced.

I thought you said that any high amount of fraps over the MHz of the monitor would create artifacting.

is Vsync a option on the monitor's menu or on the Nvidia control panel &ATI Catalyst

Vsync is in the driver control panel, and in the options of some games.