Hey I'm trying to make a new build, to over-clock, before the end of the month.  That being said,  I have an issue with choosing a video card.  I'm very sure I want to go with either a 9600gt or an 8800gt.  The 9600gt I can get for $144.99 and the 8800gt I can get for $174.99. (US $)  the cards are:
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127333
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130318
 
Which one would perform better?  The 9600gt has higher clocks, but I know that isn't everything.  It lacks more stream processors.  Also, I could over-clock the 8800gt to higher clocks.  So my question is which should I get for better performance?  (I plan on playing Bioshock, Portal, HL 2 ep2, Crysis, C&c 3, and Spore to name a few)
 
 
There is a similar topic here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] -cards#bas
 
thanks guys (if you respond)

What resolution do you play at?  The 9600GT will peform similar to the 8800GT at lower resolutions while the 9600GT will be brought to its knees at higher resolutions and the 8800GT will still truck along fine.

That's only because at lower resolutions the gpu isn't being taxed enough for the difference to show. Will you notice faster cpu speeds by browsing web pages?

8800gt, based on the g92 gpu, perform significantly better than the 9600gt, based on the g94 gpu, the scaled down counterpart to g92. Also, lower clock rate is better, it makes the card more overclockable.

I could notice the CPU speed when doing this! Try opening up 15+ Tabs on FireFox and see. (I usually have about 6+ tabs open, but I do run in to cases in which I open up 15+tabs)  

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My 1st PC(2003) OCed/Built
E2180 @3.2Ghz + P35DS3L +8400GS (700/475 OC)  

I will be playing at 1440x 900 resolution.  I will also be using an e2180 OC to hopefully about 3ghz.

That resolution is not really high, but with newer games at higher detail levels, high enough to make a big difference.

 
I, too, am a heavy 'tabber'. quad core ftw

I am also a relatively heavy tabber....thats why my P4 3.4ghz pisses me off when I start to see lag with 3-5tabs open, AIM and Itunes....