I'm confused about which graphics card would be best. would it be better to get an ati card if i have an amd processor. i want to keep it below $250. here is my setup.

AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+~3.0GHz
2 gigs of ram(might throw in a 3rd)
gigabyte GA-MA69VM-S2 motherboard
750W cooler-master psu

i want to be able to run Crysis,bioshock, cod4, C&C3, etc....... and games into the next year or 2.
resolution 1280x1024 right now. might get new monitor. i know i left something(probably a lot of somethings out) so please tell me.

You can run just about any card you want with that system and be fine. 9600GT, 8800GT and the 3870 are good deals for the money.

Something like:
EVGA 9600GT: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130334

MSI 8800GT w/aftermarket cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127329

Sapphire 3870: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102719

thank you, but i mean would i get better performance out of an ati card. i'm looking at the toxic hd3870. ati cards get better with age and then just one day die, while nvidia cards never really get that performance boost and stay around longer and then slowly lose speed and slip off the gaming radar. so should i go ati or nvidia.

I don't think I've ever heard that before...... I'd just get whatever performed best in the price bracket or you feel more comfortable with.

i explained that bad. ok thank you for your input.

Yeah, it wasn't a rather hard-to-follow explanation. Were you implying that ATI drivers improve dramatically over the life of the card and thus actually get better with age? I'm just trying to figure out what you meant... not being an ass about it.

I heard that before. ATI tends to optimize the drivers after the cards are sold, rather than before, so the cards often become faster after a driver upgrade. Lots of ATI fans are complaining that benchmarks on the Web are unfair to ATI cards because of this. TBH it's ATI's fault for selling the cards before the drivers are properly finished.

That Toxic card gets excellent reviews. Go for it if you like it. It will do fine at your resolution. You'd also give AMD a little help to survive, it needs it

On the nVidia side, the best thing I can find these days under $250 is the BFG 8800GTS G92 512MB for $225+$7 after rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814143119

that is what i meant. i'll do as much as i can to keep amd afloat. amd dies and intel/nvidia will flood the market with crappy expensive products(like they already do. (just kidding)).

8800GTS is the best choice

second is hd3870 and save for the second one!

8800gts is more expensive and i guess is still a decent choice. i'll go with the hd3870.

In general, 8800GTS G92 > 8800GT > HD3870. The best sub $250 single card is the G92 8800GTS. $207 shipped at newegg now after $30 rebate. And comes with a free game. The HD3870 is alot cheaper, but also generally alot slower. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127325

If you have the money, then buy a geforce 9800gx2

no one has the money. no one needs that.
"but with my 9800gx2 i get 550 fps instead of 75 can't you tell the difference NOOB"

LOL

the egg has an evga 8800gtx on sale for 339 us w a $50 MIR. that puts it about 290 after rebate. I would jump on that this second if I had the cash to do so.

8800gtx at 1280x1024, sounds like a plan. thats a bit of overkill.