Okay, here's the deal. I currently own 8800GTX, factory OC'ed by MSI to almost Ultra. I almost got myself to hype of new nvidia/ati cards. But then I rethought the idea of getting me new card. Especially, as I've just 19" P971 Samsung LCD, so no more then 1280x1024.
 
I think, apart from AoC (which shows about 21 FPS, when maxed settings), and Crysis (which I played once, and really dislike it), anything else is playable.
 
So... am I doing right not believing in PhysX, CUDA, and on other side GDDR5 and so , and still being loyal to 8800gtx?  
 
(on other hand, I think that my e6400 bottlenecks the gpu a bit, so I might think of getting me 8400 right now)
 

I have this config:
 
Core2Duo E6600@3.2
ASUS P5KE- WIFI
SEAGATE BARRACUDA 500GB 16MB
OCZ VINDICATOR CPU COOLER
OCZ 4GB REAPER DDR2 800 4-4-4-15
OCZ 8800GTX @612/1080(=8800ULTRA)
OCZ PROXSTREAM 1000WAT
THERMALTAKE ARMOR CASE
LG M228WA MONITOR with 1680x1050 resolution
XP 32 + SP3 RC1
 
I can play every game out there maxed out with no problems (including Crysis @ 1680x1050 with 0xAA and everything @ ultra quality_with  
TRIPLE C hack_)and i am really happy with its performance.
 
Of course there are better cards out there,but my card is still plenty fast and i dont really want to upgrade.
 
I dont recommend u upgrading either because for 1280x1024 the 8800GTX is more than enough

In your case i would wait a bit longer, that card is stil great for nearly everything, and wasting money on other one at this point with your current specs would be a waste.
But again this is just me talking, the guy with a geforce 3 ti500

Are the newer cards notably cooler?

I own an 8800gtx also and a 24" monitor (1920x1200). I don't play alot of newer games and the gtx is good for me. I always think about something new and money really isn't an issue for me, but why get something new? My days of bragging rights are getting old and the 8800 is a very adequate card. I think you would be best suited keeping it until it doesn't run something you want to play. By that time the cards out right now won't look so great either.

rickzor. lol  GF-3 ti500 64 mb first video card I had, when I had my first computer.(peace of crap p-4 willamette1.8)
This thread makes me feel better about my purchase for my8800gtx I bought on the cheap recently. my lcd's resolutions  at 1680 x 1050 so I'm content.
halcyon;don't know about Nvidia's new cards but ATI's runs  hot (ie;4850)not sure about the 4870 with ddr5 though.

I have a 680i board 8800GTS 640mb and can still play every game out there maxed except for crysis @ 1920X1080p.  Why upgrade when you are looking at potential driver, heat, money issues?  You are more than good with that 8800GTX.  I would keep it until we see two more generations. (X68 mobo 480GTX and DDR5 RAM.  There are currently no performance increase justifications substantial enough to give Nvidia, Intel or AMD any more of our money.  

lol add a second 8800GTS 640 and Crysis will be fine too

^ That's what I did!

Just hold on to your 8800GTX. At the resolution you are playing that GPU should last you for a while.
 

I think it's awesome how the 8800GTX is still duking it out at the high end 20 months after it was released. Great card.

Thx guys you just confirmed my thoughts of the upgrades, guess all the marketing people will have to work harder to get my money , unless I see some brand new games that I can't play, and new cards with 30-40% advantage over mine, I'm not falling for their efil tricks

The 8800 "Ultra" you have still kinda rapes the 9800 GTX performance-wise, so youre perfectly fine using it for months to come.

Both 8800GTX and 8800ULTRA manage to beat the 9800GTX in very high resolutions with AA and AF due to their 384bit and 768MB of memory.

The 4870x2. Itll rape all those cards. Watch for this card

I dont care as long as i can max out every thing out there

Still, the question remains...are there any thermal reasons to go with the new cards as opposed to stick with the 8800GTX?  Is one's case going to be cooler with the new generation...or hotter?
 
For those with a noise maker case (i.e., Antec 900) it may not matter but those that use something a bit more subtle, something closer to silent it may make a difference.

Judging by the heat on the 4870 and 4850, the 4870X2 is going to struggle to either be cool or be quiet.

Great.  All we need is more heat and more noise.  The 8800GTX is hot enough, give me better performance that's cooler and quieter and then I'll be interested.  Silence is golden.