Would this video card be fine?

Its fine, but thats not a 7900GTX. Thats a 9800GTX+, a very different beast. BFG is ok, eVGA and XFX are better.

So which of these 3 would you pick then. The EVGA and XFX are a little higher do you think its worth it?

BFG http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814143166

EVGA http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130376

XFX http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150314

Its nice, but for $30 more you could have this 4870!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102810

.....which would tear the gtx a new but hole.

OP; I`d go for either the XFX or EVGA, just because their coolers exhaust all the heat out of the case, importaint if, like me, you have a simple case with only one exhaust fan.
And yes, the HD4870 would be far faster, but it`ll need a powerful CPU to make the purchase worthwhile.
Can you tell us your system specs?

I`m sure most here will say a swich to Intel is in order so I`ll just get it over with straight away
Both games and `proper` software are moving towards Quad core so really the quad is the way to go, and more memory might be an advantage too, I`m running 32-bit XP with 4 GB of RAM and it`s much smoother than with the `mere` 2Gb before.
With a faster processor, you could run a HD4870 without too serious a bottleneck or the 9800 to its max.

i will pay 30 more and get the 4870, its way better

No worries mate. I recently switched from a 8800GTS (640 Mb G80 core) the a HD 4870, and do n`t regret it one bit, the improvement in performance with AA is impressive.

The 9800GTX is basically a G92 (512MB) version of 8800GTS. The 9800GTX "+" is basically a beefed up or overclocked 9800GTX. Not a super huge difference. Though if you're buying new, I'd get the GTX+ as it is faster.

The ATI 4870 though, is definitely the better of the two video cards. As far as trying to keep yourself from upgrading again too soon, I'd suggest the 4870 if you don't mind the extra cash. It'll impress for sure.

Personally, I could care less whether I'm running nVidia or ATI. Both make very good cards. Right now though, in your price range, ATI has the edge.

I'll second the motion to upgrade your CPU too. That AMD 4200+ is fading out quickly. You'll see much better performance with something newer.

If you're going to go quad core, I wouldn't settle for the current Phenom quad cores. At least bump up to the Intel Q6600, rock solid CPU and overclocks easily on most Intel based motherboards.

4GB of RAM will make a visible difference.
Quad Core CPU will make a visible difference.
4870 will make a visible difference.

If you decide to stick with the 9800GTX+, get the one from Tiger Direct. Looks like a good deal.