Which graphics card? thoughts welcome

GTX 260 Core 216 - GTX 275 - GTX 285
HD 4770 - HD 4850 - HD 4870 - HD 4890 - HD 4870X2

Just some of the "better" video cards.
Instead of 9800GTX+ look at the GTS 250 which is essentially the same GPU.

is the 250 GTX a little better???and would the 260 be worth the extra 50 bucks?

@ UberGenocide: What are the rest of your specs, and how long are you going to keep the system, mate?
The GTS is little better than the 9800GTX, so do not pay too much more for the 'new' card if you choose to go for it.
The GTX 260 is a little too much for a 16x10 screen but will last longer than the cheaper cards, I would say it would be the better buy for a longer term of ownership if you have a fairly fast dual or quad core CPU.
If you want to go with ATI the HD4850 matches the 9800 and the 1Gb HD4870 matches the GTX260.
If you decide on a GTX260, check the specs: There is two variants the 192 core and 216 core, naturally the 192 core is a little slower (10-15%).

thanks for your reply

my systems specs are:
Asus P5Q
3 GB DDR2 @ 667
Pentium Dual Core @ 2.2 GHz(bout to get a E8400)
9600 GT OC'd
550 watt PSU (getting a new one with PCI express connectors)

Yes i plan to keep the card for at least a year and id like to play DX10 games smoothly

O and i buy nvidia  

would you recommend ne upgrades in hardware if i wer to get the 260 GTX?

A 260 would work well with a 22" and an E8400. Don't listen to GTX260 is overkill for 22" crap.

what about Price/performance... 9800 GTX+ or 260 GTX

Get the GTX260.
It is a better match for the new CPU and, although a little too much for the 16x10 resoloution (no overkill, just a little too much ), it has performance in reserve that will keep it playing smoothly when the 9800 will be struggling to keep up.
Rest of the rig, as it will be upgraded, will be fine.

awesome   thank yall so much for your responses...now it all depends on my wallet XD

just one more thing...i thnk its important u know this

i will be playing mainly COD4, Rainbow Six Vegas 2, 007 Quantum of solace and BF2142

For just 124.99 the 9800GTX+ is looking really good compared to the 189.99 for the 260 GTX and ill have to upgrade the PSU as well

What are your suggestions

Before you spend a cent on these videocards, make absolutly sure nothing in your PC is bottlenecking you. If your CPU or you RAM is bottlenecking you, all be wasted and you wont enjoy the benefit of your videocard. Once you made sure everything else it good, then buy a videocard like a 9800gtx+ and for a 22'' i definatly recommend 8800GTX, its cheaper and older then most other cards but will max out anything on 1680x1050 except for crysis  

^ Stop recommending such old cards.

@OP I run a 4850 @ 1440 x 900 and get 25fps Crysis Very High. 60+ in everything else. I'd still recommend a GTX260 over the 9800GTX+. Make sure you get the 55nm 216 version. You could always look at the 4870.

+1 rags_20.

The p5Q is a crossfire board, I'd think about upgrading to a 4870 to leave you some more headroom.

dont buy an e8400! oc that Pentium dc. i have the same chip in one of my machines running at 3.8 on a stock quad core cooler. temps are low 60s max.

to smithereen...there is only one PCIe slot...crossfire is not an option

^ Exactly. The P5Q Pro supports CF, not the P5Q.

My bad. I saw it was a p45 chipset and jumped to conclusions.

  thats kool

now im thinking about the 4850 IceQ any thoughts about that one

That's a nice one. It's really cool. *drum tag*. I have a buddy running one, it's working great for him.

ive made my decision(i think)  

a 4850 IceQ it is!! when i get it ill update it in a new thread thanks for yalls advice

UberGenocide

This?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Hell no. Get this.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Cheaper w/ MIR and will outperform the 4850 in every way.
The GTX 260 216 is more powerful than the 4870.
http://techgage.com/article/ati_hd_4870_1gb_vs_nvidia_g...

Trust me, the GTX 260 is an excellent card, and it's an Nvidia.

i doubt its worth the extra 50 dollars...plus the 4850 is A LOT less power consuming AND i would have to get another power supply or sacrifice one of my fans...ill think about it...but i think ill stay with the 4850...I have no preference to ATI or NVIDIA