Can someone recommend me a graphics card?

A 4870 512mb...you can't go wrong man...there cheap and for your resolution you will be gaming well into the release of dx11 cards so if you are interested in what dx11 offers you can upgrade

That card will let you max out any oblivion cod etc.....crysis i have no idea because i don't really care for it...

i would grab one either used or get this his card...

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

Actually i HIGHLY recommend going with open box...

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

You will probably need a PSU upgrade but you will surely have a very long lasting and great card....

A GTX 280- See this card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Or 2 x GTX 260
2 x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

2 GTX 260 In SLI nears a GTX 295 so i recommend it all at 300 USD( Including MIR)

At 1280 x1024 A GTX 280 is more than enough for u. Else go for 2 x GTX 260s

Thanks for the tips, comrades. I should also mention that my motherboard doesn't support SLI or Crossfire, though.

HES ON 1280x1024

Please don't listen to this guy...this is like if i had 1000$ oh hell yeah i can get two 500$ cards...to bad i only NEEDED to spend 100$....

BTW Illuminatus42 you could also look into buy a new monitor with a new card...depending on the resolution you would probably want more than 512mbs of vram but yeah that is another way to go...

Really im sure there is nothing wrong with your current monitor or monitors and 1280x1024 is a great resolution since you don't NEED to spend 300$ to get great performance and way high settings i would probably keep to that monitor and or monitors....

An interesing idea, but I'm very satisfied with my 19" SyncMaster.

1280x1024 means pretty much anything will be overkill. You want physx, get a gts250.

I'd also recommend a monitor with higher resolution. Sure you're satisfied but that's only because you haven't played on a bigger screen. I was satisfied with 1280x1024 for a while too, now I wouldn't dream of using a screen so small.

Oh, I'm sure I'd fall head over heels in love with higher resolutions, but since I'm not made of money I'm going to aim for keeping my demands simple. Maybe I'll aim higher in the future, i.e. when I have a steady income.

Thanks for the tip, though.

Yeahp a 250GTS is a solid card BUT that 4870 512mb would be ALOT faster....

I have a tri monitor setup and gaming between 1680x1050 and 1280x1024 and i don't mind at all using my 1280x1024 monitor as there just isn't that much of a difference other then the FOV....good for TOCA and GTR....rts's etc....

Definitely stick with your current 19" monitor and go with a 4870 512mb...i almost bought one but instead i grabbed a 1GB card due to wanting to game on my higher resolution monitors and tvs...

Since your money saving i recommend a 1680x1050 monitor as your next upgrade...costs less on the gpu than a 19xx/1xxx monitor but you still get a nice high resolution screen for gaming and work etc...

Right now I'm wavering between a EVGA GeForce GTS 250 1GB or a Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5. I'm leaning towards the 250 because of the PhysX support, the extra memory and a personal preference for nVidia.

I have an nvidia card....actually i have two...a 9800gtx+....a 250 gts IS a rebranded 9800gtx+ anyways mine has 512mbs of vram and i run at 1280x1024 and 1360x768 and no you do not need the extra vram...thats why i didn't recommend it in the first place as i just don't see you using it even in big power hog games...keep in mind that the 4870 is a tier above the 250 gts as well and that is the only reason im recommending it strongly...open box shouldn't be a problem either

Anyways i mentioned owning two nvidia cards because physx is not a reason to go nvidia at all i mean its used in mirrors edge....um in mirrors edge.....i believe i saw it in mirrors edge...oh yeah the only game that really uses it is mirrors edge...and its gimmicky at best....

Really i have no preference between companies and my next purchase will be an ati card since im going for an AM3 motherboard etc....that 4870 has a whole lot more bang at the same buck....

Alright. I'll probably place an order tomorrow, and I'll probably listen to your advice and get a 4870. I managed to find a "Toxic Edition" of the card for a reasonable price.

If your getting anything other then the cheapos i recommended i would probably get a 1gb...but then you have to look at comparable cards like the 260gtx.....

So if you still want nvidia look out for a cheap 260gtx....i have one as well

The 260 gtx is alot stronger than the 250 and no having 896mb won't matter vs 1gb....so you should look between the 4870 and 260....anything above those would be overkill for you...and these cards 260/4870 just insure maximum settings and some future proofing for new games....which is great

BTW i didn't mention this before because any game out now excuse GTA iv maybe....any game out now probably wouldn't push 512mbs of vram at your resolution BUT having the 1gb can't hurt since it is only a slight bump in price and it will insure you have a good two year card or one that will hold you over until dx11 and dx11 cards mature

The others have spoken some sense so I'll just mention warranty; Make sure you get a reasonable one, Neweggs open box policy is barely worth the effort of reading.

I really, really hate having to go through the process of picking a graphics card, so I think I'll look for a card with 1gb of memory so I can avoid having to do this again for as long as possible.

Ha Ha!
Try sorting out a whole new rig!
No harm in going for more memory, just do not pay too much more for it.
I would just get the cheapest, new card; Either HD4870 or GTX260, neither are THAT much more than a GTS250 anyway and both will have extra performance for when you cannot resist that shiny new monitor 

Said straight....end thread

I've built my own rigs a couple of times before, but I always find picking the graphics card to be the most difficult choice, since I know *** -all about them.  

Yea damn right...spent atleast a week seriously looking at the 200$ price range cards and doing it with a fine tooth comb.....in the end after i purchased the card i knew i had got the perfect one for the job though no questions about that...a whole hell of a lot of benchmark searching was done to pin point the best card though  

Christ, I don't have the patience for that kind of work.

I've changed my mind yet again, I think I'll skip the extra memory and aim for either a "lite-retail" 4870 or a TOXIC Edition 4870. Most likely I'll pick the "lite-retail", since the TOXIC only adds a tiny bit of performance and a better cooling system - but since I have four 120mm fans in my computer and I usually keep the left side of the computer open, that won't do me much good anyway.

Right, I've "almost" decided to take this one:

http://uk.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=2&l2=8&l3=726&l4=0&...

Any thoughts?

Looks great...almost bought that exact card a few months back...

I don't think you can take SLI can you?

and no don't get two only a single GTX260 would be ample

I think maybe that its best if you get a HD4850 as the GDDR5 on the HD4870 wouldn't give ya much of a boost compared with a HD4850

that is up to you through as there is no such thing as over kill, just waste

Yes, I'm a bit concerned about buying a card that with more power that my computer will allow me to enjoy. On the other hand, it would be nice to have a better card than I need so that I don't have to upgrade it for a while.

@ illuminatus42: One advantage of having a big card on a smaller screen is that you can really wind up the image quality without hurting the framerates too much.
You really can play heavy games at high AA/AF at high framerates.
Oh, and it looks dramatic on a 720P TV;)

Heh, that's a good point. I'll place the order for that 4870 I picked out tomorrow, which should mean that I'll get the card on tuesday. I'm looking forward to many hours of lagless gaming.

Thanks for the help, everyone! I'll make sure to return here should I ever have problems with my computer.

That was the whole reason i suggested the 4870 over the 4850....yeah its a bit more expensive but you can crank those settings way up  

I game on a 50" 720p tv and boy is it devine......

^^^How I love it on the few occasions when I'm right