Video card reccomendation needed

9800GT or HD4770

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=E... 9800GT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... newegg is out of the sapphire 4770 so this in stead it is close.

Radeon HD4830 or 9800GT.

I'd spend the $10 more for a GTS 250. Or wait for this(or a similarly priced one) to be in stock;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

100c is very high, it sounds like you got a bad card.

Agree that zip got a bad card... the 9800 is not a hot-running card.

The 9800GT would be a great buy for you at only $79 after MIR on newegg. Or you could spend $110 for a GTS 250 which uses the same G92 architecture, but is a little bit faster.

I'm guessing you would be happy with the 9800GT however, as its still a pretty big jump from a 7 series. This is a good price for performance deal, as I dont think the GTS 250 is really $30 faster. By spending less you can always upgrade again sooner if you feel you need to.

I wouldn't recommend switching to ATI at this point. You already have Nvidia drivers installed, and frankly at this price point Nvidia cards are more than competitive. I would only consider ATI if you were looking in the under $70 or $130+ price ranges.

The GTS 250 is about 25% faster than a normal 9800GT and slightly more in comparison with the newer low power version with the slower stock speed. It's worth the extra money if you have it.
I don't think having to change drivers should be a real consideration for anyone when picking out a new card. Even without switching video cards the process is the same as upgrading drivers which should be done fairly frequently. An HD4770 would be a good choice, especially if your PSU is a bit sketchy.

He has an Antec 550. Thats much more than enough to power any card in this price range.

If you decide to go the higher-priced route know that a GTS 250 and 9800 GTX (this is the model what was above the 9800GT) are almost the same card--the GTS is a newer model of it.

The 4770 would be competitive if it were $99 or less--but at $115+ its just not. If you spend more than $100 you should just get a GTS 250.

Anyoe have a newegg link to which card would be my best bet? Sorry, I tried going there and finding the cards but didn't end up finding the ones you guys listed. Sorry for being such a pain but I just want to make sure I buy the right one for my needs. Thanks a ton for all your help, I really appreciate it.

All GTS250 at newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=E...

List of all 9800GTs on newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=E...

Personally I would go for the ASUS one thats $79 after MIR

Slightly over your budget you could consider the GTS250.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=E...

Within these lists be certain to look over the user ratings--as some are probably better, and also keep in mind the ones with free shipping--that will knock down your total price a few dollars.