Is the 9800gt good for gaming?

Budget?
No, you'll better with a newer card like HD5770 or even GTX460.
What is exactly your PSU? brand? model?
What is your monitor resolution?

^ lol he has made this pc by asking tons of questions, and now you are dumping him down  

Sad  

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/287141-28-good-gaming

It depends, a 9800GT can handle games fine with resolutions up to 1680x1050, for anything higher than that,you have to lower the settings down in order to get a smooth performance.

is there any need to upgrade from this grapphics card

You can upgrade easily enough after the fact, if the need arises.

The 9800GT is the same exact card as the 8800GT. A very good card for a very long time, but its starting to show its age. Still, at medium settings, its still very capable of putting up playable numbers, so if your budget is tight, you can still go in this direction. A newer card, such as a 4870/4890 makes more sense if you want a longer term solution.

ok so is the rest of my specs ok

If I'm not wrong, your CPU is a core 2 duo@3.16ghz. If that be the case, your CPU is good enough. What brand is your PSU? That can be a point of concern!

As for the GPU, the 9800GT has been a respectable card for quite a while. Though, for that price today, one can get a GTX460, which offers DirectX 11. Plus, it's newer tech. As gamerk316 said, it's started to show its age.   Nonetheless, at medium resolutions/ medium settings, that card will perform sweetly.

What resolution do you play at ?

My PSU is a corsair 500 watt

My resolution is 1680x1050

For that resolution, a 9800GT suffices, you can play most games on good settings, however in some games you may need to disable AA/AF in order to get a smooth performance.

thanks malmental for the heads up and everyone else for the info a year will give me enough time to save up for a new rig