Replace with 9800gt or upgrade to something newer?

[stevolatte]

Would like to purchase within next two weeks, between $60-$170ish before rebate
Uses: HD movie watching, moderate gaming (right now: SC2, LoL, NeedForSpeed series), occasional dual screen setup
CURRENTLY: nvidia 8400gs, 750W psu
OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: Pretty much a stock Dell XPS 630i, Q6600 CPU, 4GB DDR2 RAM, WIN7 x64
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg, ebay (whatever is cheapest tbh)

I Would like to stick with Nvidia, but okay with ATI if better price/bang. Don't have favorite brand.

OVERCLOCKING: No SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No
MONITOR RESOLUTION: max 1920 x 1080

I had a 9800gt card (512mb) originally before a thunderstorm (speculation) fried it. Had a 8400gs for backup, but it sucks. Main questions:

1. Would it be worth it to drop $120+ on a newer card that supports dx11 and could run more games in the future, over getting another 9800gt (seen 1GB models for ~$70 on ebay)? How much longer do you see a 9800gt being useable?

2. If I were to upgrade, would my current setup limit its performance? If it did limit, would it be much?

I want to be able to run most games in the future decently well until my cpu/mobo needs upgrading.

Its been a while since I last understood the GPU market, and even after researching i'm still confused on tiers.
Models i've looked at are:
5770/6770
6790
GTX 550ti
XLR8 GTX 460
GTX 545

Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance.

 

[nforce4max]

I got two 9800gt actually and a 8800gt on the side. the 9800gt is ok for some users but at $70 I wouldn't buy another not in this decade. You can land a 9800gtx+ for around $50 or so and it is noticeably faster than a stock 9800gt. Don't bother with the ever so crappy GT430, GT440, GT520, or the GT545 as they are all crap for the price. The gtx 460 is something you might want to avoid quality and life time wise. The 6790 is a cut down card but it might be of some interest but the 5770/6770 is a neat card if had under $100 used and in good shape on eBay. You might be able to get a gtx 460 under $100 used but be warned these cards were made cheaply and tend to only last a few months to a year before they have degraded. The gtx 550ti is best bought new or used when available and modded for better cooling.

 

[CrisisCauser]

If you want a quick rundown on the tiers of the cards you listed, here they are. Each tier is ~15% faster than the one below it. Source = http://tpucdn.com/reviews/AMD/HD_6790/images/perfrel_1920.gif

GTX 460
6790
5770/6770 and 550 Ti

Ignore the 545 option.

5770 is bare minimum for 1920x1080 these days, and you will probably have to sacrifice some of the highest settings to do so. 9800GT is out of the question. A Q6600 is still a good CPU, but at its stock 2.4GHz it shows signs of age. Get it to at least 3.0GHz if you can. But if you cannot it's not the end of the world and can probably carry a GTX 460 decently enough.

 

[stevolatte]

Best answer selected by stevolatte.