can u please help me?

Should be ok with the new games at resolutions up to 1280x1024 as long as you don't go too overboard with antialiasing etc. If that's what you want to spend i.e. around £120 then it's the best value around but the 8800gt does offer better performance for 30 quid more and may last a bit longer.

You might also consider the 3870xt as it will be quite a bit cooler I would say, but it takes up two back panel slots so twice the width of the 8800gt or 9600gt.

You'll also need Vista to use DX10...

the 3870xt is faster than the 9600gt with AA off,but the only concern is that my mobo doesn't support crossfire so i can't get another card later..... do you think the 3870 performance boost is worth losing the sli suppport?
oh and i've never been an ati guy so could you tell me some good brands if i wanna try the 3870?
thx allot man

That gigabyte one I linked you too is probably one of the best 3870 or 9600gt as they already come with a really good aftermarket cooler (Zalman) and are overclocked and they use custom parts to increase the durability.
But other than that inno3d are good, leadtek are ok but sometimes pricey. Pretty much every brand is ok really.
As for crossfire again it depends on what res you will play at, unless you have a massive monitor, 1600x1200 native resolution or above it won't be worth it and if you're thinking i'll get another one to save changing them over, even two of that won't beat the next gen cards after it.
Kraynor is right about the crossfire but it still won't work on an nforce chipset like the one he has.