Looking for a new video card

[jamesdk]

whats the best video card to get...for $150-$175max...best GPU clock / Mem speed nd a 256-bit interface?

 

[Technochicken]

Probably a GTX260 or a HD 4870
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127430

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161269

That particular GTX260 is factory overclocked, so it would probably beat the 4870 by a little, but on average the two are pretty close.

Here are two good comparisons of the two:https://www.techspot.com/review/109-geforce-gtx-260-280-versus-radeon-4850-4870/page11.html
http://www.guru3d.com/article/top-10-games-with-radeon-4870-1-gb--geforce-gtx-260-core-216-test/1

 

[teklord]

Again, +1 to what Technochicken said. Can't beat those cards for the price right now. Although the HD 4870 has DirectX 10.1 support and the GTX 260 is only DirectX 10, if you plan on playing any 10.1 games which there aren't many of right now. I see you're using XP, so that isn't relevant unless you use the DirectX 10 to XP hack which I don't recommend.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

I recommend this card and this CPU.

Both should be within your budget and give you a massive performance boost. The CPU alone will give you at least 10-15% more performance compared to your old one.