thanks for the links ssj12. Im in Canada and prices are a little different here but you do bring a valid point to the table as it would cost me the same to get a lower end card and a new CPU. I don't think id need a new mobo as the one I have takes AM2 socket CPUs.

Bah...so much to ponder over and future of my pc gaming is at stake :)

How are the ATI 4650/70 cards compared to 9600GT?

not sure... will have to look it up.. if someone doesnt post benchmarks or links to benchmarks I will later or tomorrow if I can find some.

The 4670 is a tiny bit below the 9600GT. But the 4850 is still your best choice.

I found this site...

http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=557&card2=579

Looks like its a tough call...

If I do decide to get this card Im looking at this
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0665000FS10114872&catid=25617&logon=&langid=EN

or this
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10110131&catid=

or this for the 4850

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10108453&catid=

not for $20 - $60 more mattering brand of card... and in Canada the price will probably be worse...

using your GPU comparison site you will notice that the 9600GT has higher fill rates than the 9800GT... just something you should consider.. the 9800GT isnt really that good of a card.

^good point. Now that i found this site ima screw around on it for a few hours. I always wondered how Voodoo 2 stacked up against Voodoo 4 :)

Compare a Riva with a Radeon HD4870X2.

Awesome.

And I found this for you: http://cgi.ebay.com/Diamond-4850PE3512V-Radeon-HD-4850-512MB-PCI-E-33502T_W0QQitemZ310110234231QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCC_Video_TV_Cards?hash=item310110234231&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A15|39%3A1|240%3A1318

You know whats scary, compare the ATI 3D Rage to ATI 3D Rage II, you will notice The 3D Rage is better than the Rage II

The AMD 4830 from MSI is excellent value with the 4+1 design letting you overclock it by a fair margin. The AMD 4870 is currenty fantastic value in the U.S at $200, but really its good if you're running a high end monitor.