Graphics card upgrade, newbie needs advice, specs:?

Here are some that have been suggested: GeForce 9800 GT 512MB Radeon 4670 (fast) or GeForce 9600GT NVidia 8800 GT I found this: VisionTek Radeon HD 3450 512MB DDR2 PCI-E 2.0 64-bit DirectX 10.1 Video Card - 900231 for $65 and it seems to have comparable specs to the bigger boyz. Is this junk? Bad repuation? I'm not looking for the best card ever, just a good card that is an upgrade then what I currently have installed. Operating System: Windows Vista" Home Premium (6.0, Build 6001) Service Pack 1 (6001.vistasp1_gdr.080917-1612) Language: English (Regional Setting: English) System Manufacturer: Dell Inc. System Model: Studio 540 BIOS: BIOS Date: 08/11/08 16:57:20 Ver: 0.0.1 Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.4GHz Memory: 4094MB RAM Page File: 1934MB used, 6483MB available Windows Dir: C:\Windows DirectX Version: DirectX 10 DX Setup Parameters: Not found DxDiag Version: 6.00.6001.18000 32bit Unicode Display Devices --------------- Card name: ATI Radeon HD 3450 Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc. Chip type: ATI Radeon Graphics Processor (0x95C5) DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz) Display Memory: 2042 MB Dedicated Memory: 251 MB Shared Memory: 1791 MB Current Mode: 1280 x 768 (32 bit) (60Hz) Monitor: Dell SP2009W Driver Name: atidxx32,atidxx64.dll,atiumdag,atiumdva,... Driver Version: 7.15.0010.0119 (English) DDI Version: 10.1 Driver Attributes: Final Retail Driver Date/Size: 5/12/2008 23:45:52, 1554944 bytes Operating System System Model Windows Vista Home Premium (x64) Service Pack 1 (build 6001) Dell Inc. Studio 540 Enclosure Type: Desktop Processor a Main Circuit Board b 2.40 gigahertz Intel Core2 Quad Q6600 64 kilobyte primary memory cache 4096 kilobyte secondary memory cache Board: Dell Inc. 0M017G A00 Bus Clock: 267 megahertz BIOS: Dell Inc. 1.0.1 08/11/2008 Drives Memory Modules c,d 640.07 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity 401.12 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space FvFx CDDVDvx+tech-200 SCSI CdRom Device [CD-ROM drive] FvFx CDDVDvx+tech-200 SCSI CdRom Device [CD-ROM drive] Optiarc DVD+-RW AD-7200S ATA Device [CD-ROM drive] SZGJIHU 8DI3KHEFWTM SCSI CdRom Device [CD-ROM drive] Generic- Compact Flash USB Device [Hard drive] -- drive 1 Generic- MS/MS-Pro USB Device [Hard drive] -- drive 4 Generic- SD/MMC USB Device [Hard drive] -- drive 3 Generic- SM/xD-Picture USB Device [Hard drive] -- drive 2 SAMSUNG HD642JJ [Hard drive] (640.13 GB) -- drive 0, s/n S1JNJ1MQ700272, rev 1AA01113, SMART Status: Healthy 4096 Megabytes Installed Memory Slot 'DIMM1' has 2048 MB Slot 'DIMM3' is Empty Slot 'DIMM2' has 2048 MB Slot 'DIMM4' is Empty Local Drive Volumes c: (NTFS on drive 0) 543.43 GB 377.05 GB free d: (NTFS on drive 0) 16.11 GB 9.50 GB free j: (NTFS on drive 0) 80.53 GB 14.57 GB free Network Drives None detected DISABLED Marks a disabled account; LOCKED OUT Marks a locked account Dell Photo AIO Printer 944 on USB002 Dell Photo AIO Printer 944 on USB001 Microsoft XPS Document Writer on XPSPort: Controllers Display ATA Channel 0 [Controller] (2x) ATA Channel 1 [Controller] (2x) Intel(R) ICH10 Family 2 port Serial ATA Storage Controller 2 - 3A26 Intel(R) ICH10 Family 4 port Serial ATA Storage Controller 1 - 3A20 ATI Radeon HD 3450 [Display adapter] DELL SP2009W [Monitor] (20.0"vis, s/n R297D8910V8L, September 2008) ViewSonic A70 [Monitor] (15.7"vis, s/n CZ92905962, July 1999) Bus Adapters Multimedia AYCQRB06 IDE Controller FVDSCSI (2003) SCSI Host Adapter Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 3A3A Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 3A3C Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A34 Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A35 Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A36 Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A37 Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A38 Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A39 High Definition Audio Device Monitor Webcam Realtek High Definition Audio Communications Other Devices isatap.domain.actdsltmp Realtek RTL8168C(P)/8111C(P) Family PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet NIC (NDIS 6.0) Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller RamDisk HID-compliant consumer control device USB Human Interface Device (3x) Monitor Webcam HID Keyboard Device HID-compliant mouse Generic USB Hub (2x) USB Composite Device (2x) USB Mass Storage Device USB Root Hub (8x) Generic volume shadow copy Compact Flash MS/MS-Pro SD/MMC SM/xD-Picture Virus Protection [Back to Top] Kaspersky Internet Security Version 8.0.0.454 Realtime File Scanning On in USA. So would this be approved by all/most: KFA2 by Galaxy GeForce 9600GT Overclocked 512MB 256-bit PCI-E DirectX 10 HDCP Supported Video Card - 96GFF6HUUEXV http://www.buy.com/prod/kfa2-by-galaxy-geforce-9600gt-overclocked-512mb-256-bit-pci-e-directx/q/loc/101/208085162.html

Public Comments

1. Is budget an issue? I've been a fan of Radeon and Nvidia. If I had the money... The 9800 GT. Great reviews all around.
2. According to Tom's Hardware for the month of Dec '08 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-graphics,2086-2.html Best card for $60 would be the 4650. The 3450 isn't that great you can check out this chart here (only lists the mobile but the desktop isn't much better) http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-graphics,2086-7.html But to get the best performance but still cheap I'd go with the 9600GT or 3870 they've listed at $95.
3. Haha, wow no need to give all that system info! Hmm, what price do you want? And you live in USA? Here are the bests you can get by price range (I won't go too high, since you seem to not be interested in anything too expensive) 60$: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125244 85$: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131129 125$: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131125 Here's a sample benchmark which contains those 3: http://pcgameshardware.de/screenshots/original/2008/10/HD_4830_Neue_AMD_Grafikkarte_im_Test_010x.PNG You can see the 4670 At bottom, the 4830 in Red and teh 4850 above the 4830. I personally would recommand the 4830, because it has the best performence/price. It's a amazing card that could run most of your games on max. It's new, supports dx10.1 later, you can Crossfire that beast if you want.
4. If you want performance and a good price consider the ATI Radeon HD 3870 O.C. as its a better card offers alot better performance and cost just over a hundred dollars after rebate at Compusa.com. It's performance surpasses the 9800 series and I actually have this card and can verify it's performance. I can play Crysis at it's highest settings with no lag, COD 4 same thing and FARCRY too. Of couse the rest of my system has alot to do with that as it's custom built and high end components.
5. how about these- http://www.buy.com/prod/evga-geforce-9800gt-superclocked-512mb-gddr3-128-bit-directx-10-sli/q/loc/101/208668131.html http://www.buy.com/prod/evga-geforce-9800gt-512mb-ddr3-128-bit-directx-10-sli-supported-video/q/loc/101/208668129.html