Help choosing between a few cards

Guys, i've never been so confused in my life. i hardly understand anything in graphic cards and i need to buy one really soon.

i need help deciding between one of these. nvidia 280/260/8800/9800 and the ati 4870. which one is best please give answers based on facts and not on being a fan of any product. thanks alot guys

First how much do you want to spend?

400$

Like Mikeblunt said, you can pretty much eliminate the GTX 280 if you have a $400 price range. Hell, you might even have to eliminate the GTX 260. The 9800 GTX beats the 8800 GTX in just about every benchmark I've seen, but still doesn't quite top the 8800 ULTRA. The 4870 also hasn't been released yet, but the 4850 has; considering the price of the card ($190 not including tax or shipping), I've gotta say it's pretty awesome. Get a pair of those cards in CROSSFIRE and your system will be able to beast out just about any game you throw at it, and it'll still remain well within your price range. A single 4850 can run CRYSIS on 1680x1024 w/no AA with all settings on High in the CRYSIS benchmark at 35.085 FPS.

Before making the final decision, make sure to check some online benchmarks and reviews. Also, don't be afraid to go a little above your price range, as a little extra can create the difference between a good computer and a great computer. :)

Send me a message if you have any further questions.

thanks guys just a last request, i think i'll crossfire two 4850s. but i need to knw something first... how to crossfire? is it like a wire that you connect both cards with or what. is the wire, if there is one, sold separatly? and i need to knw if i need any extra equipment to connect them to the powersupply / motherboard

Does the 4850 require two 6-pin PCI-Express connectors? I haven't checked that yet.