Video Card help....

I`ll start ordering my parts sometime next week and I`m stuck on which video card to buy. I dont want to spend more than 150 bucks on one since I will probably just upgrade sometime this winter. Right now the 8600 GT is catching my eye, but I wont be buying Vista until later....I dont wat to run into any problems with my drivers so I`m going to play it safe and get XP...So if any one can help me out it would be appreciated. Also, if this helps, I`ll be playing Battlefield 2142 and Half-Life 2, and would like to be able to play at mid to high settings. Right now I got 2gigs. RAM and a AMD 4200 X2. Thanks.jfkunrendered

Hmm, if I were you, I would go for the C2D e4300, cause it kicks the 4200x2's arse. Anyways, yes the 8600gt will be good for what you are doing at the moment. Make sure you get an eVGA one if you're planning on upgrading, because they have the 90 day step-up program.

8600 will manhandle those games.

Half Life 2 - 2048x1536 Max+6xAA @80-160fps Avg=100fps

I would go Intel, but they are a little out of my price range. The 4200 X2 is cheap and it gets the job done.jfkunrendered

That's a shame :(.

Thats pretty good. And I think I`ll take a risk and get Vista....should I get the 32bit or 64bit?jfkunrendered

32 bit, 64 has some problems.

Yeah, all those driver problems. Only thing I dont like is how the 32 bit only allows less than 4gig.Ram.....I wont get that much for a while...but still....that means I`ll have to buy a new one in a couple of years...oh well.jfkunrendered

Oh wellz :)