Advice on a good graphics card?

I don't play the latest and greatest high-end games. My most demanding simulator (train simulator) recommends a 128MB video card (Geforce 4 equiv.) Direct X 9 or higher.



So basically, I have this motherboard: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/docum



It looks like I'm going to need a PCI Express X16 video card. I'm looking to upgrade my power supply to at least a 500 watt, and possibly a 650 watt ATX soon, which should be enough to power that card? I'm running on a Pentium Dual Core E2140 processor, and RAM (PC2-5300) will also be upgraded to about 3 or 4GB (currently at 2GB). No current crazy upgrades that would zap the power other than when I change the video card.



I need a decent card that is at least 128MB. I really like NVidia...but don't know a lot of recent info about which of their cards are good, and which aren't. I work at a retail store that has a 512MB PNY GeForce 8800GT PCI Express x16 for $100. We're closing down, so the price is dropping somewhat rapidly and will probably be down to $50 or $75 in the next day or two. Before that, it retailed for about $200+. But the question is...just how good is this card? Should I just wait and get that, or order online?Advice on a good graphics card?
PNY is not considered highend nvidia stuff... stick w/ evga or BFG in my opinion but the 8 series should suit you well...Advice on a good graphics card?
OK, well first off, does your case have low profile expansion slots? This is a very important factor. If not, you don't seem like a really serious gamer, so you don't need to blow your money on an 8800GT or the likes. That game/simulator has ridiculously low requirements, so there's no need to go overboard. I would recommend an ATi HD 4670. Its a decently powerful card that can really blow your socks off, for $70. You probably wont need to upgrade your power supply with this card, it uses very low power, and I even use it to play many demanding games, Like COD4, Crysis and the like. A GeForce4 card is from 2002, so any modern video card will suffice.



If you need a low-profile solution, I recommend the ATi 4550 ($50) or NVidia 9400 GT ($50-60). I know you may like nVidia, but they really don't have any cost effective mid-range cards right now. Your best bet is sticking with the ATi 4000 series. They are dirt cheap, and boast great performance, superior to nVidia in all levels.



Oh, and lastly, it really doesn't matter what company manufactured the card too much. They just supply the memory chips, and cooling equipment. I would STRONGLY SUGGEST NOT PURCHASING THE 8800GT!!! It uses too much power for such a little system.



Cheers!



Oh, and PLEASE tell me what case you have. I cant advise you to buy a Power Supply without knowing what your case is. Trust, me, I can help you find whatever you need.



Oh yea, you could probably run all of your simulators on your motherboards integrated graphics, it dishes out 256 megs of memory, so you should be set even with that. the intel 3100 Integrated graphics aint half bad for your purposes, and itll save you alot of money and grief.
Well, if you have a slimeline, then the card won't fit. I see your board is micro ATX, so you must have a small case(unless HP just made a bad decision). Like I said, an 8800GT won't fit in a micro ATX case. I suggest this low profile 9600GT for a slimeline case-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as

Oh, and the 8800GT is a good card. I have one it and it can run just about every game.
ah i c. The 8800 GT is extremely noisy and heats up very quickly. So are you looking in the $100 range? If that's the case, then ATI would make a better selection as they have lower prices, with a decent quality. But if you were an extreme gamer, you should look towards Geforce GTX 260 ( i love it) No lag at all, running crysis with 40fps!



sorry, i was talking about the 8500 GT i had a year ago.