I'm after buying a graphics card. I've read lots of stuff on the internet - reviews etc but get more confused as I read. I want to spend around 7000 to 12000 baht and at this point in time I am looking at Geforce 6800GS or Radeon X850XT.

Any suggestions or alternatives would be really welcome.

I like nVidia, but the GeForce 6800 is a dinosaur--avoid. Check this article to get up to speed: The Best Video Cards for Your Money: November 2006

Gaming purists are waiting for the next generation of cards with DirectX 10 built into the hardware. However, they aren't out yet, Vista won't even support DX10 out of the box, and when they do make an appearance they are bound to be extremely pricey. Thus I would probably buy now and after a couple years when DX10 cards become mainstream get one of them.

What ever you do, Don't buy a Asus EN7600 Silent, great fast card for the money but its got bad issues with heat buildup.

I had to mount a fan on its Heatsink AND put a High CFM fan on the case to keep it cool.

I also have to keep the room airconditioned to keep it from crashing the computer. sure wish I could get a refund!

Greg

The X850 is an older generation card. The newer gen ATI cards begin with a "1", like the X1900. In that price range, the new SAPPHIRE RADEON X1950PRO at 9300 baht (price from Hardware House) is a very nice performer for its price.

Thanks for all the replies.

Firefox I'll check out the SAPPHIRE RADEON X1950PRO.

The Coder - the review was excellent - thanks.