Help Selecting Graphics Card

[7son75]

Hey everybody. I'm a longtime system builder with very little experience in the GPU department. My main system is still using integrated graphics. I'd like to have the ability to display Aero in all its glory when Vista rolls out. Also, I haven't really been too pleased with DVD and DivX video output. As far as gaming goes, I'm not going to lie to you, I really don't use my PC for gaming. I'm sure that will make me an outcast.

Here's the setup:
AMD Athlon64 3500+
Gigabyte K8N51PVM9-RH w/ integrated GeForce 6150B
1GB (2 x 512MB) Corsair ValuSelct PC3200
WD Raptor 36.7GB SATA 1.5
WD Caviar 200GB SATA 1.5
Ultra X-2 550W PSU

Here are the options that I was considering:
PowerCooler Radeon X800GTO 256MB ~$87
eVGA GeForce 7300GT 256MB ~$86
eVGA GeForce 7600GS 256MB ~$106
eVGA GeForce 7600GT 256MB ~$130

My question is, will I really see much of a benefit from stepping up $45 for my purposes? If I were gaming, I could see the benefit, but then again, probably wouldn't even be in this price range. Since the mobo is nForce 430, would a GeForce card integrate more seamlessly into this system? Or would the X800GTO be a decent choice. I don't want to set off an ATI vs. nVidia war here. I'm just looking for the best card for my needs. What would you buy. Anything missing from my list that's a no brainer? Thanks for your time, guys.

 

[Endurancevm]

The 7600GT is the fastest of the bunch. Get that. Plus, if you want to run Vista, you need a GPU of some sort. Im sure a X800GTO wold do fine, but a 7600GT would be nicer to have. Just for example, GMA950 on my macbook, cant do high res interface compositing at high framerates. Its not bad, just not good. Vista will be more of the same. You would want a GPU rendering the compositing interface.

 

[Lord_Exodia]

7600GT FTW!!! More up to date features and it's the fastest card of the bunch. I think you need a shader model 3.0 card for aero in vista and if that is the fact then the 3 nvidia cards you posted are the only ones that are shader model 3.0.

so again 7600GT For the win

 

[Zero82z]

7600GT FTW!!! More up to date features and it's the fastest card of the bunch. I think you need a shader model 3.0 card for aero in vista and if that is the fact then the 3 nvidia cards you posted are the only ones that are shader model 3.0.

so again 7600GT For the win

Not true, Vista does not require SM3. If you're not gaming, then the X800GTO is the best deal on that list. It's the same price as the 7300GT but will outperform it, and since you're not gaming you won't need anything better anyway. Should you decide to play a game once in a while, the X800GTO will handle pretty much anything better than the 7300GT.

 

[Lord_Exodia]

If a shader model 3.0 card is not required I agree with the above post ^^^ I was under the impression that it was a requirement not for vista but for the Aero Graphics interface. I can't remember where I read it or got the impression but I thought without a shader model 3.0 card you were gonna enjoy a 2d version of vista instead.

 

[NTJedi]

7son75... you may want to consider getting a graphics card with 512MB instead of 256MB... not much price difference.

 

[Zero82z]

If a shader model 3.0 card is not required I agree with the above post ^^^ I was under the impression that it was a requirement not for vista but for the Aero Graphics interface. I can't remember where I read it or got the impression but I thought without a shader model 3.0 card you were gonna enjoy a 2d version of vista instead.

I ran Aero on my old 9600 and all the graphical effects worked fine. Aero does not require SM3, just a 3D accelerator.

7son75... you may want to consider getting a graphics card with 512MB instead of 256MB... not much price difference.

That would be a total waste with cards such as these. The extra memory provides no benefit whatsoever with such weak boards.