Windows 7: nVidia GT 220 or 9500 GT?

You don't say what resolution you will be using... if it's something fairly low like me (1280x1024) you could probably get by with a card like the Nvidia-based GTS 250, or the ATI 4850. You should be able to find those cards for about $120 online for the 1 GB version.

But if it's a higher resolution like 1600+ then as others already suggested you'll need something like a Nvidia 260 GTX or ATI 5770, which I think tend to be in the $180-200 range.

I'm not getting a graphics card for this piece of crap. I'm building a new computer. Everyone is saying that they're low-end cards, but even with this crappy 7600 Go, I can play Half-Life 2 at almost max settings with 30FPS, and Halo 2 at medium settings at 30 FPS. I've looked these cards up on YouTube and they can both play modern games at max settings with great framerates, even with Fraps. I'm not looking for PS3/360 power, just enough for common PC games.

if its between those two cards. I have them both and I have the 9500 in the computer now and i see a big difference with this card than the 200.

When I put the 9500 card in... I usually play Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 and the difference was very big. I had no skipping. The movies were smoother. I was able to handle more zombies and actions on the screen than i did with the 200 card. That is just my opinion. Even though they both are 1 gig cards. The 9500 Series is alot better in my opinion.

check out this chart. 220 is few steps closer to the top.

and those two games are old. very old. if you want to play only old games then i guess those cards are ok.

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A Guy

You may very well get some use out of either of these cards, but neither of them are good for gaming. You can watch all the YouTube video's you want, it doesn't change the fact that these are lower end cards. Neither of which I'd recommend to anyone who was planning to game whether it was an old or new game.

Anything below a x600 in the 7x00, 8x00 or 9x00 series are considered very low end and are horrible for gaming of any kind. As for the 200 series cards, I wouldn't recommend anything lower than a 250. The 240 is really pushing it. A 220 is at the bottom of that series. I get that it may bother you to hear it, but the fact remains these are low end cards. It's not just about the quality either, it's about getting the best bang for your buck. The lower end cards don't really give you that. The mid-range cards are where you will get the best bang for your buck. Truly worth the money.

With the current stagnation of performance requirements in today's games i reckon you won't go wrong with a 9500GT.. just be prepared to play at a reasonable resolution if you want to max out the other settings with minimal AA/0 AA.. We have current generation consoles to thank for this predicament, but as a result being a PC gamer no longer means having to upgrade that graphics card every year to enjoy the latest. Heck, owners of 8800 class cards most probably had the best lifetime for their cards ever.. made in 2006 and still capable of running the latest games with decent settings without performance issues... With only 2 -3 odd games requiring DX11.. DX10 cards are still a good buy...

If you are running more than 1600x1200 and want to run AA 1 GB will benefit you. Anything less than that is overkill. Like others said the memory interface is far more important. If you plan on playing anything other then BC2 or Crysis you should look at getting a GTS 250/ATI 4850/4870. A single GTS 250 tends to struggle with meduim to high settings on BC2. They are the sweet spot for price/performance. They will play pretty much everything at high settings at 1600x1200 provided you don't use high AA settings. I just bought a GTS 250 for 99 bucks after rebate and free shipping.