Can you help me pick out a PCI-E video card for Age of Conan?
 
I am hoping to spend $150-200.  I run most games in 1064 X 768.
 
I have been looking at 8800 GT and 9600 GT, but to be honest I dont know what is the best buy.  
 
PS: I dont have SLI capability on this mobo

That price - Probably 8800GTS G92, then 8800GT, then HD3870 or 9600GT or 8800GS.  We will have to wait and see some AoC performance testing though to be sure.  A $100  card wouldn't be a best buy if you need a faster card to play at your desired settings.

8800gt is better than 9600gt and not much more.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150252

This comes with a free game.  

or if you want a better cooler for around the same price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130357

9600gt performs about the same as 8800gs, but 8800gs is cheaper, so 9600gt wouldn't be the best bang for the buck at its price point.

At a higher price point, 8800gt or g92 8800gts would be the best bang for the buck. Current selection from ATI are not competitive for their price. A g92 8800gts cost only $169.99 after MIR:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814134037

And keep in mind, the (g92)GTS performs at a few frames lower then a ultra.

ok so I am looking at some GTS (G9)  and I am confused why there is a such a price difference here.
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150267

 
I agree too.  If you want to save money 8800gs can do same thing as 9600gt.  9600gt is over marketed over 8800gs which is cheaper and perform relatively same with each other.  8800gt is superior card and really the sweet spot and only $25 more than a 9600gt.  8800gts if you want better cooler and slightly higher performance.
 
3850 have dropped in price considerably as well.   With a decent overclock it's not a bad card and perform close to 3870.  It has better SP performance than a 9600gt or 8800gs but it does lack in texture performance.
 
 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130357

If you want to save a little money this isn't a bad card.  It has a dual slot cooler and only 5-10% of a full G92 GTS.

^ anyone know how AMD and NV will stack up for this game so far?  I guess that may very well change with the  retail release, driver updates and even the first game patch.  Something to consider with pricing of the HD3850 and even 3870 getting pretty good.

Your probably looking at the diffrence between the G92 chips, and the older GTS's which use the G80 or something like that if i remember correctly, its late in the day, and ive been drinkin. lmao

I have a friend that is in the closed beta right now, he says not much diffrence between the two, have to remember, with mmos they like to kick up what the game can do, they expect it to be around for a few years, and want to let you see gradual upgrades as you get a better graphic card. Plus its a biotch to rewrite how you graphics system works to take advantage of the latest and greatest out there.

If you want to get g92 8800gts, buy the $169.99 model I linked. Nvidia makes the gpus, sell them to different companies, who basically puts on different labels. The gpus are all made by Nvidia, and used on a standardized board layout required by Nvidia. Besides, it comes with 3 year warranty. It'll be obsolete after 3 years anyway.

Even if you're an XFX fanboy, $100 extra is far too much to pay for a brand name label.

Lol, I have a xfx , but that is when they were offering the lowest price on the (g92) chips at the time.

the only reason i was aiming for evga or xfx was because i know evga customer service and i have heard good things about xfx

all true.

Still, is customer service worth $100 more? Besides, either it works or doesn't. If it doesn't work rma it to newegg for another one. If it breaks down later, there's the 3 year warranty. Besides, it's the same gpu made by Nvidia on the same board layout required by Nvidia. Graphics cards have very low fail rate to begin with, compared to things like motherboard.

Nvidia has no say in the board layout, they sell the chip and thats where it stops. Personally i would spend the extra 100 dollars to feel secure in my purchase rather then take a gamble, but hey thats me.

At launch with the reference design, NVidia had the whole card made, and sold the whole card, not the GPU.  Then BFG and the others put their stickers on them, and boxed them up with their bundle.  Shoot, one of BFG OC stickers flew off my 8800GT fan and below it was an NVidia sticker.  

i dont believe u should buy a graphics card until u can see some the performance of cards on that game post release. but i believe age of conan is not a title to tax graphics. its not a crysis, so a 9600gt should probably max it out, and as ur very low resolution, no offence, enable all the eye candy and id bet ud still have 60>fps