Upgrades!

[Adam]

So, while I'm in school, parents thought it'd be a good idea to get some backup money from Stafford Loans.

Well, needless to say, $5000 is a little much for school, so I think $260 of it can buy me a new video card.

This is what I'm running right now but after talking to several people, they've confirmed it has a bad diode. Easiest way to tell is, while in came, the card makes a loud, high pitched screeching noise.
EVGA 9800 GTX/GTX+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130339

This is what I'm going to buy. In theory, I could go for a GTX 295, but it's not a wise spend of $500.

EVGA 896-P3-1171-AR GeForce GTX 275 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130478

And, my birthday is coming up on the 19th, and my mom has agreed to buy me a new monitor as long as she gets my current one. So hopefully, with some persuasion, I'll staring at this:

ASUS VW266H Black 25.5" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR 20000:1) Built in Speakers w/ component connector - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236047

 

[FreakingHell]

I recommend getting the Vanilla version of the GTX 275 and save yourself the extra $20. That overclock can easily be reached on any GTX 275. All it takes is moving a couple sliders to the right a little bit in EVGA Precision.

Looks good though.

 

[JunK]

sweet...have fun with that combo, should work great
(as long as you have a psu with 40 amps on the 12V rail) hahaha

 

[Saeten]

You can go for a 275 now, but if you want to be future-proof, i would go with a GTX 285.

 

[rtdriver]

try here http://www.geeks.com/products_sc.asp?cat=984
http://www.geeks.com/search.asp?QUERY=+GTX&FIELD=ALL&Submit=Go

 

[FreakingHell]

You can go for a 275 now, but if you want to be future-proof, i would go with a GTX 285.

Heh, if you want to be future proof, get another hobby.

The GTX 275 is the GTX 285 with less memory and a less bandwidth memory bus. You will only notice the difference at high resolutions(1920x1200+) with lots of AA.

 

[PewPewBangBang]

That gtx 275 is a weak overclock.....just get a stock one if your gonna go with a card with a small overclock like that.

I would also consider an ATI 4890. Its cheaper than the GTX 275, has a much greater overclock potential, and absolutely destroys the GTX 275/285 in some games. It loses though in games like Crysis where the Nvidia cards win. But i would personally get an ATI 4890 because the thing has so much potential and is much faster in some games.

 

[reflex99]

looks good
i have the 4890, but the 275 was my second choice.