Ok so i got a gateway gt5662 desktop pc. Came with AMD Phenom 9500 quad core processor, 500gb hd, 3gb ram, and an ATI Radeon 2400xt vid card. I wanna upgrade my video card without havin 2 dump a bunch of money on a new one. I dont need something crazy powerful just something that is better than the one I currently have and that will run the new games like Crysis and COD5 and stuff like that. I know the ATI cards are pretty expensive with the best one they have costing me more than I payed for my damn PS3. lol. Anyways does anyone have any suggestions as to a good video card that is pretty powrfull yet relatively cheap? I'm not looking to spend any more than like $150. Can I use a different brand in my pc besides ATI? Any body have any good experiences with some off label cheap vid cards that still deliver a good amount of power? Any and all reply's appreciated. 
Buying a new video card need help with decision making?
Unless you want Physx, ATI usually has the best price/performance right now. You can get a ATI 4870 for about $130 right now.
When you say you see that ATI cards are expensive, I think you've been looking at the most recently released 5*** series, which are on the high end, NVIDIA sells cards that are also in this range.
If you want to spend right around $150, a Nvidia GTX 260 is a good choice.
The "off brands" that you speak of, are mostly rebranding of reference designs of ATI and NVIDIA chips. For example if it says "Sapphire 4870" it's still a ATI 4870 card, just with a different cooler or graphics.
When you say you see that ATI cards are expensive, I think you've been looking at the most recently released 5*** series, which are on the high end, NVIDIA sells cards that are also in this range.
If you want to spend right around $150, a Nvidia GTX 260 is a good choice.
The "off brands" that you speak of, are mostly rebranding of reference designs of ATI and NVIDIA chips. For example if it says "Sapphire 4870" it's still a ATI 4870 card, just with a different cooler or graphics.
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