In light of the price drops of last few weeks it makes zero sense to buy anything less then 8800GT. cheapest 8800GT costs $120 (and it comes with dual slot cooler to boot). 8800GT absolutely owns 9600GT in terms of performance.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130318

cheapest 9600GT costs $110:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814186037

Next step up is the ATI 4850 at $160.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102747

After that you have the ATI 4870 and NV 260GTX at around $300. Then NV 280GTX at $450, but considering that a pair of 8800GT in SLI (or a pair of 4850 in crossfire) will smoke 280GTX it is not the best value.

Ziran