Gizmodo has published an awesome article (borrowed from Tom’s Hardware) for anyone looking to purchase a new gaming-capable graphics card. They cover various price ranges, offering shoppers a plethora of options that guarantee a great bang-for-the-buck purchase.

I’m using an nVidia GeForce 9800 GTX+ my neighbor gave me, which replaced the GeForce 9600 GTS OC that now resides in my brother’s computer. If I had the money, not too much because I don’t want to be unrealistic, I would get the GeForce GTX 260 or the Radeon HD 5570. Both are listed around $150, which is the sweet spot for a budget-minded gamer like me. This card I have now will last me another year or two, if it has to. See, PC gamers need not spend a fortune on the latest and greatest just to play all the latest games.

I do want to upgrade my memory from 2GB to 3 or 4 relatively soon, however. Maybe I should go upgrade to a quad-core so my motherboard will kick in 1066 mode.