good vid card in the 150-200 price range

[Eldonko]

Take a look at this thread. :)

[Jmac]

Here's a 9800 GTX for $200 - XFX GeForce 9800 GTX Video Card - FREE Company of Heroes PC Game, 512MB DDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, HDMI Support, Dual VGA Support PVT98FYDF9 in Canada at TigerDirect.ca

Pricematch w/ NCIX if you live on the west coast to save on shipping.

The ATI HD 4850 is slightly faster from reviews, plus smaller, more power efficient, etc. From what I've read, it does run hotter and can be louder due to the single slot cooler.

Best deal on an ATI HD 4850 is - His Radeon Hd 4850 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E 2XDVI-I Video Card - DirectCanada

$195 and, when you price match @ NCIX, you also get Valve's Black Box free, too (Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Portal, and Team Fortress 2).

[zlojack]

Seriously, don't worry about ATI vs. nVidia. Get the one that performs the best.

[Boldeagle]

Agreed look at how many have switched from AMD processors to Intel, because of results! A smart person will go for outcome and consume whatever gives the best bang for buck and not get hung up about ATi vs. nVidia or AMD vs. Intel, if you do well you will just lose out. Personally Im happy with my 4850 and after modding the Fan Profile and getting thermal management under control feel very confident I made an excellent informed decision.

[belgolas]

+1 for 4850. IT is a very fast card for the price.

[matsta31]

What resolution your would be gaming on ?

I do agree taht the 4850 would be the overall winner. Or maybe a used 3870X2 ? They are available in the 200 $ range if you look around.

[ebdoradz]

my vote goes for the red team - 4850 ftw

[serenity]

Well it seems the majority of you think I should go with the 4850... I don't really have a reason for not choosing ATI. It's just a personal grudge I have. I've had negative experiences in the past :P
Thanks for all the suggestions!!
Judging by price and performance, I think the 4850 slightly overpowers the 9800...
Well I shall take boldeagles' advice and not get caught up in the nvidia vs ATI crap.
Looks like ATI wins this time!

[serenity]

hrmm...
does brand matter?

[Boldeagle]

Well it does if you can't get a Visiontek competitively priced (clearly defined "lifetime warranty" on their site).

The thread linked earlier by Eldonko explores that as the 4850's are heavily based on the reference model, then no significant differences should be noted in performance between the different brands, then it further explores price and finally Warranties, have a look.