Graphics card

I'm just interested to know if this graphics card (Sapphire 9800 pro) would be good enough to run HL2 and CS source at full settings without any problems.
The card is an absolute bargain, at around $115, so I will buy it tonight if it will work well.
Thanks in advance.

I don't know if it will run HL2 with everything cranked (I'm not sure if any current card can do that with an acceptable frame rate), but it should be able to handle any game very well.

On the other hand, the price isn't that great, considering the fact that it only has 128MB vram.

You can get a 6600 GT in that price bracket and get better performance, it'll handle HL2 easily assuming the rest of your system isn't crap. 128MB is enough for that level of card too, the 256MB models are more of a marketing ploy than anything.

I'm afraid the 6600GTs aren't cheap in France; they cost around $200.
A 256mb 6600 however is only about $150 for a gigabyte one, or about $130 for a generic one.
The other similar cards in that price range was an X600 pro 256mb for about $150, is that any good at all?
Currently I have an MSI nvidia 5200 card, which runs HL2 well on medium settings, and 800x600 resolution.
Also, what is PCI express, as I am worried about compatability issues with my motherboard. My motherboard is a socket A, and uses AGP. Will PCI e cards work with this motherboard?
Any more opinions on the cards I just mentioned?
Thanks

You should be able to find a 6600 GT for little more than a 9800 Pro, they're around $300CDN compared to $270CDN. Maybe that 9800 Pro you found is on sale or something, it might have to do with the fact that it's a 128-bit card instead of 256-bit.

PCI Express cards won't work with your motherboard, they're designed for the new ports that'll eventually replace AGP and PCI.

The first card, the 9800 pro was on offer at 40% off, down from $220 or something. Still, at that price, I'm interested in whether it would be a great improvement upon my fx5200 right now.

Definately, even a 9600 will trounce that card.

I can attest to that. And 256MB does make a difference, at least for AGP video cards. Try running Doom 3 on high quality with anything less. It will stutter a lot from the textures being swapped from main RAM.

So is a 6600 with 256MB (not a GT edition) good enough or not?

And is sapphire a reputable brand?