AMD 64 graphics card suggestions

[Burky]

I am getting an upgrade for my computer, and I will be getting an AMD 64 3000+, corsair (2 x 512) value ram
( http://www.ldlc.com/fiche/PB00017829.html ),
and an MSI K8... neo platinum mobo. However, i need to get a graphics card upgrade too. I want to be able to play games, such as half life two, to the best that this setup can allow, without breaking my wallet; I am only 16, and have finite amounts of money.
To answer CKA: "What graphics card should i get?"

[cka]

ooooooookay... are you looking for a suggestion on a graphics card?

edit:
You know, you can post it up in here, no need to send me a PM...

Anyway, you can probably find an ATI Radeon 9200 for ~$50 or so, it should have enough balls to handle HL2/Doom 3/other fancy high-end games. Or if you wanna go the nVidia route, you can probably find a GeForce FX 5200 or similar card for around the same price range.

[Burky]

i alreadu got a Nvidia GeForce Fx 5200.
Are you sure that will suffice?
I thought i'd hav to go and spend something more like $150 for something reasonable.
It sounds good to me tho if i dont have to buy a new one.
Thanks

[cka]

I don't see why a FX 5200 won't work... Could always go ATI if you're really jonesin' to play the games and get a 9800, which is almost 100% guaranteed to work but will probably cost an arm and a leg on your budget

[Burky]

well, i could go as high as $120
i cheaped out on the motherboard the first time on this computer, and it broke down too soon, and so i threw away $40.
i'd rather pay more for something reliable

[Dyne]

okay you just got a 64 3000+. pair that motherfucker with a 6800 gt! or a 9800pro can be had for around $150 these days. if you want to game that 5200 is worthless, i dont care what any board member says. no sense in bottlenecking that beast of a cpu with a crap ass video card.

[Rumpy]

What Dyne said. Right now your graphics card is the bottleneck. I say save up some more and get at least a Radeon 9800 Pro (going for around 200 now?).

[Dyne]

i saw the sapphire for only $150 last week at newegg. theyre back up to $200. or maybe it was another brand. but it was definately a 9800 pro for only $150. i was really suprised.

[Burky]

ok, thank you. i can just about afford that graphics card, so that should be ok.
However, i don't know anything about the heatsinks required for this CPU.
I'm not into overclocking, and dont want to start for risk of burning out the CPU. Therefore, the heatsink i will need will not need to be too brilliant.
Has anyone got any suggestions for heatsinks, again (like the graphics card) considering the fact that i have a budget - i'd rather not fork out $60 for some coolermaster pro.

also, i would be interested in knowing anybodies opinions upon thermal paste. It seems fairly cheap, going at a few dollars for a tube, but does it actually do much?
If so, what brands would you recommend?

[Dyne]

as far as i know the retail heatsink/fan is still the way to go with that cpu. any kind of arctic silver/alumina will do you godd for paste needs.

also i just checked but the $150 powercolor 9800pro is a 128 meg/128 BIT card, whereas the $190 cards are 128 meg/256 BIT cards. knowing this i would definately spring for the $190 card. or just wait a little bit longer and Nvidia's 6600 series will be out. they have 8 pipelines but the cards are value priced while still retaining FULL DX9 capabilities. the most expensive being the 6600gt for only $200. read up here. youd be a lot better off waiting for one of those than the 9800pro. theyll be more futureproof. read here to catch up http://hardware.earthweb.com/chips/article.php/3398061

hope this helps.