Date: 04/24/05 (Computer Geeks)    Keywords: shopping

I need a new graphics card, preferably a Radeon 9800 XT Pro. In your opinion, is it worth the money? I've heard various points of view, but I'm doing my research before I plunk my cash down on a soon-to-be-obsolete purchase. Is there something better out there for a reasonable price? I don't mean simply bargain shopping, but rather through usage and experience, which cards perform better all around?

My specs (which could verily stand to be improved by now):
ACPI PC running WinXP Pro
AMD Athlon XP-M +1400
NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 200
Realtek RTL8169/8110 Family Gigabit Ethernet NIC
1.20 GHz, 512MB of RAM

Secondly, I'm looking for a sturdy new case with easy disassembly access. My current one is a flimsy, airtight piece of crap, and impossible to open without contorting my wrists in a very non-human manner. I need one with enough ventilation and room for a myriad of fans, ports, and drives, but reasonably small enough to be handled with ease. Any recommendations?

Thirdly, what equipment sites do you prefer? I use Newegg.com, ZipZoomFly and a couple others primarily for parts, but I'm eager to expand my bookmarks.

All advice would be greatly appreciated.

Source: http://www.livejournal.com/community/computergeeks/667660.html