Video Card Advice

I'm shopping for a new video card and was wondering if I could get some advice. I don't know much about video cards and when i look at all the different brands and models I get confused. I'd like to know what features make one card better than another and what features would be best for me based on my using habbits(please don't name specific cards as I will make my own decision based on my budget).

I like to play video games, such as quake 3 and Nascar 4. I also design my own graphics for my website, digitally edit my photography and watch DVD's.

You needn't mention DVD decorder as a feature because I already know I'll need the card to have that. Plus my mother board has a 2x AGP slot that I will be using when I buy my card.

That brings up another question I have. I've notcied that there are cards out there for 4x AGP slots. I plan to in the near future get a new comptuer which will probably have a 4x AGP slot on it. Can I purchese a 4x card and have it work in a 2x slot(I know if it worked it would only work at 2x's), so I can put that in a new comptuer when I get it?

Any help you can give me would be much appreciated.

 

You asked for non specific info but If I where buying a card right now it would be this one. It has all the qualifications you stated

http://www.leadtek.com/graphics/gf3ti500/ti500.htm

also here is a review of the card

http://firingsquad.gamers.com/hardware/winfastti500/

 

I appreciate the suggestion, but like I said I'd like to know what features of a card make one card better than the other. The card you suggested looks like a great card, but it's well out of my price range. Can someone else tell me what features to look for in a card?

 

Hi

get the gforce3 Ti 200

 

Heck I'll give it a go. On board memory. 16, 32, 64 ? The more the better. The more memory the more heat. Heat sink / attached fan? Is your box cooled properly, is your power supply sufficient? Refresh rates 70Hz, 80, 100 ? Resolution maximum, 1024 x 768, 1280 x 1024, 1600 x 1200 ? Chipset, I won't even go into that.

Items that you want to think about, warranty, on-line support, driver updates, Microsoft compatible.

Now that I've rambled I'd open this up to other's recommendations. I run a Nvidia 64 MB MX / 400. It's a great card for me but I'm not a gamer. Ask the gamers here for their favorites. All of the above is useless info to some degree because all the top flight cards will produce. You need info on rendering aspects, etc. Hardcore gamers know this stuff, believe me.