I would go with the 6800GT. In fact, I did. My pc is in parts in FedEx boxes right now. Trust me, I've been planning this PC for about 9 months now and I've changed every component at least 50 times (except the case!) and money is definitely a concern of mine, too. I decided on the 6800GT over the 6600GT for a couple reasons. Mainly because the 6800GT will last siginificantly longer than the 6600GT. May as well bite the bullet now and enjoy the extra performance while you can. When the 6600GT would bite the dust, you'll just have to turn off the extreme eye-candy on the 6800GT.