so... is it worth changing graphics card?

[Teny]

right now, i currently have the Sapphire Radeon X1950GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102034), and i got a new motherboard, the DFI NF ULTRAII-M2 (still cant get dual channel to work). and the chipset is nforce4, and it only supports SLi. not sure if i will ever use SLi or Crossfire in my lifetime.
so im thinking of getting the XFX GeForce 8600GT XXX 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150229). some of the clocks are faster (Core, Memory), but the memory interface is not as good, but the 8600 does support DX10, and pixel and shader 4.
i was reading some reviews online comparing the two cards, and they said go with the x1950 since it has better framerates. from what ive been reading on some of the video cards question in this forum, they said to go with the card with the DX10.
I got a $50 gift card to microcenter, and my friend said one of his friend is willing to pay about $100-120 for the card i have now. the range is bout $150-170 on microcenter (microcenter.com). so i wont be getting it on newegg.
i would go with the 8800, but thats about $300. i read somewhere that with an nvidia chipset, its best to go with nvidia cards, and with ati chipset, its best to go with ati.
i know this is long, and i appreciate your time in reading this, and leaving some feedback if you can.
thanks in advance

 

[DJ-CHRIS1]

It's not worth the upgrade, the X1950 comes close and beats the 8600's in some tests.

 

[Atomic Rooster]

Well, if you are planning on going to Vista in the very near future, grab the 8600GT XXX as it's in your price range. Currently, your X1950GT outpaces even the 8600GTS. You'd probably be better off saving some money until you can afford a 8800 series card.

From the looks of this Review, the 8600GT XXX doesn't quite match up well against the X1950 series cards.

 

[Teny]

hmm i see, i would wait till theres a price drop for some of the cards that out, but the longer i wait, the cheaper my graphics card is going to go down, then theres going to be new graphics card out that i want, but cant get. T.T
is it true that nVidia chipset perform better with an nVida graphics card, and an ATI chipset perform better with an ATI graphics card?
another question, does the x1950 only out perform the 8600 GT by framerates, andi know this sound stupid, and its best to get the 8800 intead, but will the 8600GT SLi be able to beat the x1950? cuz i could do with on card, then when theres a price drop, ill just grap another 8600. unless the x1950 still outperforms it

 

[Atomic Rooster]

It really doesn't matter what motherboard chipset either card is operating on as long as you have the latest drivers and updates.

From what I can gather, an 8600 SLI setup should perform slightly better than a single X1950GT. But it's not enough of a difference to warrant the extra cost of the second 8600 IMO.