Top 10 Coolest Video CardsVideo cards can be one of the biggest expenses when it comes to upgrading or building a computer. The type of video card you need for your computer depends on what you plan to do with it. Gamers will want higher end cards, while office users will be shopping for more budget oriented video cards. All of the video cards on this list are great cards for their intended purpose and will serve the buyer well. Hard core gamers, this is one of the best gaming cards on the market currently. The really nice part about the 7900 GT is that while it will play most every current game at high settings, it won's cost you in the $500 range like the top of the line cards would. This particular card from XFX takes the stock 7900 GT and turns it into a beast, XFX overclocked the card right out of the box. All 7900 GT cards are also SLI capable so you can run two graphics cards linked for even more performance. The current king of Nvidia's product line up is the mighty 7900 GTX. This graphics card and ATI's top dog, the X1900XTX trade punches trying to be the most powerful card on the planet. If you are a serious gamer and your budget allows the over $500 these cards typically run, the 7900 GTX will run your favorite games with every setting on high like a champ. Those of you using 30" monitors capable of running super high resolutions, get two of these and run them in SLI mode for ultimate HD gaming. Dueling it out with the Nvidia 7900 GTX for the top spot for graphics cards is the ATI X1900XTX. Like the Nvidia offerings, ATI allows you to use two graphics cards together to greatly increase the gaming performance. ATI's dual card platform is called CrossFire. For many gamers, the best card comes down to brand preference. No matter if you choose the ATI X1900XTX or the Nvidia 7900 GTX, gamers will be thrilled with the game experience. The Nvidia 7600 GT is my personal favorite budget gamers card. The 7600 GT can be had for under $200 and the level of performance you get for the price is hard to beat. To make things more interesting, the 7600 GT is SLI capable as well so you can add a second card to really boost gaming performance. If you are a gamer on a budget that wants to be able to play todays hottest games at medium to high quality settings, the 7600 GT is a great graphics card. Gamers on a very tight budget will find that the BFG 6600 GT OC is a good performing graphics card for gaming. Shop around and this card can be had for under $150. Like most other contemporary Nvidia graphics cards, the 6600 GT OC is SLI capable so you can use two of the graphics cards in conjunction to boost performance to the next level. The 6600GT also sports dual DVI outputs, which is nice in this price range. Performance is good and this card will play current games at medium settings. In the sub $100 range the EVGA 7300 GS is a good graphics card aimed at office users and media PC use. This video card will play games, but not at settings hard core gamers will like. With Windows Vista coming sooner or later, a DX 9 capable card like the 7300 GS will be required to use all the 3D bells and whistles Vista is incorporating. The model 7300 GS I reviewed is also an excellent candidate for quiet PC enthusiasts thanks to is passive cooling solution. Gamers that have not yet upgraded their systems to take advantage of PCI-E don't fret. BFG has a great AGP graphics card in their 6600 GT OC AGP version. This card performs almost as well as its PCI-E brother and can be had for under $200 if you shop around. The AGP version of the BFG 6600 GT requires an 8x AGP slot. If you have your eye on the upcoming Windows Vista, the 6600 GT AGP is a DX 9 card so you could get the full 3D effects if and when Microsoft launches the new operating system. Gamers still using AGP systems, the Nvidia 7800 GS is the undisputed king of the AGP graphics cards. Just when everyone though AGP was dead, Nvidia pulled this beast of of their hat and revived a dying technology and provided gamers without the funds to make the jump to PCI-E an upgrade path.The 7800 GS sports both a DVI and a analog output and should be capable of playing current games, though likely not with all the eye candy turned on. ATI has a nice competitor to the Nvidia 7600 GT in their X1600 Pro. The X1600 series is available in different models including AGP cards as well. The X1600 Pro will make a nice card for gamers who don't have the budget for a high end graphics card, but still want to play current games with decent quality settings. Another solid choice for a graphics card for office or media PC use is the X1300 series from ATI. The X1300 is available in both PCI-E and AGP forms. ATI also has an All-in-Wonder version of the X1300 that brings PVR Tivo like capability to your computer. With DX 9 compatibility, this card is also Vista ready. If you are looking for a good card, with multimedia capability the X1300 series is worth a look. | 
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