Video Card Recomendation?

Hey Guys
Im in the market to buy a video card and i need your recommendations. Here are my specs: AMD athalon XP 2600+ @ 2.133 GHZ, 512 MB DDR SDRAM, AGP bus. For a more detailed view of my specs: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00003414&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=311362&lang=en
So Basically im looking for the best possible card for my system without creating a "bottleneaking" issue. I will be using the card to play HL2 mods a lot.
Also i dont care if its NVIDA or ATI so you fanboys can feel free to duke it out.
Thanks in advance

 

do you have a budget? do you know how many watts your PSU puts out?

also, you may want to invest in another 512mb of RAM

 

I say stick to ATI. That's just my opinion.

 

eBay is always a good place to get a bargin, that's what I do. Not being a serious games, but likeing the occasional serious game, I look for the miminum specs on currect games and aim for that.

Oh yeah, I also like tuner/digitizer cards. That issue is about to get a lot more complicated in the USA.

 

For Half-Life 2, ATI would be the better choice.

In the midrange, you could go with an X1650 Pro (~$110):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103018

Or, on the high end, you could go with an X1950 Pro (~$230):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102071

As for a recommendation, it depends on what resolution you play at and what you want the fps to be at. If you play at 1024x768 and 50 fps is enough, then the X1650 Pro would be the better choice. If you play at a higher resolution, then you may want to go with the X1950. Of course, if you plan on upgrading in the near future, you may want to go with the X1650 (or nothing at all) until then.

 

I can spend up to $250. My PSU puts out 200watts. I guess i can get another 512 of mem but is it really nessesary?

As for wyatt_earps post I could do the X1950 Pro (my budget allows it) but im afraid my PSU and Processor wouldnt be able to handle it. The X1650 Pro looks pretty good since I will be playing at the 1024x768 resolution. But im still unsure on what to get. I still need more opinions and recommendations. confused

 

then id say get the x1650

you'll have to upgrade your PSU though...

as for the memory, i found that HL2 runs quite a bit better with a gig compared to 512mb. a lot less stuttering and much faster load times