Here are my current system specs....
Shuttle AN35N Ultra/400 something
Athlon XP 2800+ Barton
Corsair 1GB ( 2x512) PC3200 RAM
80 GB Hard drive
LiteOn DL DVD-+ RW 16x
420W powersupply (came with case)
ATI AIW 7500 64MB of RAM
Viewsonic 17"LCD
As you can probably guess, i need to upgrade my AIW 7500. This will be the last upgrade (except maybe storage) before i think about my new system in maybe a year. I want to be able to play HL2, CoD2, BiA and maybe Doom3. But games like that. But mostly i will be playing MS Flight Simulator 2004. I want to be able to play FS at full settings. I am not too worried about maxing out AA and AF but would be nice. My budget is around $200.
Now, i have seen the x800GTOs AGPs with 256 for around $225. But i like my AIW and i have seen AIW x800XTs for just under $300. if i am correct the x800XTs have 16pipes while the x800GTO has 12 with the possibility of getting the extra 4. Should i save up the extra $100 and go for the AIW or just a plain x800XT? i would have to wait a couple weeks more to get the extra $100, maybe. is the extra 4 pipes worth the money? What about nVidia? 6800 series?
I will also be doing some basic stuff, web design, picture editing, video, watching DVDs, TV if i get the AIW, and things.
Might prices drop after christmas or go up? Seems the higher end AGPs are starting to become less available.
One more thing. Are there other good online retailers other than newegg? I love newegg but they currently dont have the AGP x800GTOs and the only x800XT AGP they have is the AIW.
Thanks.
hardware
prices 
