What is the best graphics card out right now for NVIDIA? ATI?

[notguru]

How cheap will the GTX 295 become in one full year? Right now this:
"VGA GeForce GTX 295 Red Edition Video Card - 1792MB DDR3, 480 Cores, PCI-Express 2.0, (2) Dual Link DVI, HDMI, Quad SLI Support"
is priced at $600 on tigerdirect.com

But if I wait a while, will it ever come down to $100-$200?

Can this card max out Crysis @ 1680x1050 will full AA and AF? That may seem like a dumb question to some of you. Sorry if it is. I don't know much about this.

If I do end up buying this card in one or two years (which is when I can afford it), how many 120mm case fans would I need to cool it down.

Also, can a GTX 295 run at its best with an Intel C2D E7400 and an Intel DG35EC Motherboard?
Or would I have to get a new CPU and MoBo?

 

[daedalus685]

No, probably not. It will stop being produced long before it becomes that cheep. Buy what you need now, don't worry about what prices will be. By the time that card is the same power as a 100$ card there iwll be far far far more powerful GPU's.

Find google as well, it is your friend

 

[KOne]

your set up seems pretty sweet. by the time your rig gets old that card should drop by $200 at least in a few months, depending on what new comes out

 

[ambientmf]

1) You should always try to have sufficient airflow with any gaming rig...or even an entry-level PC. If you don't, the heat just sits inside that box and will slowly kill your components...Anything from a 6 Series GeForce to a GTX 295. I would say at least one 120mm intake to intake cool air and at least one or two exhaust fans to expel the warmer air that generates from your rig.

2) As daedalus685 said, the GTX 295 will be out of production long before it sees THAT kind of price reduction...If it did stay around to let it drop that far in price, you're probably looking at two or three video card GENERATIONS ahead. Which will be improved in every aspect over that 295 anyways (or at least, should be). I don't expect it to drop in price by more than $100...Even with the next generation around the corner (ish), it's still an extremely expensive card to make. You're better off getting two GTX 275's in SLI, which is essentially the same thing as a 295 and is slightly cheaper...Perform better too.

3) By spending about $150 or more, you can basically max out Crysis in settings and enhancements (AA, AF, etc.) at a very reasonable frame rate. Since Crysis favors Nvidia architecture over AMD/ATI, even a $200 GTX 260 should achieve those settings at a reasonable FPS. A GTX 275 or above would be better assurance for smooth gameplay though.

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

The "worth" of the 295 could be lost as soon as the next gen of cards arrive, in Sept-Oct.
If it were me, I wouldnt pull the trigger on this this late in the game or life of the G200/R700 series.
In 1 year, you may well see card with its perf at or near 100$, tho it wont be a 295