what is the best pci video card out there right now that i can buy? i was looking into buying one for backup.

I've been wondering this myself, and from the research I did, these were/are the best PCI video cards (in terms of 3D frame-rate): NVidia FX5200 Nvidia FX5500 Nvidia FX6200 ATI Radeon 9250 (Marketed as the Diamond Stealth Radeon 9250) People have recommended ATI cards over NVidia cards to me, so personally, I would go with the Diamond Stealth Radeon 9250.

Something like this-- http://www.compusa.com/applications... A 9250 will save some money; FX5200 will too but will disappoint you. Skip

"i was looking into buying one for backup" Backup for what? Hopefully you're not confusing standard PCI & PCI-Express because they're 2 entirely different things. Assuming you want standard PCI with semi-decent gaming performance, here's an FX5500/128-bit card for $65: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... Here's an FX5200/128-bit card for $42: http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name... Or if you just want a cheapie that you can use in an emergency & gaming performance isn't important, here's a Radeon 9250/64-bit card for $25 after rebate: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... "If my answers frighten you then you should cease asking scary questions" - Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) in Pulp Fiction

Just buy a motherboard with integrated graphics and hold the integrated in reserve.

Radeon HD 2400 for $63.69. Best PCI card out there. http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc... The Quad-Pumped Super P3: Pentium M Dothan @ 2.82GHz (166x17) 3GB PC6400 @ 667MHz 9600GT Blu-Ray Modified PowerMac G4 Quicksilver case Homebuilt 1080p projector Vista SP1

If you're willing to spend $100 & have room for the huge heatsink, how about this 8500GT w/128-bit memory? http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?in... http://www.sparkle.com.tw/product_d... "If my answers frighten you then you should cease asking scary questions" - Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) in Pulp Fiction