Seeking advice on a new video card

[cmdr_zoom]

So I've decided to be a little more discriminating than just "grab whatever I can find fast and cheap and slap it in," and take the chance to pick out something that (I hope) will last me a bit longer. Something in last year's model, not four or five years ago like I have now (and not this year's or next - that way lies madness and $500 price tags for something that's going to get a price cut and die shrink right about the time I take it out of the box).

I'm something of an ATI loyalist despite their spotty support for one of my main games, City of Heroes, mostly out of a combination of laziness (I don't want to research a whole 'nother product line, or go through a full driver scrubdown and reinstall; it's been "good enough" so far, so why change?) and sentiment (probably misplaced and/or irrational). And they do seem to have gotten their act together lately with regard to OGL support ("I tol' you, he's changed!"). But if you have a compelling argument for switching to nVidia, I'm willing to listen.

My budget or price-point is in the area of $50-$100. My bus is PCI-e, my power supply is 400W. I'm presently leaning toward something in an HD 46?0 or a 48?0, or possibly a 36?0 or 38?0. Please feel free to tell me why these are horrible cards and plunge me back into a paralyzing morass of doubt and worry.

Comments

[mechaman.livejournal.com]

Absolutely no reason and many reasons to NOT get an HD3XXX. The cost savings compared to a 4XXX is miniscule and while the 48XX isn't the current gen, it's pretty close.

[cmdr-zoom.livejournal.com]

How about the possibility that my 3-4 year old mobo and power supply can't handle a 4XXX? Just sayin', looking at the specs...

Well...

[biomekanic.livejournal.com]

I'm a long term Nvidia user, and I've had problems lately with CivIV Beyond the Sword - I can't see units anymore.

The ATI card on my laptop OTOH, works just fine.

Is there maybe something software wise that could let you know what your power draw is? I know Intel has that as part of their system monitoring software.