I'm deciding between two video cards...

The eVGA GeForce 8800-GTS (320 MB, 320-bit)

http//www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130038

or

The Leadtek WinFast PX8800 [GeForce 8800-GTS] (640 MB, 320-bit)

http//www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814122018

They both have almost the same customer approval rating, but there appears to be some trade offs in the specs 1700 MHz mem clock (eVGA) compared to 1600 MHz (Leadtek), 640 MB video memory (Leadtek) compared to 320 MB (eVGA), 576 MHz core clock (eVGA) compared to 500 MHz core clock (Leadtek).

Does anyone see any clear advantage to either card (aside from a $75 difference in price)? I plan on using the card to play games now and then (nothing requiring anything cutting-edge) but a card that can still perform well with games of recent, and I plan on watching HD DVDs with it as well (but since they're both HDCP complaint, that shouldn't be a problem).

Finally, I plan on turning the desktop into a Media Center with Vista Ultimate.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

That's wrong information. The GTS cards all have 640MB (I think). Stangely enough, I'd go with eVGA just because they make probably the best cards out there, and certainly reliable. But if that information is true, the I'd probably go with the Leadtek, just because of the more RAM. Try searching for BFG cards or XFX.

Yes, FOAFY, they do make 320MB GTS cards.

I would recommend a 640MB GTS card from eVGA. You can get the eVGA base core clock (500Mhz) model for $352 after MIR from Newegg[=http//www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130071]for $352 after MIR from Newegg. That's only $13 more than the equivalent-spec Leadtek.

eVGA is my preferred brand for nVidia cards because they have a true lifetime warranty and their support is second to none. If your card dies 5 years from now and they don't have that model to replace it, they will upgrade it to a newer model. One of my 7800GT CO's (I run a pair in SLI) started going flaky recently, and since I'm running an SLI rig, they RMA'd libothli cards (including the good one) and replaced both with 7900GS cards. BFG has a similar warranty program, and XFX has a double lifetime warranty (meaning you can sell it or give it away and the 2nd owner also gets lifetime coverage), but I think eVGA makes a better variety of products, at a better price than BFG, and has better support. They've grown in popularity to surpass both BFG and XFX I think.

Also, the extra RAM is going to be necessary for maximum resolution and textures with the latest and near future DX10 games. There are already DX9 games that can take advantage of 512MB of video RAM, so going forward with 320MB is really limiting yourself out of the gate.

eVGA 640mb 8800gts = O.O

Max FPS in every game I play, in CSS I get 250-300 with no fps_max on. Amazing card, I'd spend a bit more for a high quality brand and something a little better.

Thanks for the tip, David.