So I have searched around for the past three weeks or so, looking around for a new video card so I can play at a higher resolution.

I currently have an 8800GT and while I have no issues with it, my max resolution is only 1280 x 1024. I also run windows XP as of right now so DX 10, 10.1, and 11 mean nothing for my current system. And I need not to worry about a PSU because I got a big beefy one that should last me another half a decade at least.

My spending limit is 240$ before taxes.

So my search has been narrowed down to these three, and let me remind you that I live in Canada, so they are all in canadian prices.

XFX Radeon HD 4890

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5210080&csid=ITD&body=MAIN#detailspecs
 
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150438&cm_re=4890-_-14-150-438-_-Product
 
BFG GeForce GTX 260 OC 896MB

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10126801&catid=25617
 
XFX Radeon HD 5770

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=44932&vpn=HD577AZNFC&manufacture=XFX
 
I have looked at reviews and performance charts and all three are very similar for their price range, so basically I guess what I'm asking, if any of you have personal experience you have with any of these cards that you could pass on and what you think would be the best card for me.

I had 2 BFG 260's in sli and one failed.  Contacted BFG and they replaced it no problem with  a BFG 285.  This caused a problem with my sli config. so I contacted them again and they sent me another 285 and I returned the other 260 to them.   So I  am now a BFG guy for life.   I got a $200.00 upgrade for free.   I would go with the BFG 260 and hope it fails.

Yea I think I'm leaning more towards the 260 as well, futureshop the big general electronics store here where I'm at has a really good sale and their warranty's are top notch.

I'll give you an example, I bought an x850 card way back when with a year in store warranty, nearing the end of the warranty I took it into them said it was broke, they exchanged it no questions asked and gave me the 8800 GT that I have now for no additional cost except the cost for another extended warranty for that card.

BFG and EVGA are both known to take care of the customers, BFG did right by you, when was the last time you saw that kind of customer service. Awesome!

Never!!!  Thats why I am a BFG guy for life.

the 260 gtx oc is the best bang for the buck as it is reasonably priced and the factory oc is very stable. Plus there is still room to oc a little farther if you wish with riva tuner.

The 260 also does not require the 8 plug connector from the psu.

Just a thought, I dont know what MB you have, but you could go with the hd 5770 as an option, it is dirx 11 compatatble and BF2 bad company will be dirx 11 compatable according to the website.  And if your motherboard can do crossfire, you could add another later.  Lots of  crossfire test results out there on the 5770.  I think xfx had double lifetime warranty.
My 2 cents

yea I don't have a dual vid card campatible mobo and I run XP so dx11 doesn't really matter at the moment, buf it i can get enough money together to get win 7 i might go with the 5XXX series route

BFG is alright, but I myself am an EVGA fan. They've taken good care of me over the years. I had a similar situation as you strand with my card, but it was with EVGA. I had the 8800 and the gpu failed on it, sent it back to EVGA and they sent me a 9500GT for free.

You can actually get a saphire 4890 with 1GB of memory off of newegg for less than 200 dollars. ATI and Saphire haven't failed me yet. Never been a big fan of Nvidia because I find systems with those cards tend to have more problems later on... but that could just be me.

I think it's just you.  Nvidia seem to have issue in the mobile market, but their desktop cards always work great.  I've always stayed away from ATi cards as much as possible.

Strand what size is your monitor?

Its only a 17inch, but I plan on upgrading the monitory and the card within the same time frame, this is the monitor im looking at

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4942567&CatId=4420
 
I think it will make a huge difference when I play games and I also watch ALOT of movies on my computer so it will serve as a tv of sorts as well, I read alot of reviews for LCD monitors at that size and price range and that one is pretty much standing alone in terms of user satisfaction.

Just put the Evga gtx oc 260 in my 2 weeks ago, runs very stable and at about 63 c in cod. I am not sure about the other cards, but this card requires at least 550 w psu and if I remember correctly 36 or 39 amps on the 12 volt rail.
( I am at work and dont have the spec sheet with me)
I had to buy new psu and went with  the Corsair 650w, also this card is BIG I have full tower so no problems, but a mid tower might be a tight fit. If you register within 30 days EVGA has Lifetime warranty on this card.

Will probably upgrade mobo next month, my pci-e slot is version 1.0 so I am not seeing the full potential of the card yet.

Good looking monitor.  I too upgraded from an 8800GT when I bought a large monitor.

This is my next purchase.... Samsung