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Your best bet is going to be either the GTX 660 or Radeon HD 7870. If you can afford to spend the extra money, then definitely go with the 7870 because it does give a pretty decent performance boost over the GTX 660. If you can't afford it, though, then go ahead and grab the 660. If the GTX 660 is still out of your price range, then the Radeon HD 7850 would still be a nice card for you. Try one of these:
Zotac GTX 660 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500270&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
XFX Radeon HD 7870 - http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=69828&vpn=FX787ACNFC&manufacture=XFX&promoid=1366
XFX Radeon HD 7850 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150641&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
All of these cards come with mail in rebates, so the 660 and 7870 will be less than $200 after the mail in rebate. The 7850 is below $200 to begin with and also comes with a mail in rebate. Any of these cards is going to perform much better than an old 9800GTX+
Under $200 I would suggest from Nvidia a GTX 560ti, they are great cards even if they are from the last generation. sub 200 from AMD is a much better option though as you can pick up a HD 7850 just about equivilent to a GTX 570. you can get the 2gb version if you want but it won't make all that much difference. For a bit over 200 you can get yourself either from amd a HD 7870 or from Nvidia a GTX 660.
Any of these cards are good upgrades from a 9800GTX+, you make your descision if you want an Nvidia card or AMD. Sub 200 AMD will beat out Nvidia easily, above though is debatable.
I hope this helps and have fun choosing.
If you have more questions my email is [email protected]
Actually, games are starting to use more and more VRAM. BF3 can push up to 1700MB of VRAM or more at 1080p. I'd say it's better to get more VRAM anyway just to be more future proof.
Huh, thanks for letting me know, I guess its true, you learn something everyday. :D
Maybe try a friend with a card they can sell you? I picked up a 6870x2 dual gpu card for 220 in march 2012 and I am very happy with this one of a kind card. Ive seen awesome cards for under 200 cause people just want to upgrade and dont care about them