I've decided to go with a 9600, but not sure whether to get the 512mb or 1gb version with windows vista because I thought I read somewhere that the OS uses video memory while gaming?

I currently have a 235 watt psu I think and was wondering if I need to upgrade to a larger psu?

I thought I read somewhere that the OS uses video memory while gaming?

Well I should hope it would since that's where all of the textures are stored and worked on.

512MB would work for now. How often do you upgrade your video card though? I upgrade mine about every year and a half or so, so I tend to get the best I can for the money I'm willing to spend at the time.

I currently have a 235 watt psu I think and was wondering if I need to upgrade to a larger psu?

At 235W it's probably not PCIe compliant nor would it provide enough power for the entire system to run under load...so yes, you'll need a new PSU.

There's no point in 1GB.

Tests have been done with the 8800GT with 1GB and its not worth the price premium. The 9600GT is not much different and won't be able to fully take advantage of the extra memory. Get a faster card with the money instead of more memory.

http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html...W50aHVzaWFzdA==

I'm not sure which one you will exactly be getting, but for example, here are the PSU requirements for one of eVGA's 9600 GT models:

400w PSU for 1 card

450w PSU for SLI

When you find which card you want to get, check the manufacturer's website for the PSU requirements. Most companies have this information on their website, sometimes you have to dig awhile to get it.

I used EVGA as an example because it is the only video card manufacturer site in my bookmarks. I'm not recommending them in any way and I've never used their cards.

There's no point in 1GB.

Tests have been done with the 8800GT with 1GB and its not worth the price premium. The 9600GT is not much different and won't be able to fully take advantage of the extra memory. Get a faster card with the money instead of more memory.

http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html...W50aHVzaWFzdA==

ya, there are plenty of benchmarks which show that 1GB is useless.

I've been running a 9600GT 512MB with a 300W power supply for almost two months now, and its been completely solid even under load. I also swapped my cooler for an Accelero S1 Rev 2. i don't heavily game, but in the games i have played, i haven't had a problem at all.

I dont have any experience yet (with those graphic cards) but ive read that a 8800GT or 8800GTS is beter in performance than a 9600....