Which card is better?

[jstutman]

# EVGA 512-P3-N954-TR GeForce 9500 GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

EVGA 256-P2-N751-TR GeForce 8600 GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI

[mdamda]

I'm not quite sure what the "SLI" in the second line stands for: SLI ready or SLI dual card?

Regardless, I'd get neither IF you want to play any decent/recent games with that vidcard.

To help us help you - what exactly do you intend to do with this card? Listing all your specs would also help so a good card can be matched with the rest of your system.

[e6600]

the 9500gt is a die shrunk 8600gt with crappy DDR2 ram
get the 8600gt.

although i would assume that for a similar price, you can nab a 9600GSO, or 8800GS or some used nicer cards

[jstutman]

My apologies. This would be for HTPC

The reason is newegg has a combo with the PSU I want, and the cards after rebate would like $20

[mdamda]

I'd take the 9500 over the 8600. It's much newer and I think contains enhancements with regards to decoding or something

[ghost_recon88]

jstutman, how much are you looking to spend on a card? You need one for a HTPC?