Graphics Card Upgrading

[Black Waltz]

I'm thinking of upgrading my current video card (ATI Radeon X1050: 256 MB RAM) with another one with 512 MB RAM, namely a 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9500GS.

Is this a decent investment? I hope to be able to play games like Crysis, Mass Effect, and hopefully the upcoming Sims 3, if that would help out in your opinions.
And also how long do you think a video card like that would last before I need to upgrade again?

TY in advance.

 

[streetracr77]

It is a good investment, because the better the graphics card, the better your games will run. I would say go for the better graphics card and play the faster game . Also more memory.^^

 

[eman]

Do the upgrade, only because I think NVIDIA is alot better than ATI. Do it!

 

[Kaabi]

You will be able to play these games, but in the future a 9500 (though good) will become obsolete. I would prefer a bigger model like 9600 or 9800. It will play every game for a much longer period.
For example, a Geforce 7600 doesn't play very well Crysis, but a Geforce 7950 does (personal experience).