Please help

[rys2]

Hi, I am looking for a new video card,
and I would greatly appreciate qualified advice on what I should get.

My system specs:
1.4Ghz AMD Athlon processor
768 2100 DDR ram
MSI VIA K7T266 Pro Motherboard
SB Live 5.1 sound card
5.1 surround speakers (Cambridge Soundworks DTT2500)
AVerTv Studio tv tuner card
Windows XP Pro
7200 40 GB primary western Digital HD (o/s installed on this one)
5400 60 GB secondary western Digital HD
Tosiba 16x DVD drive
Cendyne 16x10x40 cd-rw drive

what is the best video card that will utilize my system's capablities?
+what is the best value card i can get for around 100? ~150? ~200? 200+?

Also, is it worth upgrading to SB Audigy, will I really get much better sound quality?
And does having those 2 hds w/ different speeds affect overall system speed? if so, should i put 1 as primary master, other as secondary master, or 1 as master and 1 as slave, or etc.?

Is Windows xp the best o/s for this config., what o/s would u suggest for best performance?

I play a lot of 3d games, and do a lot of mutli-tasking, many windows up at the same time, leave the computer on for long periods of time, etc.

Any other hardware tweaks/upgrades I should consider?
i.e. processor upgrade to AMD Athlon XP series?


Thanks to everyone who replies to this message, I greatly appreciate it!!!!

[J5]

IMO you have a killer rig!!! I would if you have the cash get the top of the line video card. Audigy is great but I think you don't need to upgrade. 100+ dollars for a sound card that will probably only give you minimal sound overhaul isn't worth it.

[Lao Tze]

A upgrade would be foolish at this time, my rig is quite similar to yours, I would throw a Radeon 8500 or GF3(maybe 4) into it. Other than that you would be wasting money on an almost imperceptible speed difference. Save your money for a Hammer or something 9 months from now...