a 6800 is a top of the line card right now, 9800 Pros and FX cards are last generation, thus cheaper, but they can put out as much as the new gen cards could, if you own a 9800 Pro or a 5900 Ultra, saying you got them at launch, they will last at least 3 generations. Take alook at the GeForce 2, lasted right into the 6800 Generation, thats 4 generations of video cards it lasted and the Radeon 8500 also. Although these cards can't put out what they used to 5 years ago, they are practically the bare requirement for games. 8500 Pro or a GeForce 4 MX440(Which is GeForce 2 core clocked higher).