Gaming Graphics card faulty. Looking for replacement.

[DiscostewSM]

I had a good 4 years with my graphics card, but today it decided it wanted to try something new, and now the display shows graphic corruption, both on boot-up and in Windows. It's a BFG Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT OC, and while it has a lifetime warranty, BFG has since gone out of business. I've tried my own examination and testing, but nothing worked. So I have no other choice but to go replace it. I'm looking to get a good video card around the range of $150, and preferably an Nvidia card (mainly because I've had better longevity and support with them than ATi) with 1GB RAM.

I had looked at something like the EVGA GTX 550 Ti SC, but I've been sorta out of the loop in terms of newer hardware for at least 4 years, so I'm not sure if there is something better that is around that price range.


Current specs (without the old GPU) are as follows:

Intel Core-2 Quad Core 6600 2.4Ghz (OCed to 3.0Ghz)
4GB RAM - PC2-6400 Patriot Series Gamer (PSG)
Windows 7 Professional x64
550W Antec TruePower Trio PSU


Suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Originality]

The 550 Ti and 560 Ti are probably the only cards you'll be interested in. You can also look into the 460, but the 5xx series is better when it comes to power/heat.