Really, we are in a sort of video card nirvanna right now. With cards as powerful as the HD 4850 for about $200, and the 9800GTX+ for not much more, this second half of 2008 is a good time to get back into PC gaming if you've been away for a while. 

One card that should be even less expensive then the aforementioned products is NVIDIA's upcoming 9800 GT. The 9800 GT is basically a die-shrunk 8800 GT. The 8800 GT has a 65nm GPU where the 9800 GT has a 55nm part. Apparently this video card has been peaking through the hedges for a while, turning up here and there, and should be coming not too long from now, although no official announcement has been made.

Chinese website Zol is responsible for the pic of the card above.

The 9800 GT apparently is reportedly set to the same clocks as the 8800 GT ( 600/1500/1800 MHz, [core/shader/memory]) but has Hybrid Power as well. Having a 55nm GPU, it would seem likely that this 9800 GT has the potential to be a good over-clocker. Looking at the prices for cards now a days, a price around $149 mark seems likely -- perhaps falling to $139 shortly thereafter.

The 9800 GT will probably slowly replace the 8800 GT -- although there is still a great deal of 8800 GT cards around, so it could take a while.