DirectX 10 on a budget
When Nvidia released their GeForce 8000 series everyone got excited about DirectX 10 cards. However, unless you were ready to drop at least $400 on a card, you're still using a DX9 card. If you can wait until March however, Nvidia will have a new line of budget-priced DX10 cards that might be more appealing to your wallet.
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The two new cards to expect are the GeForce 8600GT and GeForce 8600 Ultra. The prices are $150 and $180 respectively. These prices are far easier to handle than the $400 you'd pay for the 8800 series. I know I'll eagerly await the release of these new cards.
Details GeForce 8600 series surface [via guru3d]