Hope I didn't make it to the party too late
I'll try to help solve Thunder's dilemma as posted earlier
1) First up, we have specs for the NV30 and NV35 video cards, taken from
here, which was taken from another source:
NV30 :
0.13 micron process
400MHz GPU
512-bit chip structure
AGP 8X
8 rendering pipelines
Supports 128-256MB of DDR SDRAM
900MHz DDR SDRAM
200 million polygons per second
Lightspeed Memory Architecture III
Supports DirectX 9 and OpenGL 1.3
In 3rd or 4th Quarter 2002
NV35 :
0.13 micron process
500MHz GPU
512-bit chip structure
AGP 8X
8 rendering pipelines
Supports 128-256MB of DDR SDRAM
1000-1200MHz DDR or QDR
400Mhz RAMDAC
Lightspeed Memory Architecture III
Supports DirectX 9.1 and OpenGL 2.0
In H1 2003
Sources are saying that the NV30 is only a couple of months off, though it probably won't be available for a few months afterwards. Most likely it would be in competition with the upcoming ATI R300, 3DLabs' P10 and the Matrox Parhelia. However, there is a difference between theory and practice, and the specs don't always tell the full story. If you need a video card now go and get one now. Otherwise you'll constantly be waiting for the Next Big Thing.
2) If you want to play Glide games on your computer then I would suggest tracking down one or two Voodoo2's. I currently run 2x12MB V2's alongside my GeForce3 for games using Glide, drivers are still readily obtainable from "underground" sources, if you upgrade your vid card in future you can still use Glide if you want to. Of course, they'll eat up PCI slots so if you can't afford to lose any then this wouldn't be a good solution.
3) It is true that the GeForce4 Ti series represent the most powerful gaming cards to date. The Radeon 8500 provides good competition in most areas, and even excells in some. However as most ATI users can attest their driver support sucks. While this is slowly being remedied over time, their lack of support in this manner remains a disadvantage. The GF4 line doesn't sacrifice looks for speed as much as other cards (e.g. GF2 vs Voodoo5), though if you've had the luxury of using a Matrox card for 2D work then you're going to be disappointed.
4) If you are going to go for a GF4 then I suggest starting to look at the Ti4200's. Good idea avoiding the GF4 MX, as has been pointed out already it's little more than a GF2 with support for a few advanced features. If you can afford it, move up to a Ti4400, if you can still afford it, move up to a Ti4600. Even with a Ti4200 you'll still be futureproof for some time, especially if you do end up overclocking the card (nowadays a very easy process). Beware of cheaper brands - Apollo and Powercolour for example make use of cheaper components and result in a noticeable drop in quality compared to brands such as Gainward, X-micro and Leadtek.
Those are my thoughts to play around with. Good luck with your hunting.
