Sapphire X1600 PRO          ($100 at end of August)
Asus EAX1600PRO             (not available yet at end of August)
Asus EN7600GT               ($180 at end of August)
MSI MSI NX7600GT-VT2D256EHD (not available yet?)
MSI NX7900GT-VT2D256E-HD    ($270 at end of August; overclocked;  gets the recommendation of http://arstechnica.com/guides/buyer/system-guide-200608.ars/3)
all GeForce 7950GX2         ($500+ at end of August)


    a very good comparison of the above:
        http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2812&p=7


resources
    http://www.htpcnews.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=23416
        Which cards support HDMI
    http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2798
    http://www.nvidia.com/page/purevideo_support.html
        NVidia PureVideo
    http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=695655
        Lots of yummy links
    http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=692618&page=3
        The total package...



Reasons to go for a little cheaper card at the beginning
    - I may well replace it with a DX10 card once those are available
    - Winsor isn't into PC gaming...  it's possible I will be a little less interested (do without my mouse??  never!)
    - Are non-HDMI cards obviously better?  If so, then it makes sense to delay HDMI until I get the DX10 card...
            - Or do I need HDMI now, if I do HD-DVD?
            - Though, I really don't want to get HD-DVD/Blu-Ray before either the war is won by
              either side (eg. which won't be sure until after PS3 is out for a bit), or until
              there's decent drives that support both BluRay and HD-DVD  (okay, then skip it for now then)