Good gaming 3D video card?

[hot_pastrami]

About 8 months ago, I'd be the guy dispensing advice on what video card to buy for gaming, but I've been out of the loop too long now. About a year of not paying attention to the market, and all my knowledge is obsolete. So perhaps someone can help me out.

I need a new video card in my gaming rig. I'll be running some pretty high-end games, and would like to have a card that isn't already too obsolete, if at all. I would like, but do not require, dual heads... since I have previously used dual monitors and would like to again sometime in the future if I can afford another monitor. I have a DVI-VGA adapter, so a DVI works as a second head. My price ceiling is about $250.

The card I had before was a GeForce Ti4200, which was a good card until it died on me... fan went out. It can be replaced on warranty, but I'll need a card sooner than that, so I figure I'll buy a new one, and throw the warrantied card on eBay when it gets back to me, and cut my losses a little.

Here's a card I am considering: The GeForce FX 5200 Ultra Video Card, AGP, 128MB DDR. It's $179 at CompUSA. Any opinions on that one?

In my experience, and maybe things have changed, nVidia and ATi were the two top video card makers. ATi made great hardware, but their drivers sucked massive, stinky piles of shit, so the cards were twitchy and unreliable. nVidia cards sometimes scored <i>slightly</i> lower on benchmarks, but had good, stable drivers.

So, to put it plainly.. what is the best 3D card I can get for $250 or less? All opinions welcome.

Thanks,