Right now I am running a 8500 GT and it is time for a upgrade. I have been looking at prices and all are somewhat similar. What are your oppions HD 3870 8800 GT 9600 GT

Here's how they break down, at least in NVidia terms.

First number is the series.
Second number is the 'level' (probably a better word for it)

8000-8400 low level
8500-8700 mid level
8800-8900 high level

Word on the street, since you have an 8 series, go for the 8800 GTX.

You can't really go wrong with any of them. For shear performance, I think the 8800 or 3870 tend to swap the lead, depending on the application. nVidia tends to fare better with OpenGL games, while AMD tends to do better with Direct3D games.

Personally, for the new rig I built a couple weeks back I went with the 9600GT. I got mine from PNY (my preferred nVidia OEM) for about $160 on newegg and I'm perfectly happy with it. The first thing I did was play through Portal again at 1920x1200, 4xAA, all settings high, full reflection, 4x portal depth -- at a more than playable framerate.

In terms of power consumption, 8800 > 3870 > 9600 -- make sure your PSU is up to the task if you're going to throw an 8800 in there.

I have a 600 watt power supply I have been leaning twards the 3870 being it is cheaper then the 8800 and at or arround the same price as a 9600

Picked up a PNY 8800GT and runs absolutly amazing.

From what I remember from the benchmarks on a few sites, the 9600 is a bit better than the 3870 in most of the cases. Here in italy you can buy both of them with 160 euro... the 8800 is a bit more expensive, but you get more power as well. What about waiting a few more weeks and get a 9800?