7600gt or 8600gt pls help!!

[doomrocks]

guys i m a newbie in the world of gfx cards and gaming... i m planning to upgrade my PC.i hv already nailed my processor, MOBO and ram, but unable to decide which graphics card to choose!
because of my budget constrains, i hv two options xfx 7600gt 256mb or xfx 8600gt 256mb.
recently i got games ( dx9c games) like 'dirt' n ghost recon advanced war fighter. i wanna know which among the two will perform better, not only in these games but also on up coming game titles? this would be my system config after upgrade:
amd x2 4800+
1 gb ddr2 667 mhz
asus m2avm
160 gb sata 7200 rpm

also, if i m getting 8600gt, will i be able to play dx 10 games with this config for atleast 1.5 yrs??

[Elegy]

I believe the 8600gt is marginally slower than the 7600gt in some games but it's about 10% faster on average. It's also directX10 and performs unusually well in shader intensive games like Oblivion due to it's shader architecture.

Although you will be able to play DX10 games with the 8600gt, it's extremely unlikely you'll be able to play them on maximum settings. Medium settings is a more realistic guess. There will be very few DX10 only games available within 18 months though, if any.