Why are you going for the uber low end? I would never recommend low-end.. mid-end is the lowest I would go for video cards.
The low end has got much better last gen, thanks to nVidia. The 8500 GT(the one I've got, and pretty much the lowest end you'll find commonly) is actually a fairly decent card. o_O
Now, it's nothing compared an 8600GT and up, mind you... but it's a lot better than you'd think it be.
If NVidia's numbering scheme is not fucked up yet, then that should be fine. Most numbering schemes start mid-end at the "500s", which is fine.
Low end stuff is outright stealing your $$$.
The 8x00 series' lowest end member was the 8200, found only on nVidia motherboards. After that, it's the 8300, which makes the 8400 look like a goddamn speed demon.
8500GT is good for older games, and several newer ones, though you will have to turn down the settings a fair bit. This is from my own personal experience.
I wouldn't try a system stresser on it, though. It's only got 256 megs of ram, and only 32 SPs.
The low end really got semi-decent last gen. With the current gen, the 9500GT, it basically doubled in speed. The 9500 GT is effectively a die-shrunk 8600 GT, and usually outperforms it.
I'm going ot be replacing my 8500 GT soon(Not nVidia's fault... this particular model was passively cooled. DAMN YOU MSI), and if i had to go for a card cheaper than 75 bucks before rebates, the 9500GT is by far the best you'll find.
