Video Card Upgrade Questions

[PzkfW]

I need to upgrade my video card soon, and I have a couple of issues/questions.

I'm willing to spend the money on a 280GTX.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150310

I have only a 350W PSU, so I found this one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371010

My motherboard has PCIE 1.0, but I made a thread recently about bottlenecks in backward compatibility. There were studies posted that showed not only are they backward compatible, but the "bottleneck" is only 2 or 3 percent, so I really don't care.

Will the combo I just posted be good? There's like a million different GTX's. Are there any bad companies/specific cards I should stay away from? I have an XFX 8500 right now, but I haven't bought too many cards, so I admiit I don't know too much about the quality of different companies. I'm still a teenager, so I have to pay my dad, and he uses his credit card. I really want something that won't be DOA or break, he'd be seriously pissed.


Also, I have a quick question about video card installation.
This may sound like a noob question, but I've never done any video card replacing (took computer to a shop up to recently).
Will Windows XP start up with no video drivers? Let me explain the procedure.
Uninstall old drivers, turn off comp, remove card, put in new card, install new drivers.
If Windows XP needs drivers to display video, I can't see anything to install the new drivers.
Or, do I uninstall the old drivers, install new drivers, then remove old video card and put new one in? Probably a noob question, but I wouldn't want to go and make my computer unusable. Never installed a video card before, lol.

Thanks for replies.

[Alaron]

Just to point out, your link is for a GTX260, not 280.

We typically recommend eVGA branded cards. They have a strong reputation.

That PSU is a good one.

Your first method for installation is correct. Windows will start up with a very basic, low color display to allow you to work on installing the new drivers. You wont have to work in the dark.