Video Cards, do $ really make difference

[Sumdumgi]

I have an ATI Radeon 8500le w/ 128mb ddr. It is an OEM. It was alot cheaper than a true ATI vid card.

I play Delta Force Land Warrior online at 1024x768 and also 800x600. I cant tell that much difference between the 2 resolutions. I used to play the game with a elsa gladiac 511 gforce2 64meg sdram card and when i went to the radeon i couldnt tell any difference.

My question to all of you is does an expensive vidcard really make you play a game better than other people who dont have the high $ card?
How do you check fps while playing a game?
How do I score my system?
Will scoring my system tell me anything or is it jibberish?

See below for system specs.
TIA

[Colb]

Yes, spending more money for an expensive card will in most cases bring up performance.(GF4600 or R9700) But from what I heard the 8500 still carries alot of performance in todays games.(not sure about your LE though)

I would wait a bit to buy a new card, unless you just want a better card and spend the extra money.

EDIT: For you to be able to play a game better than another person, you need to find the right fps that you like. More is always better, so smoother play will help your skill.

[wolfie]

How do you check fps while playing a game?http://www.fraps.com/

How do I score my system?
http://gamershq.madonion.com/

Will scoring my system tell me anything or is it jibberish?
it will tell you how your video cards doing.

wolfie