Does the Asus P5VDC-X motherboard actually have a extra 6pin power connection slot for the graphics card? I know the 7600gt only needs a single atx power connection if I remember right but new pci-e cards will want the extra 6 pin power connector slot in the motherboard to power the card. Looking at a screenshot one doesn't appear visible which will limit your choice of card greatly.

Do you mean this connector? It is usually provided by the power supply unit, not the motherboard.
Anyway, I agree that the computer most likely lacks this connector. That's one of the reasons why I recommended bus-powered cards, which get all their power through the PCIe bus. (The other reason being that a bus-powered card is limited to 75 W and is therefore more likely to work with the relatively weak 350 W PSU)

I agree, I take them with a grain of salt . . . just another input before I let go of the cash . . . =)

Yea thats the connector but it plugs into a socket on the motherboard that is usually near the pci-e slot. Looking at a picture of the motherboard I couldn't identify any such slot. I know what I meant I just worded it badly, looking back on it. Going to edit my above post to make it correct.
I had the same problem with one of my computers so I ended up getting this
[url=]http://www.zotac.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=318&Itemid=1[/url] It only requires 75watts at full load so it works without the extra power connector. I also have it running on a system thats using a 350w power supply and a q8200 cpu and it works fine, not had a problem with it. As far as my research got me its the best card avalible for these kinds of motherboard that lack the extra power connection slot.

Ah, I get you. The latest power supplies (since the ATX12V 2.1 standard) include one of more 6-pin PCIe power cables, so I think the motherboard connector has been made redundant. As far as I'm aware it is not included on current motherboards.
Good tip about the GeForce, I know it under a different name; "9800 GT Green Edition". Great to know it works with a 350 W PSU.

Your CPU is going to seriously bottleneck pretty much any card from a 8800 onwards. The power supply also puts a pretty serious limit on the kinds of cards you'll be looking at. Probably the highest cards you'd be looking at are the 4550 or 4650 on the ATI side of things, or the 8600 on the NVidia side of things (the 8400 is also an option if you just want something roughly equivalent to the 7600 and can't find another 7600 in stock). For the pricing on these kinds of cards the prices you should be looking at are around 30-40€.

I am currently running AMD 3200+ (single core)
2gb of ddr1
and 4850.
And the cpu is massive bottleneck. Single core. No really point for you to upgrade to newest card. with my 4850 but with 3200 i already hit the wall. Especially since i run XP,
So buying new card like 5850 plus new psu is a bit of waste. you won't be able to use the full potential of it and the prices will go down considerably in few months (with nvidia's launch)
buying something weaker is wrong move to as they are not gaming cards. if you wanna play something new that is. for gog games of course any new card is sufficient. :) but buying 5770 now or god forbid lower will force you to upgrade the card next time you will be upgrading computer.
What i recommend.
Save more money and get a major overhaul in few months time
for now
Go to your local computer shops telling them you are looking for 7600GT, 8600+, heck maybe even 9000 series card cheap. You may get lucky and get a used one from someone who is upgrading their computer or maybe even brand new, some forgotten box lying under the table.
ebay, friends. You need a working card, doesn't need to be new.

So, a friend of a friend has one lower grade radeon 4550 to spare and he is willing to sell it for about 20€. I think I'll take it and consider it more a patchwork solution than a replacement.
In the meantime I'll contemplate a new PC, even when it will mean touching my life savings.

Well it would cost you €30 new, so that's not a bad price for a temporary measure. Unless he overclocked it.

One suggestion with any new card - check the length and the power connector requirements. Since you are aiming low there might not be issues; but its good to find this info out ahead of time.

Where do you live,in general not an exact address or anything, as if you're nearby -or willing to pay postage- I've got a couple of 1Gb 9500 GT cards that are just gathering dust where they are now.

Thanks for the offer, but I think that sending something from the US to the Middle of Nowhere (Central Europe - Slovak Republic) would be cheap and I am not sure if my crappy excuse of a PC will have no problems running it.
On the other hand if both my fears are proven unbased, I'll take it.