Yes the video card is very important. That is where I spent a large chunk of change. I went with the Radeon All In Wonder, also spent the bucks to go all the way with that. If you don't want to capture video you can go a little cheeper but don't skimp to much on the speed and quality. Very important. Your kids will love you for it to. It makes gaming a lot of fun. Back a while ago they were experimenting with water cooling in the tower. I did not keep up with it though because I really would worry about my electronics getting wet. Has any one tried that? I would like to hear how it went.