Well, if you're talking absolute, bleeding edge, a thousand smackers sounds about right. (Mind, thought, I'm thinking in Canadian dollars) But, like ^ said, the price reasonable people buy video cards hovers below $300.
Check for prices on Google (or,
Froogle); if you find a cheapo discount computer store near your place, you can score something reasonable for around $100. What sort of apps are you planning to run, anyways?