Decent Computer for a Cheap Price

[mattc908]

Alright so I have a couple questions mobo:
MSI 750i platinum or
Gigabyte Intel P43
I can get them both for same price: this is my current setup:

Sony NEC Optiarc 20X DVD±R Burner Black SATA Model AD-7200S-0B

BFG Tech BFGE98512GTXPOCE GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

Antec BP550 Plus 550W ATX12V V2.2 Power Supply

mushkin 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) with EPP Profile Dual

GIGABYTE GA-EP43-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard

OKGEAR D12SL-12 120mm Case Fan x2

COOLER MASTER RR-CCH-L9U1-GP 92mm Hyper TX2 CPU Cooler

Antec Three Hundred Case

Intel E7200

Linksys 802.11g Speed Booster



I could switch it completely and go for something more AMD/ATi based like the 5400+Black and one of the new 790GX and an HD4850 or HD4870

What you guys think?

 

[terror112]

Switch to an HD4850.

Get either the p45 or p35, the p43's aren't that great.. Stay away from nvidia chipsets, unless you want SLI, but in this case that would be a no.

 

[angry_ducky]

Have you purchased this machine yet? Or is this just a list of what you're going to purchase?

If you haven't bought yet, I'll second the recommendation for the HD 4850, and also recommend getting 4GB of RAM.

 

[mattc908]

Alright so 4gb's, why the HD4850 vs. the 9800GTX+ ? I've seen benchmarks they run so close and sometimes either one will win in different arrays of tests. Yeah im staying away from the 750i, but for the HD4850/9800GTX+ does PCI Express 2.0 make a big difference?

 

[mattc908]

?

 

[mattc908]

I also changed the PSU:
Antec True Power Trio TP3-550 550W ATX12V Power Supply with Three 12V Rails

Hmm But no one has answered the above questions.

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

I don't know the answer to all the questions you are asking. As far as PCI express 2.0, I think I'd look at that vs getting the older PCI express, the reason being you shouldn't be as limited for future upgrades. And I think PCI express 2.0 is slightly faster, but that not many cards can take full advantage of that yet. Also, the 4850 is slightly cheaper on newegg if I'm not mistaken.