Budget gaming system - but which do I choose?

[nervouspete]

(Think this is the right subsection, slap me round the back of the head if it ain't)

Hullo chaps.

I'm about to buy my first computer in eight years. My old 2.5XP shuttle is distinctly creaky now. What I'll mainly be looking to play is DX10 Company of Heroes and DX10 LotR:O, Fallout 3, L4D2 and do Adobe photo-editing to my hearts content of my growing collection DSLR pics.

I've got about £370 tops to spend, and I am tempted by the Titan Nero on the OCUK page:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-180-OK

Case Coolermaster Elite 335 Case - Black
Graphics Card ATI Radeon HD 4850 1024MB GDDR3
Hard Drive Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache
Memory Corsair XMS2 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 PC2-6400C5 TwinX Dual Channel
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-M61PME-S2P nForce 430 PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
Optical Drive LG GH22NS30 22x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter
Power Supply Corsair CX 400W ATX Power Supply
Processor AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 7850+ Black Edition 2.80GHz
Processor Cooler AMD Black Edition Approved CPU Cooler
Sound Card High Definition 7.1 OnBoard Sound Card
Warranty 1 Year Onsite Collect & Return Warranty

Looks pretty decent. However I've just spotted some tempting offers from the Land of Computers, a store only a few minutes walk from my house. They've been around for a long time and seem reputable.

I've narrowed their range down to the following options. (Prices include VAT)

E7500+ 2.93Ghz
3GB Kingston ram
500GB HD Sata
22x DVD Writer
6.1 CH Audio + RAID
256mb Intel GFX Card
ATX450w Case
£300

(Obviously I'd have to upgrade the GFX card. But the processor and gubbins look decent.)

E5300+ 2.5Ghz
3GB Kingston ram
500GB HD Sata
22x DVD Writer
6.1 CH Audio + RAID
256mb Intel GFX Card
ATX450w Case
£259

(GFX card upgrade again, but seems fairly cheap. Processor not as good as the other two, but still decent. Still, least fave.)


Quad Core 9650+ X4
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA74GM-S2H
3GB Kingston ram
500GB HD Sata
22x DVD Writer
6.1CH Audio + RAID
ATX450w Case
ATI Radeon 1GB GFX card HDMI
£329

GFX card sounds way more promising, though, hopefully DX10 - I'll be checking first what exactly it'll be, natch. There's a Quad Core 9750+ for an extra £30. This is my current fave. However, I have concerns about the motherboard. I've read very lukewarm reviews about it, and rumours that it hinders gaming. SLI isn't a concern, but I'd like something decent enough for a 4850/4870 ATI card.

The motherboard is priced at £69 on its own on the website. I might see if they can upgrade that to the £99 one:
GIGABYTE AMD 790X MA790 FX - ds4- QUAD

I've got some basic idea then, but this is still partly a foreign land to me. I'd prefer to get it from my local store just for convenience, so any opinions are welcome.

Cheers all!

NervousPete

 

[nervouspete]

Decided to go for the Titan Nero OCUK one actually due to violence threatened by friend who dearly loves the one he has, plus shop said GFX card not actually included. Hmm. Feel free to delete this thread.