~$500 build, GTS 250: Is it worth it?

Hey guys,

Decided it's probably time to use something other than my AMD Sempron 2800+ and start a new system from scratch.

I have the following parts:

Intel C2D E8200 (stock freq.)
Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L mobo
4 GB (2 x 2GB) PNY DDR2 800 SDRAM
WD 760 GB SATA OEM
Antec Earthwatts 650
Vista 32 bit (I got it for free from school so waiting for Windows7 wouldn't save money)

Now I am unsure which graphics card to put on here. I would not consider myself a hardcore gamer, I will be playing on a 22" monitor at highest resolution 1680 x 1050, but I could accept playing at something like 1280 x 760 or lower for a game to run smoothly. I don't need to have the best performance at highest settings (honestly I don't even know what things like 4xAA are), but I would like a system that can last a couple years to play some recent and upcoming games.

I was thinking about putting an XFX GTS 250 into this system - would this card severely hold back the performance of this system and be putting my PSU to waste? Or perhaps is my CPU holding back the GTS 250? I realize that the GTX 260 is maybe a minor 30-40$ upgrade, but then the same could be said about the GTX 275 vs. the GTX 260.

So, overall, would the GTS 250 be worth it, is this build pretty good for a ~$500 budget, and would my system be pretty solid for at least 2-3 yrs, and leave the door open for a potential GPU upgrade at that time?

Thanks for any advice/input!

On Newegg the XFX GTS 250 is $125 while the Zotac is $90 after rebate, a rather significant difference in that price range. You could get the 4870 1gb, which is equivalent in speed to the GTX 260, for $130 so at $125 the GTS 250 isn't worth it. At $90 the GTS 250 is priced about right. The 4850, which provides the same level of performance, is about $85. The lowest Newegg price on a GTX 260 is $139 which is a little higher than it should be but it's not too bad. As I said before though you could get the same performance from a 4870 @ $130.

Hey guys,

I appreciate the responses.

Yeah, one thing I noticed is that there are really huge price differences between different card makers of the same GPU. Why exactly is that? Are certain makers just to be avoided and unreliable? I wouldn't want to risk purchasing the most inexpensive 260 and then find that it is a bad manufacturer.

The only part that I need to buy is the graphics card. All the other stuff I have had and got at pretty decent deals. I can actually get the GTS 250 from a friend for a pretty good deal, but I can see where the alternatives (4870 or 260) seem appealing as well.

Again something that will affect my decision is how well this GPU fits with my CPU/Mobo. Is it a situation where one is severely bottlenecking the other or are they both on the same level? Is this a choice where a year from now I'll probably wish I had gotten the 260? Willy my CPU/mobo combo still leave the door open for an upgrade down the road?

Also I'm a little afraid whether the 10.5 in 260 can fit in my system vs the 9 in 250

Thanks again!