Video Card for New Rig

[ExcitedMoose]

Hey guys, I am collecting parts for my new gaming machine and cannot quite seem to nail down a choice for a video card. Let me give you the rest of the specs so you have an idea of the grade of system I am building.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Intel Motherboard DG33TL (Nothing fancy came with a bundle, micro atx)
Corsair TWIN2X4096-6400C4DHX 4gb DDR2-800
Corsair CMPSU-650TX 650W power supply
Antec P182 Case
19 inch lcd (running at 1280x1024), will be upgrading to a 22" widescreen in the future

I was looking at evga cards because I prefer their support over other manufactorers. The models I were looking at were the 8800gt 650mhz oc, 8800gts 670 mhz oc, and the 9800gx2. Does anyone have any suggestions on which card, or a different card I may be overlooking. I play the usual games, CoD4, Unreal Tournament 3, CS Source, Crysis, etc. I was just about hooked on the 8800gts on newegg, but it shot up in price by $75 yesterday. So in terms of best performance for the price what would you guys go with?

 

[ExcitedMoose]

Update, I found the evga 9800gx2 600mhz on newegg for $284. This seems like a good deal, however I am not sure if it will fit on the DG33TL motherboard. Anyone have any experience with this motherboard and larger graphics cards.

 

[iBP_James]

The motherboard shouldn't be a problem, but rather, the case you put it in! The motherboard most likely has a PCI-e 16 slot (don't worry about 2.0 spec, the 9800GX2 won't be bottlenecked by full band x16 PCI-e).

I personally own an Antec P180 (sweet case ), and you should have plenty of space to put your 9800GX2 inside, you may have to move your hard disks from the upper bay to the lower bay, if you want more breathing room for your card, that thing does run pretty hot!

 

[ExcitedMoose]

Thanks for the advice. I have it narrowed down to two cards based on the reviews i have been reading, the evga 8800gx2 and the ati HD4850. Am I really going to see that big of a difference if I am running a 19inch 1280x1024 monitor (and in the future with a 22inch widescreen)? The gx2 is about $100 more than the 4850. Keep in mind I don't really plan to overclock too much.