Maximum PC

This would be my first GPU purchase in a long long time, for my first build.

Max Budget : $ 200 (+/- 10%)

Primary Purpose : Few Games now and then, some video editing (not professional, just home videos) - some Photoshop work.

System Specs (Config):

1 CPU: Intel i5 - 2500K - 3.3 GHz
2 Motherboard: ASUS Z68 Chipset P8Z68 V
3 SSD: Crucial -M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC+
4 RAM: Corsair 16 GB Vengenace
5 HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1 TB SATA II (3GB/S)
6 Case: NZXT Phantom Black Full Tower
7 Power Supply: Seasonic X Series 650 W Gold ATX
8 ODD: LG Blu Ray Writer - WH12LS30
9 GPU: Undecided yet; XFX Radeon HD 6870 - ZNBC (900 MHz) or EVGA GTX 560-Ti or any other ????
10 Card Reader: SABRENT 7 SLOT 75IN1 INT CRD RE
11 Wireless Adapter: Undecided yet - ASUS PCE-N13 Wireless Adapter or ASUS PCE N-15 or USB
12 CPU Heatsink & Fan: Cooler Master CM Hyper 212 Plus
13 Fan & Temp Controller: Aero Cool Touch 2000 Controller (mainly for looks, the box has fan controls built in) Undecided yet..do I need one...maybe?
14 Case Fans: NZXT 200 mm X 2 (Blue LED)
15 Case Fans: Cooler Master 140 mm X 1 (Blue LED)
16 CPU Fan: Cooler Master 120 mm X 2 (Blue LED)
17 Monitor: Hanns-G 27.5'' LCD Monitor
18 Mouse: Logitech Wireless Performance Mice MX
19 Keyboard: Logitech Wireless Illuminated Keyboard - K800
20 Webcam: Logitech HD Pro C910
21 Sound Card: Not planning to buy one - do i need one
22 Speakers : Undecided - Planning to check out the built in speakers on the monitor before I buy one, but almost sure I would end up buying a 2.1 setup.

All the items in bold and colored red are the ones to be bought yet, any advice suggestions on any of those , especially the GPU, would be greatly appreciated.

Few in my consideration set are the following:

XFX Radeon HD 6870 Black Edition
Zotac ZT-50303-10M GTX 560 Ti Overclocked 1024MB GDDR5 PCIe 2.0 x16 Video Card
EVGA GTX 560-Ti (Standard & OC Versions)
EVGA 01G-P3-1366-TR NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 SE 1024MB GDDR5 PCIe 2.0 x16 Video Card (mainly for the software bundle that comes with it)
HD Radeon 6950 (no brands picked yet)

Also on the other Red color coded components please feel free to suggest, comment or mention any great deals that you know about!

Thanks in advance for all your help!

I'd go for the 560-ti.
If you get speakers, I'd go for either the Harmon-Kardon set or this:
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/p ... ker_system

I second the 560Ti out of the 2 listed. But for a little more coin you can get a 6950 for $250 and might be lucky enuf to flash it to a 6970 for even better performance.

No, a sound card isn't needed unless you REALLY want one. On board sound has come along way in the past couple of years and my rule of thumb is if it has a fiber optic out then it's good enuf for me.

Personally, I would get the 560ti for around 220-250. BUT, if you don't mind doing SLI, you can always grab a pair of 460's that will spank the 560ti, 480gtx and be only a few frames away from the $500 580gtx monster for about the same price as the 560ti.

Galaxy gtx460 700/1400mhz $99.99 AR
PNY gtx460 OC 765/1530mhz $129.99 AR

Although, be wary of Galaxy, some say they suck, but others seem to like the value they offer.

GTX 460 Bad Company 2 stats
GTX 560ti Bad Company 2 stats
GTX 580 Bad Company 2 stats

Galaxy does suck. I had to underclock my 210.

personally, I'd stick with evga for nvidia and xfx, msi for amd.

Since the recent price drop to $180 MaxPC Mag has been recommending the XFX Radeon HD 6870 as the best budget GPU. NewEgg has it for $165 with rebate and the 2 GB of RAM version for $195 with rebate.

If you shop around, you find them between 145-155 for the 6870. Last month, you could find them for 145 with 3 games, shogun 2, dirt 3 and deus ex. Wished I picked it up for a friend.

One more thought about the graphics card. What's more important to you? Power efficiency or performance? While you can find a new and power efficient HD6870 for about $170 at Newegg
for $180 at TG you can get a brand new Saphire Radeon HD4870x2 which kicks the snot out of any GTX560 and the HD6870: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-performance-radeon-geforce,2997-7.html

$170 treehugger card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948

vs

$180 inexpensive domination http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1126273

I'm replacing my 9800GX2 with one for a three tiered step up for under two bills.

That being said, you can alternatively pick up a used GTX 295 on ebay for cheap. They float between 135-179 with an average price around 150, but have been seen to be sold as low as 110 and as high as 190. If you can find a nice evga for 150 or less, it would be a good deal and its a smidge faster than the 4870x2. Plus if you got the power, you can always put the 9800 monster as a physix card... or not...

You may find a great deal here, but aren't you at least the second owner on anything you buy on ebay? And what can you do to avoid getting ripped off? The two cards I showed are both brand new in original packaging, with manufacturers' warranties and resellers' warranties.

If you get ripped off, then you SHOULD get your money back. Just make sure you buy from someone with at least a 98% rating.