well if the gts 250 is cheaper, the only way i would get that is if i can get 2 of them. do they have sli? and if i get the gts 250, what mobo would i want.
right now i play mostly tf2 and css, but i just want a better system, but i would only be upgrading my motherboard to something that can handle sli and a graphics card that can handle sli
If you're still stuck on Nvidia, you could go with an Asus M4N72-E Motherboard, it's got two PCIx16 2.0 slots for SLI or a multi screen setup and it can easily take the newer Phenom II and on Newegg it's like 135$ US or 164$ Canadian.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131323 Is cheap if you still want to sli your 9800gtx later. What MB are you using now? you should invest in a 260gxt or 4870 instead.