If you live near a frys and can return the card to Newegg I'd recomend it (well if you care enough about 50 bucks to bother). I got a a 260 from EVGA from FRY's for 149 just yesturday for the one I'm building tomorrow.
http://shop2.frys.com/product/5636781?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
Either way the 260 is a very solid choice. It isn't quite as nice as the 285 I bought last go around but seeing as its way less then half the price (379 vs 149) I can't complain at all. I can have a 2 260 SLI for less then a single 285 at the price Fry's is charging.
That's an interesting hybrid system builder approach you have. Buying a cheap box then taking some parts and swapping them out (graphics card being the main one value box makers skimp on and high end makers overcharge for). I never thought of that, always thought of it as a sort of all or nothing proposition. I guess what you REALLY save on is the Windows license since even you buying that license OEM or with a student discount is going to be a lot more then what Acer is adding to the cost of the bottom PC.
I don't know if you like strategy games, but my first choice would be Empire:Total War, which owns. Also very cool is Dawn of War 2 which is a fun RPG/RTS hybrid (you have a small number of squads that advance in level as you go through the campaign) and looks awesome. For straight up RPG fun I really like NWN2 and the new expansion where you make your whole team from scratch, but NWN is a very love it or hate it proposition like all computer D&D games in general.
You might want to upgrade to Windows Vista 64 bit or the Windows 7 beta (which is in effect doing the same thing without paying) especially if you find yourself wanting more then 3GBs of RAM to do more then a few things at a time.
PSN ID: ChosenOne feel free to add me
