Looking to upgrade from GeForce 9500 GT (around $100 budget)

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DuoDynamo

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Oct 20, 2014
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Greetings, all.

I'm looking to upgrade my graphics card since it's very old and not really keeping up with some of the most recent games. I don't want anything super fancy, just something that will get the likes of WoW, Dark Souls or Skyrim running decently, even if I have to turn the graphics settings down. I can get Skyrim to run with my current setup, but I get some pretty bad chopping, making it very unpleasant to play (this also happens with the new Rise of the Triad and Sonic Generations; not so much with the latter). Not to mention the card heats up a LOT depending on what I'm playing (WoW runs smoothly, but it makes the card hot to the point I can't keep my finger on it for more than a few seconds).

I'd like not to spend more than $100 for now, but I'm willing to stretch it if this projection is too unrealistic.

Here's my current setup:

Asus P5KPL-SE Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33ghz
Nvidia GeForce 9500 GT graphics card
4gb RAM
500GB HD
Windows 7 Ultimate

Let me know if there's any other info you guys can use.

Thanks in advance for any help. :)
 
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Ironsounds
Hello... Any card without the "X" in the name has a reason for it... the GTX460 has the 256 bit fast GDDR5 Memory interface and only requires a MAX of 150 watts... it is the same GPU in the GTX560 just different clock speeds... the Internal Mechanics of the GPU exceeds the GT740 1gb GDDR5... http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-460-vs-GeForce-GT-740.
The Card has Direct X11 built into it... All this for half the price of the GT740 2GB DDR3.
There was much written on the WEB about the GTX460 and GTX560, I'm sure they sold alot of them, and it is a solid well performing Design as you can see from the Passmark chart.

The card he suggested has DDR3 memory... Look at the performance Cut that makes in memory bandwidth...
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dhamiltongrey

dhamiltongrey

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im using the Nvidia GTX 650Ti SSc 1Gb card and im having no issues with it.. very cheap card and a massive upgrade from the 9500gt, i upgraded from a 9600gt to this and the difference was spectacular
 
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DuoDynamo

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That's a very useful list. Thank you for posting it!

Unfortunately, after some research I found that cards at the $100 level are more expensive where I live than I thought, so maybe I'll have to look at something around the $50 mark instead.

Two cards that I've been looking at are these two below. Will they provide any significant improvements? Are there any compatibility issues with the motherboard (or any other components) that I should look out for?

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Radeon+HD+6570&id=54
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=GeForce+9600+GT&id=95
 
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Ironsounds

Ironsounds

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Hello... AS a minimum I would use/find a used GTX460/560 1gb I have a Good clean EVGA GTX460 1GB used, It has HDMI/DVI, and will run Dual Monitor, It was a new advancement in GPU design at the time.. I would send/ship/sell you? http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/video_lookup.php?gpu=GeForce+GTX+460
Those cards WILL NOT show you anything Significant... You need to upgrade about 2000-3000 points ( On the Passmark Scale ) for that.

Your MB PCIe slot will accept current card models... but you may need an adaptor from a molex to PCIe Power connector.
 
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DuoDynamo

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I see. In that case, I think I'll stick with the GTX 460. It's a bit above what I expected, but I think I can manage. I'll only be getting it at a later date though, but thank you for the offer.

As for the molex to PCIe power adaptor, what will I need it for? To connect the card to the power supply or to the mobo itself? Because I'll probably need to buy a new power supply as well from what I've been reading (I have a fairly cheap one at the moment).
 
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sammy sung

sammy sung

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Ironsounds

Ironsounds

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Jul 31, 2011
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Hello... Any card without the "X" in the name has a reason for it... the GTX460 has the 256 bit fast GDDR5 Memory interface and only requires a MAX of 150 watts... it is the same GPU in the GTX560 just different clock speeds... the Internal Mechanics of the GPU exceeds the GT740 1gb GDDR5... http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-460-vs-GeForce-GT-740.
The Card has Direct X11 built into it... All this for half the price of the GT740 2GB DDR3.
There was much written on the WEB about the GTX460 and GTX560, I'm sure they sold alot of them, and it is a solid well performing Design as you can see from the Passmark chart.

The card he suggested has DDR3 memory... Look at the performance Cut that makes in memory bandwidth, http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gt-740/specifications
Buy'rs and Post'rs beware there is a Marketing clone of the GT740 with much lower Memory Performance... in this case more memory means Lower performance.
Would this be a " Sheep in Wolf's Clothing "... ~ Diairy of a Mad Computer geek ~
 
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