What Is The Best Graphics Card For A Dell Studio XPS 8100

cryohydrates

Reputable
Dec 11, 2014
14
0
4,510
My system specs are:
Intel Core i7 CPU 2.93 GHz 8CPUs
8192 MB RAM
Windows 7 64-bit

My current graphics card is a AMD Radeon 5700 HD series and the total memory is 4095 MB
Display is a 1280x1024 32-bit (60GHz)

So I can run games at a pretty high quality, usually on high or even ultra in some cases but, the frame rate does drop a little when I zoom in on a battle in total war, or look at vast landscape of Skyrim. So I have been looking to buy a new graphics card, but I've never done anything like this before as I've been using the computer out of the box for the past 4 years. So I recently found this and was wondering if it would work with my current build:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202113&cm_re=Sapphire_Dual_X_Radeon_6970-_-14-202-113-_-Product


Would this card work with my setup? Can I do any better or should I find a smaller card, or one that requires less power. I apologize for my lack in knowledge in this topic but any help would be greatly appreciated!
 

clutchc

Titan
Ambassador
If this is your PC: http://www.dell.com/us/dfh/p/studio-xps-8100/pd
...it only has a small OEM 350W PSU. That old tech HD 6970 would be too much for it. You need to do a couple things before I can suggest a safe card.
1) See if the PSU has a PCIe 6 pin connector to plug into a gfx card. As cards get more powerful, they can no longer rely on just the +12V supplied by the PCIe x16 slot. They need an aux. power connection direct to the PSU.
2) Let me know your max budget for a card.
 

cryohydrates

Reputable
Dec 11, 2014
14
0
4,510


Thanks for responding, I just saw your message and i'll take a look tomorrow at the pc, ill get back to you soon. Also is there a way I can still get this card with my current tower? Can I plug another power source to it?