Best graphics card for my system

[rparker]

I recently found out that my current XFX geforce 8600 GT was fried(2 capacitors blew) and I so I decided to get another card, but a more current, better performing card. Problem is, that my system is already a couple years old, and difficult to upgrade other components (like the CPU due to a AM2 socket).

My question is, given my current specs, what is the best graphics card in the 100-200 dollar range? I have been looking at the HD 5750, HD5770, and the GTS 250, but are these cards to powerful for my computer?

My specs are:
Windows vista 32-bit
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+
4GB DDR2 memory
500W psu

 

[renz496]

given your budget i think you should go straight for 5770 but i'm not sure how much your processor will bottleneck 5770 performance (because i'm not really familiar with AMD processors other than phenom 2 lineup ) other than that just make sure you have good psu because you might got into trouble in the future if you're going to power up 5770 with some 500w generic psu

 

[rparker]

Thanks for the quick reply. No, my psu is a good quality psu (cooler master), I am just worried about my cpu bottlenecking my card.

 

[renz496]

then just OC your cpu

 

[coozie7]

Given the older CPU, you might want to consider the HD5670 instead, it's fairly cheap and is a big upgrade from the 8600GT:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/gaming-radeon-hd-geforce-gtx,review-31939-7.html

It is also the strongest card around that does not need an external power lead.

 

[rparker]

Best answer selected by rparker.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey