Upgrading graphics card

[russeh]

Well my gt 240(ddr3) died, and im looking to upgrade to a better one. My budget is around $100 but i can add $20-30 if they will give big fps increases in WOW, SC2 and in the near future D3 and GW2. My system runs a i3-2100 on a H61M-P23 with a 430 watt PSU and at 1680x1050. Also my psu has only one pci-e connecter with a 12v rating of 28A for power and on a matx board/case. I don't need to play games at super high detail so a well balanced card is what i'm looking for and I'm from Canada.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130593
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=58341&vpn=FD-CA-CORE-1000-BL&manufacture=Fractal Design

 

[jyjjy]

An HD6770 should be $110-120 and is your best choice IMO.

 

[Onus]

I'm going to suggest the GTX550Ti instead. You've cited three Blizzard games, and Blizzard favors nVidia. As to GW2, I am not convinced it will be particularly demanding, so I think if you can play the others, you'll be fine for GW2.

 

[jyjjy]

WoW does not really favor Nvidia cards in its latest iteration(Cataclysm)

SC2 does favor Nvidia cards slightly but is mostly CPU bound. Considering the OPs stated budget I don't think the extra $20 for a GTX 550 Ti is worth it personally.

 

[inzone]

I asume that the links you provided are the components that you already have? I just went through the Newegg site here in the U.S. and they have a good size selection of 550ti's and quite a few have reduced prices so if you can do the same in Canada and see if you can pick up a bargan.

 

[russeh]

Well guys i've narrowed it down to either a 6770 or gtx 550 ti, i was wondering if should get a Gigabyte 6770 for $93 or a MSI gtx 550ti cyclone for $140. I chose the cyclone because there's only a $10 diff from the cheapest 550 i could find and also is the 550 ti really worth the $37-47 diff and could my psu power the 550 ti if i do buy it?

my psu http://www.corsair.com/builder-series-cx430-v2-80plus-certified-power-supply.html
6770 http://www.pc-canada.com/item/GV%2D...e=shopbot&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopbot
550 ti http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127573

 

[Onus]

That HD6770 only has DDR3 RAM. If you get a HD6770, make sure it has DDR5. You'd be getting a cripple; that's why it's so cheap. It looks like there are some rebates on this HD6770 cards:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007708+600083901+600150232&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&IsNodeId=1&Subcategory=48&description=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&AdvancedSearch=1&srchInDesc=

 

[russeh]

That HD6770 only has DDR3 RAM. If you get a HD6770, make sure it has DDR5. You'd be getting a cripple; that's why it's so cheap. It looks like there are some rebates on this HD6770 cards:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007708+600083901+600150232&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&IsNodeId=1&Subcategory=48&description=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&AdvancedSearch=1&srchInDesc=

oh snap, didnt notice that. then if i were to add the PowerColor 6770 with ddr5 mem at $110 or MSI 6770 Twin frozr at 139.99; same as the gtx 550ti cyclone. Which one would be better

Powercooler http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131434
MSI twin frozr http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127590

 

[Onus]

If you're interesting in overclocking, get the MSI; it has a better cooler. It's also a little faster out of the box.
I still think the GTX550Ti may serve you a little better. If you upgrade later, you'll be able to keep it around as a PhysX card if you like.

 

[russeh]

Best answer selected by russeh.

 

[Onus]

Thanks. Please let us know how it goes.