A new video card for i3-2100 sandy bridge

What's your native resolution? 720p?

i don't know i got a samsung syncmaster 710n monitor 17", its 1280x1024 on desktop and i really don't know the rest.
crysis is the only thing i cant play on 1280x1024.

if u wish to stay with your display then i would suggest u nothing more than a 6770

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

this card performs really well and would allow u to play games like bf3 and mw3 on atleast high if not ultra.

gtx 560 is a good gpu but its no use since u dont have a bigger display.

i suggest u buy atleast a 20inch lcd which would give u a resolution of 1600 x 900.. u can get them for around 120 USD and then go for a radeon 6870

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

but u need to have atleast a decent 450 watt psu to run this.

currently what psu do u have

your processor is ok for moderate gaming.

im not a guru but would like to share the knowledge that i have about radeon gpus.
the difference between the 5 series ati cards and 6 series ati cards from what ive heard is just the 6xxx cards can do blu-ray 3d decoding.

the second digit matters a lot cause to me it defines a class. the lower the number the less performance oriented the gpu is... hence the most advanced ati gpus belong to the 69xx series.

the third digit tells which card is better staying in the same class...
e.g. 6990 > 6970 > 6950 (performance vise)

i dont know whats the deal with the 4rth digit cause frankly ive seen only a zero there all the time.

well thats al u need to know.

and if someone sees a mistake ive made so please point that to me.

oh .... and u would also need atleast 2 gb ram for bf3 or mw3 to run.

i got 6gb.
but i will buy a gpu and a new monitor eventually.

but should i get a 23" philips 1920x1080 monitor, or an 6950/gtx560 video card first?
i was thinking to get the video card, since i can't use the full power of the monitor first anyway.

oh and also, do i need specific gfx cards to run 2 cards.
i have a dell inspiron 620 desktop, and could i run 6450 and 6950 at the same time? i don't understand crossfire

crossfire allways happens with 2 same cards ... u cant crossfire a 6450 with 6950 and also u 2 PCIe 2.1 slots for that your mobo just has 1 of those.

the problem is bro... that the psu the inspiron 620 comes with is of pretty low wattage and it would not support cards like 6770... the best u could do with that is a 5670.

if u wish to stay with your current psu so go buy the 5670 cause that is the best card u could run with ur system without damaging it.

but if u really want to break into the gaming scene then i suggest u get a new psu...
considering your 350-400 $ budget is still in effect... here are my recomendations.

first get this..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

its a corsair cx430 psu its the best u can get around those prices and its got great recomendations and reviews too.

then get this...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

u get get any 20" lcd that would give u a resolution of 1600 x 900

then finaly, get this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

HIS cards have pretty good cooling and noise levels are god too ad the cards are pretty stable.

there u go...
psu = 45 usd
lcd = 110 usd
gpu = 180 usd
total = 335 usd
we r still under the budget u mentioned so that gives u a choice to upgrade ur psu or ur lcd.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
this is a corsair gs (gaming series) 500 watt psu which will give u a much better overall performance
then u can kick up your display to
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

this will give u a resolution of 1920 x 1080.
now....
psu = 80 usd
lcd = 133 usd
gpu = 180 usd
new total = 393 usd

i would go for the gs500 and keep the 1600 x 900 res lcd cuz thats i guess enough for someone to game on and the 6870 would max nearly every game on that resolution give or take a few eye candy

if u are concerned that u would kill ur system's warranty by changing psu then contact dell about it .. but i read on their forums that it will still be under warranty but if u would experience some problems later on then they would ask u to use their provided psu for troubleshooting

yeah i know about that, if i change a part they will only warranty the parts that were in at the start.

i just looked deeper into the 6870 performance charts and it shows that it kicks the snot out of every game at 1600 x 900 res and thats with ultra settings and AA and AF all the way up...
as they say if uve got it then flaunt it, get the 1900 x 1080 lcd to go with the card

most games are even playable upto 2560 x 1600

Radeon HD 6790 1GB
or 6850.

If you really want to enjoy your gaming and get the best out of that cpu and get your finger in the higher end of the gpu's I suggest you upgrade your display to 1080p.

Since the gpu prices might drop with Kepler a couple of months away its hard to really tell you which one to get as you might get it cheaper and afford a 1080p display that fits in your budget