GPU Suggestions and Compatibility

[Joe K]

Hi all,

I am a newcomer to the forums. I have a bad feeling my GPU is dying so I am looking to replace it this week. I wanted to see what the community suggested. I have read a lot of the threads here but I am concerned with compatibility issues.

Here is my spec:

1. AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGIBOX
2. Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply
3. Foxconn A7DA-S 3.0 AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
4. G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory (8GB)
5. Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

I assembled the computer a couple of years ago so I am concerned that anything I buy now might not be compatible with the above.

I am looking to spend anywhere between 150-200$.

Thanks!!

 

[inzone]

What is the power supply , it is an important part because the video cards have minimum requirements on the psu.

 

[Joe K]

Woops, I should have highlighted it in the OP. I have a 500w Earthwatts PSU that was integrated into the case.

 

[inzone]

ASUS ENGTX560 TI DCII TOP/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$249.99 and a $20 rebate makes it $229.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121425

ASUS ENGTX560 TI DCII/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$244.99 and a $20 rebate makes it $224.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121424

EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1567-KR GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$249.99 and a $10 rebate makes it $239.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130651

MSI N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$239.99 and a $15 rebate makes it $224.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127594

SAPPHIRE 100312-3L Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
$259.99 and a $20 rebate makes it $239.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102954

HIS IceQ X H695QN1G2M Radeon HD 6950 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
$249.99 and a $10 rebate makes it $239.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161388

XFX HD-695X-ZNDC Radeon HD 6950 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
$254.99 and a $30 rebate makes it $224.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150524

These cards are all on the same level performance wise and they are a little over your budget but they are the cards you should be looking at.

 

[Joe K]

This is great! Thank you for all of the suggestions. Do you have any preference over Nvidia vs. Radeon? Should my PSU be able to handle these cards safely?

 

[inzone]

I have always used Nvidia so that is my preferance but as I said the cards are on the same level but I would choose the 560Ti over the 6950 and the cards do require a minimum 500w psu to be in the computer so you should be ok.