Upgrading nVidia GT 220x, max $200

fafaerer

Honorable
Mar 15, 2012
1
0
10,510
Hey guys,
I've got a GT 220x card that came with my old pc, and I moved it to my new one. The problem is, it's struggling with BF3,
and it's become tedious even playing it on the lowest resolution, with the lowest details. I haven't had this issue with GTA IV nor have I had this problem with MW2. Are there any recommendations for a 21' screen, at 1600 x 900 for games like BF3?
I'm trying to stay in a budget, so please don't throw up a card that's like a thousand dollars.

I know a part of my crappy performance is my i3 processor with 2 physical, 4 virtual cores, which I'll be upgrading to an i5 or i7.
 

andrewcarr

Distinguished
What is you power supply?
If you can afford to spend a bit over $200 initially you can get a 560Ti.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500190
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600094002%20600107147&IsNodeId=1&name=GeForce%20GTX%20560%20Ti%20%28Fermi%29
If not you can get a 6870.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600083901%20600083829&IsNodeId=1&name=Radeon%20HD%206870
Lastly if your power supply only has one PCI-E connector check out either the 7770 or 6850.
6850-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161384
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600083901%20600083830&IsNodeId=1&name=Radeon%20HD%206850
7770-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102967
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600286767%20600298539&IsNodeId=1&name=Radeon%20HD%207770%20GHz%20Edition

Here is a general comparison of them.
The 7770 once it receives the next few updates should perform better than the 6850, as of now they perform about equal.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html
 

oddlyinsane

Honorable
Mar 11, 2012
397
0
10,860
LOL, great thing you're upgrading. Anyway, it primarily depends on your other components (power supply, motherboard, case). Firstly, what is the max length video card for your case? And what kind of and how much watts does your PSU support?
If you take all these things into consideration, you should be half-way to answering your question. Secondly, what graphics setting will you want to be playing at? Let's just say high details. Okay. If so, then you can get a decent Radeon 6850 for around $150-160. This should power all your games at that resolution at high details. A 400w PSU for this card should be enough. If you also plan to upgrade your CPU, then a bigger PSU is needed, maybe a 500w.
lastly, what is your motherboard socket, is it an LGA 1155 or later? If it is the socket mentioned, then a Core i3 2120 should be more than enough, it shouldnt bottleneck the 6850 at all. You can obtain this CPU for about $125.
I hope i at least semi-helped your question :)
regards,
Oddly