Graphics card purchase help

[Aldo707]

Hello, I'm looking to upgrade my graphics card from a crappy integrated ATI Radeon HD 4200. I was wondering what graphics card I could buy for a relatively low price, ($50-$100) to be able to play say bf3 and skyrim on high settings. I was looking at this card on new egg;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161375.

People were giving it pretty good reviews and saying it doesn't need an additional power supply because it draws power from the gpu. I was wondering if that were true considering i only have a 250w psu, and I don't really want to upgrade my existing psu. Also if anyone could tell me if it is compatible with my system or if any other cards you guys suggest are, thanks.

System Summary:

AMD Phenom II x4 840t 2.6ghz ; currently uses 71.40 watts
8 gigabytes of DDR3 ram
FOXCONN 2AB1, chipset ; AMD 785g
1 TB HDD
PCI-E x16 2.0

Please let me know what other information is needed as well thanks.

 

[pacioli]

I recommend the Radeon HD 7750 for $110.
That is going be your best bet with your power restrictions.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-2.html
The 6670 is also in your budget at $65... but I'd stick with the 7750 if you want to ply BF3

 

[Aldo707]

Thanks for the feedback! The 7750 looks promising. I am seriously considering spending a little bit more for it. One question though, does the 6670 require an additional power supply?

 

[pacioli]

Thanks for the feedback! The 7750 looks promising. I am seriously considering spending a little bit more for it. One question though, does the 6670 require an additional power supply?

The 6670 draws more power than the 7750... about 11 watts more.

 

[Aldo707]

The 6670 draws more power than the 7750... about 11 watts more.

Sweet thanks, one more question i was looking at the Radeon HD 6670 GDDR5 version, would that be able to work with my psu? Sorry for asking so many questions, just want to get everything right.

 

[bkoop]

What is the Brand and Model number of your power supply?

 

[amk09]

Sweet thanks, one more question i was looking at the Radeon HD 6670 GDDR5 version, would that be able to work with my psu? Sorry for asking so many questions, just want to get everything right.

What kind of PSU do you have? Unless its a quality brand I would HIGHLY consider upgrading. Most stock PSU's that come with prebuilts are HORRID and not designed to handle aftermarket graphics cards, so even if you bought a new card you wouldn't even get its full potential.

Here is one of the highest rated PSU's on Newegg, do yourself a big favor and upgrade to it! It's only $40.99 + Free Shipping - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033

It is a very reliable PSU and it will allow you to get a more powerful GPU as well, because your current best option (HD7750) will not smoothly play BF3 at high settings, which was your goal, right?

Get that PSU and get a beefier GPU (Perhaps a HD6870, GTX 560?) and be happy A warning though, your current cpu will always be a bottleneck in BF3.

 

[pacioli]

Sweet thanks, one more question i was looking at the Radeon HD 6670 GDDR5 version, would that be able to work with my psu? Sorry for asking so many questions, just want to get everything right.

The DDR3 and DDR5 versions should use about the same amount of power.

 

[J_E_D_70]

Your CPU looks to be 2.9 with a turbo to 3.2 -- it will bottleneck BF3 but I can't say by how much. I had to OC my 3570K to 3.9 to get any headroom.