Upgrading VGA.

[tmrz]

Hello guys. This is my pretty first post on Tom's Hardware and hoping to get some help. So, after a long time I've decided to upgrade my graphics card since I see that it's quite low for today's games.

Here's my current configuration;

Intel Pentium Dual-Core E6500 @ 2.93 - 2.94 GHz
Asus P5G41-M
Kingston KHX6400D2/2G DDR2-800 2GB HyperX Memory x2
Asus EAH 4650
Philips 107 E5 17"
350W / 400W PSU (Don't remember the brand, but this part might get upgrade too)

I have a budget of 200$ - 250$ and I want to replace the card and if needed, PSU too. I'm mostly using 1024x768, 1152x864 and 1280x1024 due to my monitor but they are all fine to be honest. So, what's my best choice for GPU upgrade? Also, I'm not fussed with nVidia or ATI, what I prefer as brand is Asus, but if you say others are fine too, then I'll buy that

Thanks from now on!

 

[Sunius]

You should really find out the brand of the PSU.

Also, I'd suggest HD 7770 + getting 4 GB of RAM.

Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 OC - $144.49
PNY 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory - $49.00

And if you need one, a power supply:

Corsair CX 430 - $44.99

Total: $238.48

 

[tmrz]

Hello man, and thanks for your answer. I've checked my PSU and found out the brand of the product. But the website is in Romanian I guess (least that's the one with much details I could find)

Sursa Sirtec - High Power HPC-430-P12S

Oh and about rams, I have a pair of Kingston KHX6400D2/2G DDR2-800 2GB HyperX Memory. So I guess that I can save up 50$ for either PSU if it needs to be replaced or can be used for a better VGA card upgrade?

So, I'll be waiting for the reply

 

[Sunius]

Oh yea, my bad, I didn't catch that you had two sticks of 2 GB RAM.

I'd still upgrade the power supply. If you want to get even better graphics card, I'd suggest waiting a few days for GTX 660 Ti to be released - it should stir up the card market and prices will drop.

 

[mohit9206]

upgrade your psu and ram if necessary. getting a more powerful card at the resolution you will be playing at is no use. so i say hd7750 for $100
Corsair CX 430 - $44.99
total only $145

 

[Sunius]

Don't listen to mohit - he's giving bad advice.

 

[tmrz]

Lol. I wonder one thing btw; my mobo supports PCI-e 2.0 and both cards that you advised is for 3.0. Would be that matter to me when I buy them?

 

[Sunius]

Not really, as PCIe standard is backwards compatible and all cards will work on your board.