New Video Card suggestions $250-300ish

[Hockey85]

So I really don't know much about computers.... just basics, and I think I need a new card to be able to play online games like WOW and GW2 at ultra settings with good fps. Whenever I look online at cards I am unsure of what to get, or what would even fit in my computer...

I have a dell studio xps 8100 computer
i7 processor 860 @ 2.80 GHz
8 g ram
ATI Radeon 5770 video card

From what I can tell, I would say the video card is the main problem. I can turn down the settings and run at over 100 fps, but if they are all turned to ultra, I drop down to around 40 and things get a little choppy.
As stated in the title my budget is around 250-300 ish for a new card.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions

 

[luciferano]

What resolution do you play at? I'd assume either 1080p or a 1600x900/1680x1050 resolution, but I'd like to find out for sure before making a recommendation.

 

[Hockey85]

I play at 1920x1080 (wide)

This is the highest resolution the game will allow me to choose.

My system is strong enough to where getting a better card would help correct?

 

[luciferano]

I play at 1920x1080 (wide)

This is the highest resolution the game will allow me to choose.

I think that a Radeon 7850 would be the best bet for you. Something like this might be ideal:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161405&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

For another $25, you can get this 7870 if you want to:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161404&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
It would be even better. I don't think that you'd get much out of any faster card than this and I see no reason for you to spend more than about $200 on a card if you won't get anything out of it.

 

[Hockey85]

Ok thank you very much for the suggestion.

Seeing as how the price of this card is well below the specified budget I posted, is it a big enough upgrade to where it will noticeably improve game play?

Would spending that extra $100 dollars be overkill for the games I play?

 

[luciferano]

Ok thank you very much for the suggestion.

Seeing as how the price of this card is well below the specified budget I posted, is it a big enough upgrade to where it will noticeably improve game play?

Would spending that extra $100 dollars be overkill for the games I play?

The 7850 is faster than GTX 550 Ti SLI and the 7870 is significantly faster than even the 7850. You don't need a $300 card for what you're doing but if you want one anyway, you might want to consider this Radeon 7950:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202006&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

If you'd prefer a Nvidia card, then you could get a GTX 660, but they're less future-proofed (nothing is truly future-proofed, but still) and although this might not matter to you, but they don't overclock as well as a 7850 and a 7870 do. I wouldn't even consider a GTX 660 Ti because they're hardly any better than the 660 despite being much more expensive.

Regardless, I see little reason to pay much more than $200 in your situation.

 

[luciferano]

If you'd like a Nvidia recommendation, then this is what I'd recommend:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127699

However, again, the 78xx cards have a little more going for them, although that's not to say that you wouldn't be happy with a 660, just maybe not as happy.

 

[Kamen_BG]

The 7850 is faster than GTX 550 Ti SLI and the 7870 is significantly faster than even the 7850. You don't need a $300 card for what you're doing but if you want one anyway, you might want to consider this Radeon 7950:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202006&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

If you'd prefer a Nvidia card, then you could get a GTX 660, but they're less future-proofed (nothing is truly future-proofed, but still) and although this might not matter to you, but they don't overclock as well as a 7850 and a 7870 do. I wouldn't even consider a GTX 660 Ti because they're hardly any better than the 660 despite being much more expensive.

Regardless, I see little reason to pay much more than $200 in your situation.

Like he said.Get the HD 7950.

 

[mesab66]

Good suggestions there!

Head on over to tom's latest "Best Graphics Cards For The Money, September Updates " to give you more confidence:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html

.....check out pages 4 and 5

Tom's know their stuff!