Upgrading HD 5450

[Jassie]

Edit: Please check my second post

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Hopefully tomorrow
BUDGET RANGE: $100-$150 Before Rebates($150 is being very generous though. I'm not sure exactly how much money I'm getting. But it SHOULD be at least $125)

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming(StarCraft II, Skyrim(eventually. Hopefully), and hopefully Battlefield 3)

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: Powercolor Radeon HD 5450 and Corsair Builder Series V2 CX500

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: AMD Athlon II x4 645(3.1GHz), 1Gb of RAM, not sure of mobo make/model. However. I can link to the PC I bought.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1709367&CatId=4928

I upgraded the power supply, GPU, and put it in a mid-tower case off Newegg(link).

The motherboard is a mini-ATX mobo. However if you put in a GPU with a heat sink it faces down and shouldn't get in the way of anything. And since it's a mini mobo there's only one slot being used on the back of the case. So a dual slot should fit.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Preferably Newegg. However Tigerdirect or Amazon or other notable places are also fine. I'm not overly picky about it.
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: Preferably ATI cards. I'm not against using nVidia cards. I just don't know much about them. Brand doesn't matter much to me either.

OVERCLOCKING: I don't have the cooling system for overclocking
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Dunno what these are. But Crossfire has a cool name I guess.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1024x768 is what I use for everything. I use my 32" 720p TV as a monitor and that's the only resolution that fills in the whole screen. Not entirely sure why. But when I got my PC and my new GPU. There were(and still are) driver issues. I can't update my ATI drivers. It crashes and I have to do a system restore. All the drivers for the 6150SE that came on the mobo(or CPU. Not sure which) were disabled and removed. But it still doesn't update. So I'm guessing it has something to do with that.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I'd like to be presented with options. I'm not 100% sure on what my budget is going to be. It'll be higher than $100 but I HIGHLY doubt it'll be higher than $150.

The game I play the most is StarCraft II. And while it's not overly demanding and I don't need a super high end card for it. I want one that I can eventually play BF3 on if I ever have the extra money to get it. Also it needs to run The Witcher. Haven't completed that game yet because my GPU sucks ass. It's an eye sore to look at that game in lowest settings with the render distance turned down.

Also I know I haven't given an overly huge budget to work with. I'm not expecting a card to run BF3 on ultra settings or anything. I just want the best for the money I get.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated !

 

[MajinCry]

I'd say, for $140, a 6850 should suffice.

And newegg has a 7770 for $125 ( 6850 > 7770 )

 

[Jassie]

Okay. I've been recommended to get the 6850 by a couple people now. So it's more than likely the one I'm gonna get. But I can't find the dimensions for the card ANYWHERE online.

Can someone more knowledgeable than me tell me if this will fit in this?

I'm hearing that the card is huge. But I don't have the slightest clue how huge because the dimensions aren't on Newegg's site or Sapphire's site(That I could find).

If someone could help me out with this that'd be great.

Edit: Sapphire's site also said that a 500W powersupply is required. I have a Corsair 500w. However I've heard powersupplys lose wattage over time. Am I gonna wake up one day and discover that my GPU has died because my PSU decided to work at a substandard level?

If so would it be a safer bet to just go with a 7770 which draws less power? I can pretty much guarantee that unless prices drop REAL low on Black Friday(or whatever that pointless sale after Thanksgiving is called) that I won't be able to afford a better one anytime soon. And frankly I don't even know if PSUs and stuff go on sale then.

 

[Deemo13]

How did you fit a CX500 in your case?

Your power supply should be fine for a long time. The 7770 and 6850 pretty much trade blows. The 7770 can usually be found cheaper.

 

[Jassie]

How did you fit a CX500 in your case?

Your power supply should be fine for a long time. The 7770 and 6850 pretty much trade blows. The 7770 can usually be found cheaper.

Um. It just fit in. It's not in the case it came in anymore. I bought a mid-tower case.

I'm gonna measure how much room I have in my case when I know for sure I've got my money. And if I have enough room for the 6850 I'll take your word on the power supply thing :]

Thank you very much sir!

 

[Jassie]

Best answer selected by Jassie.