Best budget video card?

[bhaney07]

Hello everyone,

I am currently looking to put a video card into my current desktop, however i am limited to two factors 1. perhaps the age of my system and 2. more importantly, BUDGET. -_-;

My current system is:
foxconn m61pmv motherboard
amd athlon 64 x2 dual core 4800+ 2.5ghz
3 gigs ram
corsair cx500 psu
(i know, sucky specs for gaming aside from psu which i just ordered.)

I am looking for a nice video card for gaming purposes, but on a tight budget... ideally, i'd like to stay at max $150... maybe $200 if a sweet deal.

I am also open to any other upgrade recommendations as well. Again, on a tight budget, however...

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

 

[bhaney07]

Ok so... let's try this again... my apologies for just a lack of info on first go around guys..
(yay copy n paste!)
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Received about a month ago from parents, who had its hdd crash. i bought a new drive plus windows 7
BUDGET RANGE: $150-$200 before rebates.

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: its top priority is to be a gaming rig as best as it can be. This probably helps... i play a wide range of games (or would like to...) i would love to have a card that runs counter strike: go at high settings... for one example. I also have borderlands, bioshock, metro 2033, saints row: the third on steam.. would like to see those playable on my pc. so, maybe medium-high. This is just a few titles that i play or would like to play.
ok, here's a list of games i have (mainly via steam)
cs: go
half-life series (1,2, episodes, etc.)
bioshock
metro 2033
borderlands
assassins creed
team fortress 2
portal 1 & 2
fallout new vegas
saints row: the third
darksiders
left for dead 2
company of heroes
and i have many more, though the rest aren't nearly as resource hungry as these titles seem to be... so, if these games can play excellent on med-high settings, i'll be set with the rest.

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: Umm...nvidia geforce 6150se nforce 430 <that thing, which is built into motherboard. Also, a corsair cx500 w psu.

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: It's a foxconn m61pmv board http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186155
It has this... ancient cpu..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103778

3 gb's of ram (ddr2 800 i believe)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg!

PARTS PREFERENCES: Kinda open on what company to buy from... i've heard nvidia usually is more powerful... but consumes more power (usually). and amd based cards while not as powerful, last longer...

OVERCLOCKING: not at current state (still kinda n00bish at pc gaming ^,^') perhaps down the road...

MONITOR RESOLUTION: haven't got a clue there :/ it's a square looking dell- hand me down monitor...which sucks.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: i don't know when ill be able to save up and just buy a new gaming rig... so i'm trying to do my best with this pc, which was free as is...

The following cards have caught my interest... so, can i get any input on these cards please?

amd radeon hd 7750
amd radeon hd 7770
nvidia geforce gtx 650 ti
amd radeon hd 7850
from newegg, they all are within my budget range, with exception of the 7850...

 

[faster23rd]

Right click on your desktop and select "Screen Resolution" to determine your res.

I'd go with a 7850 if you can push your budget by a bit to get it. Keep in mind that your current setup, especially the RAM and CPU will probably bottleneck your GPU so you won't be able to play your games at high on acceptable resolutions.

 

[markus843]

Defiantly go for a Radeon HD 7770. It's about $120. If that's too much, go for a HD 6670. The 6670 is slightly worse but it does the job, and real well too. I own both, I'll post some FPS and benchmarks for you.

HD 7770- GDDR5 PCI 3.0 ($140)
Battlefield 3 1920x1080 on high preset settings- about 40 fps campaign, 35 fps online
Skyrim on 1920x1080 on ultra- about 40 fps average
3Dmark - 3549

HD 6670 (GDDR5 1GB) PCI 2.0 ($85 and no fan)
Battlefield 3 on high @ 1600x900- 38 FPS avg campaign, 34 FPS avg online
Skyrim on 1920x1080 on ultra- 40 FPS average
3Dmark - 3240

 

[faster23rd]

HD 7770- GDDR5 PCI 3.0 ($140)
Battlefield 3 1920x1080 on high preset settings- about 40 fps campaign, 35 fps online
Skyrim on 1920x1080 on ultra- about 40 fps average
3Dmark - 3549

HD 6670 (GDDR5 1GB) PCI 2.0 ($85 and no fan)
Battlefield 3 on high @ 1600x900- 38 FPS avg campaign, 34 FPS avg online
Skyrim on 1920x1080 on ultra- 40 FPS average
3Dmark - 3240

OP, do keep in mind that these benchmarks are done with PC specs that are probably better than the setup you currently have. I say get a card, then save money for an overhaul of your rig.

 

[bhaney07]

Right click on your desktop and select "Screen Resolution" to determine your res.

I'd go with a 7850 if you can push your budget by a bit to get it. Keep in mind that your current setup, especially the RAM and CPU will probably bottleneck your GPU so you won't be able to play your games at high on acceptable resolutions.

my resolution seems to be 1024x768...is that...decent?

how bad bottlenecking we talking here? also, would upgrading the cpu help? can that be done? ram maybe?

 

[faster23rd]

That's a small resolution, bud. It's okay, but barely. The good news, however is that small resolutions also has less strain on your system. I ran a GT 440 1g GDDR5 on a 1028x768 monitor and I was able to play a lot of games on high and with considerable eye-candy.

When you get the card, like the 7850 I suggested, the bottleneck would inhibit its performance and you'll probably only see +3-5 fps. Again, I'm speculating here, but the fact remains that you won't see the expected performance boost from any of the cards you listed.

 

[faster23rd]

You could get another stick of 1g RAM, but you have to upgrade your OS to 64-bit to tap the added memory. With 4g in your system you could handle more games at better settings and be able to offset the bottleneck.

As for the CPU, I'm sorry but I'm not familiar with the current-gen offerings of AMD but I'm certain that a lot of folks here at Tom's would be able to get you a good CPU for your budget.