Need advice on choosing a graphics card & power supply - £200 budget.

[c0ca1n3]

Hi,

I am looking to buy a graphics card, and most likely a power supply, for my system, but I have absolutely no idea what I am doing. I was hoping someone here might be able to give me some advice and maybe point me in the right direction.
I have read many forums on this website and find it to be very helpful. This is my first topic here, so I apologize in advance if I have posted anything in the wrong format / location.
I realise I will need to purchase a new power supply with my graphics card, I would be very grateful for some advice on this too.


APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: As soon as possible.

BUDGET RANGE: Graphics card: £200/$320 (I may be able to increase this budget, if need be.) - Power supply: £100/$160

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: I mainly need it to run WoW: Mists of Pandaria at the best possible graphics with no fps issues, but it would be nice if my new card could run a game like Battlefield 3, maybe not on full graphics, but at a low/medium level.

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: I currently have no graphics card (I have "Intel HD" on-board graphics) and my power supply is only 300w, I am expecting to purchase a new power supply with my graphics card, this purchase will have it's own budget.
I bought the computer from 'PC World' for £650 and I haven't altered any of it's components.

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: I'm not exactly sure what my system specs are, but I'll give as much details as I can.

Motherboard: Acer Aspire M3970 - (I'm guessing this is the name of my motherboard.)
CPU: Intel Core i5 2300
Memory: 6GB DDR3
Graphics: On-board Intel HD
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

(the motherboard has one "PCI-E x16" slot, if that helps)


PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: I have no preferred website for parts. Although I see many users on these forums putting their trust in newegg.com. I would like to purchase from a website that has some sort of warranty, but this isn't necessary.

PARTS PREFERENCES: I have read somewhere on these forums that Nvidia graphics cards give a slight boost to World of Warcraft specifically. I'm not sure if this is true, but if it is, then I may be better off getting an Nvidia graphics card, as I rarely play any other game.

OVERCLOCKING: I have a slight idea of what overclocking is, but I am not 100% sure, so I guess this doesn't apply to me.

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: I honestly have no idea what "SLI" or "Crossfire" mean.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
I have a standard case, so I am guessing I might need a GPU with a decent fan / cooling system?
I live in the UK, so I may not be able to purchase goods from certain websites out side of the UK.
When buying a new power supply, do I need to worry about it being compatible with my motherboard?
Will the power supply fit in my case? Or are they of a universal shape / size?

Sorry for the amateur post, but from what I have read on these forums, this seems an understanding and helpful community, so I am hoping I may get some help and advice here. It would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

Louis.

 

[zared619]

You've come to the right place to ask amateur questions as many people are happy to help.
1. GPU companies make their cards with a "reference board". Some companies will use the reference board and others will design their own aftermarket coolers to go on the physical board. These aftermarket coolers are almost always cooler and quieter than the reference board.

2. I picked parts from UK websites

3. When buying a power supply, you do need to check and make sure it has all the right connections. The main connectors are the "main connector (normally a 24 pin) and a "cpu pin" (normally 4 or 8 pin). I checked already in your case and the power supply I listed is compatible. Additionally to motherboard connectors, you need to make sure you have connectors to everything else (Hard drive, optical drive, and GPU). Again, you should be alright with this PSU

4. Thankfully, they pretty much standardized PSU's form factor. About 5-7 years ago, there were 4-5 different sizes that were widely used. Now they are pretty much all the same.

Anyway, here is a gpu with shiny new power supply.

http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/j1K0

Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card (£169.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply (£34.96 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £204.94
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

 

[c0ca1n3]

http://pcpartpicker.com/uk/p/j1K0

Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card (£169.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply (£34.96 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £204.94
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

Thank you very much Zared619, much appreciated.

Will this graphics card definitely run Mists of Pandaria at full graphics?
I noticed it comes with the game 'Sleeping Dogs'. As this game comes with the graphics card, am I right to assume it can run 'Sleeping Dogs' at full graphics level?

 

[zared619]

Thank you very much Zared619, much appreciated.

Will this graphics card definitely run Mists of Pandaria at full graphics?
I noticed it comes with the game 'Sleeping Dogs'. As this game comes with the graphics card, am I right to assume it can run 'Sleeping Dogs' at full graphics level?

This is a benchmark for several cards on mists of pandaria. The 7770 plays in high settings, not ultra at 51 fps. It may or may not be playable at ultra settings. Here is the link.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-660-geforce-gtx-650-benchmark,3297-13.html

 

[c0ca1n3]

This is a benchmark for several cards on mists of pandaria. The 7770 plays in high settings, not ultra at 51 fps. It may or may not be playable at ultra settings. Here is the link.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-660-geforce-gtx-650-benchmark,3297-13.html

Thanks again Zared619.

I found that graph to be very helpful. After looking at that graph, I have decided to purchase the GTX 660, with a 550W Corsair PSU.


Here's a link to the GPU and PSU:

GPU: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-msi-gtx-660-twin-frozr-iii-oc-28nm-pcie-30-(x16)-6008mhz-gddr5-gpu-1033mhz-boost-1098mhz-cores-9
PSU: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550w-corsair-enthusiast-series-9020001-modular-85-eff-80-plus-bronze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fan

I have decided to get the PSU from scan.co.uk, alongside the GPU, for the warranty and combined postage and packing. I chose this PSU as there weren't many other Corsair PSU's in stock, and because I was advised to get at least a 500W PSU, so it doesn't need to perform at near maximum levels.

I was wondering if you could confirm that these components will be compatible with my system.

Thanks. Louis.