Gaming graphics card upgrade for a Dell Precision T3400 Workstation

[ent]

Hi all,
I just picked up a Precision T3400 workstation for $65. I'm looking to upgrade the stock Quadro to a decent gaming graphics card.
I would either like to spend the $100 (or so, preferably less) I have to work with on a card that will last me a couple years and transfer into a new build, or just best work with the limitations I have on this current system. Would be interested in hearing suggestions in either direction.

Specs are:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 2.33GHz
2GB DDR2
Motherboard is a Dell P/N TP412 (Intel X38 Express Chipset)
*I believe this has only PCIe 1.0, although I haven't been able to confirm that anywhere)
375W stock Dell PSU w/ 6-pin connector (been reading good things about this psu being able to power cards that normally require 400w)

Running it with a fairly low res monitor that will probably get upgrade to something larger soon.

Thanks

 

[scorpinock2]

I would try running an HD 7770 (120 bucks) it's a great card, takes a 6 pin power connector. I have an HD 6770 (last gen) and I can run games almost maxed out at 720P, although that may be due to my good CPU but still, it has the muscle to play games, and it has video acceleration features for video editing. It is worth it, and when you do a new build you can crossfire them. These cards (and the 7870's) respond very well to crossfires and often give you nearly double the gaming performance (usually an 80 to 90 percent performance increase) making them comparable to high end cards.

 

[ent]

Thanks, seems like a good suggestion. Will all the HD 7770s support crossfire? Any particular manufacturer that you prefer?

 

[Todd_Computer Gamer]

you will have to upgrade the PSU in the dell t3400 to run the radeon 7770 though.

 

[Todd_Computer Gamer]

from what I can see on benchmarks.. the 7750 isn't any better or faster than my 4870 single.