Graphics card upgrade or new rig?

[derp123]

Hi, my computer is AMD Athlon[tm] II X2 255 processor 3.11 GHz, 2.00 GB of ram graphics NVIDIA 9500 GT 512mb mobo ASRock N68-S AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 7025 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard and a 300 or 500 watt power supply maybe more not real sure.

I want to play a few games:
Starcraft 2
Team Fortress 2
Orcs Must Die!
Skyrim
League of Legends
DotA 2

Some of them are not out yet but others are. I can play Starcraft 2 on the lowest settings and resolution. I can play TF2 on settings that I forget. I can play League of Legends on low settings. DotA 2 won't be out for a wile and Skyrim is coming out in November and I am not sure if I should just get it for xbox.

I would think upgrading the graphics and perhaps adding 1-6gigs of ram would solve my problems but I don't know much.
I have looked at the best graphics cards for the money September and they look like they are all PCIE2.0, my motherboard appears to only support PCIE.

So what is the best PCIE card?
Should I buy a new rig?

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

If you have the money buy a new rig, you're being hold back now by the dual core.
You can also update bit by bit. Buying a new gpu, psu and ( if it's ddr3 ) more ram now and the rest later.
The right info about your psu is necassery 300 or 500 is a big difference.

 

[triplej]

I have a dual core 2.0 ghz, 2 gb ram computer; and a quad core 3.3 ghz, 8 gb computer. the second computer is soooooo much better, i'd build a new computer if you can afford it. starcraft 2 looks way different on low vs high settings.

 

[CaedenV]

Skyrim is going to be a monster game and will need a quad core proc in order to really make it playable. Plus, depending on the age of the mobo, you may be on PCIe1, which will choke most modern GPUs on blockbuster games.

Time for a core upgrade: mobo, proc, ram, GPU, and possibly a power supply. Then later add more ram, a modern HDD/SSD, a 2nd GPU, and a ligger power supply if you didnt already.

If you have not been keeping up, be aware that new AMD chips are coming out 'soon', as are the new GPU lines for both AMD (Q4 2011), and nVidia (Q1/2 of 2012). Intel is also doing a chip refresh, but it is just for high end stuff and may not affect you. Their next mainstream processors will come out somewhere around Mar/Apr, which may be a long wait as they are not going to be much faster than current intel chips (though a lot less power consuming!)

 

[derp123]

Thanks for the input, duly noted. However I think for now I might just get a graphics card, could someone point out an upgrade from NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT 512mb? It needs to be PCIE not PCIE2.0 because of the mobo I have.

 

[derp123]

Best answer selected by derp123.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey