help me find a graphics card to buy

[tigg]

ok so for about a week i have really been looking into buying a new graphics card. after so much searching i see all the things that need to match up.. i have been looking at nvidia geforce 770 4gb or radeon r9 280x 3gb but i looked up system req on them both the nvidia had 600w power req and radeon had 750-1000w req and i think they are both PCI or something like that.

the computer i have is dell xps 8300. i went on dell website and posted on forums asking what motherboard i have, some 1 replied saying its a micro-atx and i googled what the power supply was for this computer and it said i have 460w power supply.

so if any 1 can help me find a decent graphics card that will work with what i have please help me out. if i need to post anymore info just let me know ill try to figure it out oh and i would like to spend between $300-$400

 

[tigg]

bump

 

[hang-the-9]

If you have a micro ATX board you probably have a small case. The best smaller video card you can get is an nVidia 750 Ti. If you have a full size case and a motherboard that will hold a full size card, and you do not want to upgrade your power supply, the Radeon R9 270 is your best pick. Anything in the $300 range will need a new power supply. The R9 270 is still a perfectly good gaming card, it just not in the class of "run any game at top settings at any resolution".

Make sure you measure the space around the video card slot and check if it clears the RAM and anything else that may get in the way. You may want to look at the video card specs online and cut out a template out of cardboard the same size to fit inside the case to check it.

 

[pdasterly]

gtx 750ti or you will need to upgrade psu

 

[hang-the-9]

gtx 750ti or you will need to upgrade psu

There are plenty of cards that a 460 watt PSU from a Dell XPS can run. Even a solid mid-range card like the R9 270 which uses double the power of a 750 Ti. A 750 Ti would be a good pick if you need a smaller card though. Since he was looking at $300 cards, the R9 270 is probably the best pick for that system without a PSU upgrade to 500+ watts.

The nVidia GTX 760 should also run fine on that power supply but that's about the limit of things, and need to check the space available for the card.

This is all assuming the 460 watt power supply is what is in the system.

Best thing to do is open the case and look at the power supply instead of looking online for specs.

 

[tigg]

i did just open it up looked and seen it is 460w power supply i also wrote down a bunch of other things i seen on the inside.. like next to the plug in for the graphics card i seen "PCIE-mini card" idk what that means but i plan to look into all this stuff i wrote down.

 

[RCguitarist]

If I were you I would spend about $60 on a nice Seasonic PSU and about $250 on a GTX 760. Then you will be set. I think you will be disappointed with the performance if you upgrade to a 750 or 750ti.

 

[hang-the-9]

i did just open it up looked and seen it is 460w power supply i also wrote down a bunch of other things i seen on the inside.. like next to the plug in for the graphics card i seen "PCIE-mini card" idk what that means but i plan to look into all this stuff i wrote down.

Yes, check the power connectors available, some cards need more than one power plug, although you can get adapters if needed. Also measure the free area around the PCIe x16 slot. From the online pictures, the RAM slots may get in the way of some cards.

What CPU is in the system? A card in the $200 range can run the same games as one in the $300 range, the difference is that you can turn on the settings to full in the pricy card, but the difference between High and Very High can be hard to tell.

 

[ChrisR83]

I am not saying don’t get an AMD card but they tend to run hotter, in a small case you may want to consider adding some fans to help keep everything cool.

 

[tigg]

i have Intel Core i5-2300 i would like something that i can turn graphics all the way up on any game.. but i think i will need a new computer for that. might think about saving up and building a new computer next year some time, but i do need a new card for now. the 1 i have now is very bad.. got clogged with dust overheated and melted a bit about a year ago but it still worked after that lol.

i looked up the motherboard specs and it says i have "1 x 4-pin ATX 12V Power connector, 1 x 24-pin ATX Power connector"

as for the space it looks like there should be plenty of room as long as nothing goes over the slot i plug it into i will need to actually measure it next time i take it apart. maybe later tonight

 

[pdasterly]

what monitor do you have?

 

[tigg]

i have dual monitors DELL ST2220L and DELL SE198WFP also sometimes my tv but thats a only when im watching a movie

 

[pdasterly]

dont quote me on this but I think the monitors need to be the same on the nvidia cards and the amd dosent care or its the other way around. new psu will run u $80 or so, then get the card you want. dont let the psu hold you back

 

[RCguitarist]

I'd still recommend a 760. It will work great both now and with your new build but won't cost a ton of cash.

 

[pdasterly]

i had the gtx 760 sli, great setup, really powerful. paid $450 for both card in jan. Here's the problem, you going to need the 4Gb version and the price rises for those to the point you might as well get gtx770. even better would be r9 290's for the kill. I paid $350 for my 290x so the 290 should be around 300.

here you go but the title say 290x and the description says 280x, seller needs to clarify, either way its a great price
http://www.ebay.com/itm/R9-290x-PowerColor-3GB-Video-Card-/231225944944?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item35d623eb70

 

[tigg]

dont quote me on this but I think the monitors need to be the same on the nvidia cards and the amd dosent care or its the other way around. new psu will run u $80 or so, then get the card you want. dont let the psu hold you back

hmm i didnt know i would have to worry about that but thanks i will look into it

@RCguitarist i would rather not get a new power supply. as i said earlier im thinking of building a new computer next year. so i dont wanna put too much into this 1. this graphics card is just 1 main thing i need to replace

 

[hang-the-9]

i have Intel Core i5-2300 i would like something that i can turn graphics all the way up on any game.. but i think i will need a new computer for that. might think about saving up and building a new computer next year some time, but i do need a new card for now. the 1 i have now is very bad.. got clogged with dust overheated and melted a bit about a year ago but it still worked after that lol.

i looked up the motherboard specs and it says i have "1 x 4-pin ATX 12V Power connector, 1 x 24-pin ATX Power connector"

as for the space it looks like there should be plenty of room as long as nothing goes over the slot i plug it into i will need to actually measure it next time i take it apart. maybe later tonight

The motherboard power connectors don't have anything to do with the video card.

If you are planning on building a new computer but want to upgrade yours now, you may as well spend a bit on getting a power supply and a good video card for it, then just move them over to the new system.

Since you have a $400 top limit now, you can pick up a nice power supply for $100-120 and have plenty left for a fast video card. Even if you go for a 770 which is over $300, you can get a power supply to run it, maybe for just a bit over $400 total. The Radeon R9 280X is a bit cheaper. You can see the power plugs needed and other details here http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-4.html

If you ONLY want to get the video card now, you will be limited in the top settings you can get out of it even in a very fast system since you can't go much higher than mid-range in the ones you want. The nVidia 760 should run in your system and it is probably plenty fast enough to move to a new system and get a bit of a boost from a faster CPU if you want to just get a video card now.

 

[pdasterly]

agreed, get the new psu and migrate it to your new system when your ready to build. gtx 760 is good but you need to run sli to get decent fps from dual monitors, also dont get the 2gb version, as previously stated that going to bump up the price and other cards fall into that price catagory