Help upgrading my PC's graphics card

[CHR1S-HuDz]

Hello all, this is my first ever post. I need help with upgrading my PC from someone that knows about this stuff, i'm a noob lol. I have the Alienware X51, I'm looking to upgrade the graphics card but have no idea what to replace it with. My current specs are

Intel Core i3-3220 CPU @ 3.30GHz
6GB Ram
Nvidia Geforce GTX 645

Right now I can play DayZ but the graphics are horrible, my goal is to be able to play it with semi decent graphics. Most of the games I own run fine on high or ultra but they are older games and I wish to be able to play newer games.

I have been advised by friends to get the Nvidia GTX 750 ti but the people that advised me are noobs like me so any help would be appreciated.

What is the best possible graphics card my pc could take? I want to buy just a new graphics card so it has to work on my current power source, I think it has has input 100-240v 3.5a output 19.5v 12.3a. Its an external power brick on this PC

Thanks in advance

 

[rcald2000]

I agree with the recommendation for the 750 Ti. But you should know that it's replacement, GTX 950 is speculated to release this month; I'm not sure if that'll include the Ti model. If you can hold off for another 2-4 weeks, it might be worth seeing if the new release is a noticeable upgrade from the 750 Ti. Just thought that I would mention.

 

[Emerald]

As said by rcald2000 it is a great video card; however, your system has an external power supply (brick) that seems to only provide 240W.

I found this post on Dell with recommendations on PSU and video cards.

http://en.community.dell.com/owners-club/alienware/f/3746/t/19579761

 

[CHR1S-HuDz]

As said by rcald2000 it is a great video card; however, your system has an external power supply (brick) that seems to only provide 240W.

I found this post on Dell with recommendations on PSU and video cards.

http://en.community.dell.com/owners-club/alienware/f/3746/t/19579761

So if I got the 750 ti I would also need to buy a new power supply? Could i not just remove the optical drive to provide more power?

Also would the 750 ti be a substantial upgrade from the 645 or will I not notice the difference?

In the long run I want to build a new pc but I dont have the cash right now, I can only really afford the graphics card

 

[Emerald]

According to this card it requires a 300W or greater PSU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487024&cm_re=evga_750ti-_-14-487-024-_-Product

The optical drive should not use more than 10W when being used.

 

[CHR1S-HuDz]

According to this card it requires a 300W or greater PSU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487024&cm_re=evga_750ti-_-14-487-024-_-Product

The optical drive should not use more than 10W when being used.

With the like you provided me earlier to the alienware website, they offer a dell 330w ac adapter. If I get this then the 750 ti would work?

If im forced to buy the new power supply that will give me 330w power is there a better card i could now get?

 

[Emerald]

Right now you are looking at about $300 to upgrade the video card and PSU.

I would rather wait and save some more money to build a new system

 

[CHR1S-HuDz]

Right now you are looking at about $300 to upgrade the video card and PSU.

I would rather wait and save some more money to build a new system

Is the OS stored on the hard drive? so if I built a new pc I could use my old hard drive and not have to buy an OS? I just got the free windows 10 upgrade and I dont wanna have to buy it if I build a new system

 

[madmatt30]

The 645 you currently have in there is rated at 65w ,a stock clocked reference 750ti (one that doesn't require external power) is rated at 60w so in essence it should work perfectly fine on your current ac adapter while offering close to twice the performance.

This is the model you should be looking at - 60w tdp & a reference blower style cooler.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-02gp43751kr

 

[CHR1S-HuDz]

The 645 you currently have in there is rated at 65w ,a stock clocked reference 750ti (one that doesn't require external power) is rated at 60w so in essence it should work perfectly fine on your current ac adapter while offering close to twice the performance.

This is the model you should be looking at - 60w tdp & a reference blower style cooler.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-02gp43751kr

Do you think I should get it or, like Emerald suggested earlier, save my money and build a new system? I have just built a pc on that website you linked for the same price I paid for my pc and it blows mine out of the water. I would love to build a new system but I wont be able to afford that for a while, on the other hand I could get the 750 ti cheap and upgrade this one now. I dont know what to do