Help! What graphics card should I get?

[michael4812]

Hello there!

I need your help. Today I was playing Minecraft and it crashed multiple times than ever before, Its bad enough that I only get around 15-25 Fps. I grew tired of not being capable of running most games and refraining from buying what I wanted but today I decided I wanted to upgrade.
What graphics card could I get for under $100 that could run Minecraft flawlessly on high settings and also play games like Gta V, Cod, etc

Extra Info
My OS - Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition Service Pack 2 (build 6002), 32-bit
Current Graphics Card - Nvidia Geforce 8400GS - yea, I know it sucks
My current memory - 3.1 GB
Processor------------------------------
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E7400 @ 2.80GHz
Manufacturer Intel
Speed 2.8 GHz
Number of Cores 2
CPU ID BFEBFBFF0001067A
Family 06
Model 17
Stepping A
Revision 07

*****UPDATE******
Its seems I was misunderstood, I meant the game crashed, not the computer.

 

[Darkbreeze]

There is no graphics card for under 100 dollars that will do what you want and play GTA V. Even the GTX 750 TI or R7 260x, which are rather low end for half serious gaming, are more than that. Those are probably your best low end choices though. Might not even BE your graphics card. A failing power supply would be my first suspicion, although it certainly COULD be the card since it's rather old too.

What is the brand and model of your power supply? Is it an OEM unit? This is crucial as any card you decide to go with needs to have a power supply with sufficient capacity anyhow, or you'll be right back where you are now, or worse.

 

[Rhezner]

well minecraft is CPU intensive so it is a CPU bottleneck there

here is a gpu for 110$ after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125502

here is one for 65$ after rebate that is less powerful
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127782

that CPU is pretty bad too.

 

[Rhezner]

There is no graphics card for under 100 dollars that will do what you want and play GTA V. Even the GTX 750 TI or R7 260x, which are rather low end for half serious gaming, are more than that. Those are probably your best low end choices though. Might not even BE your graphics card. A failing power supply would be my first suspicion, although it certainly COULD be the card since it's rather old too.

What is the brand and model of your power supply? Is it an OEM unit? This is crucial as any card you decide to go with needs to have a power supply with sufficient capacity anyhow, or you'll be right back where you are now, or worse.

gtx 750 and the r7 260x are under 100$ after rebate and can easily run gta 5

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131625&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127782

like darkbreeze said. The PSU could be the problem. And it needs to be powerful enough for these cards. Id say at least 350W for a gtx 750ti.

 

[michael4812]

There is no graphics card for under 100 dollars that will do what you want and play GTA V. Even the GTX 750 TI or R7 260x, which are rather low end for half serious gaming, are more than that. Those are probably your best low end choices though. Might not even BE your graphics card. A failing power supply would be my first suspicion, although it certainly COULD be the card since it's rather old too.

What is the brand and model of your power supply? Is it an OEM unit? This is crucial as any card you decide to go with needs to have a power supply with sufficient capacity anyhow, or you'll be right back where you are now, or worse.

I got this as my power supply --> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007PENNQ2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

 

[Rhezner]

There is no graphics card for under 100 dollars that will do what you want and play GTA V. Even the GTX 750 TI or R7 260x, which are rather low end for half serious gaming, are more than that. Those are probably your best low end choices though. Might not even BE your graphics card. A failing power supply would be my first suspicion, although it certainly COULD be the card since it's rather old too.

What is the brand and model of your power supply? Is it an OEM unit? This is crucial as any card you decide to go with needs to have a power supply with sufficient capacity anyhow, or you'll be right back where you are now, or worse.

I got this as my power supply --> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007PENNQ2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

yeah i would definitely get a new one, this one is very bad.

get this. it is $25 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

 

[Darkbreeze]

Since you have a slim form factor PC, and only a 300w unit with no PCIe connectors, you're going to be very limited. Even the GTX 750 calls for at the very least, a 350w PSU and most recommendations are for a 400w PSU. Same goes for the 740.

As to the bottleneck causing the system to crash or reboot, I doubt that would be likely. Lag like hell maybe, but it's going to take more than a simple bottleneck to cause crashes or restarts.

The problem is pretty likely to be the PSU though, or even both. Finding another higher capacity PSU for that form factor of power supply is going to be a problem as most of them are OEM units and not much better than what you have there unless you want to spend a lot more than what I think you are wanting to spend.

 

[michael4812]

There is no graphics card for under 100 dollars that will do what you want and play GTA V. Even the GTX 750 TI or R7 260x, which are rather low end for half serious gaming, are more than that. Those are probably your best low end choices though. Might not even BE your graphics card. A failing power supply would be my first suspicion, although it certainly COULD be the card since it's rather old too.

What is the brand and model of your power supply? Is it an OEM unit? This is crucial as any card you decide to go with needs to have a power supply with sufficient capacity anyhow, or you'll be right back where you are now, or worse.

I got this as my power supply --> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007PENNQ2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

yeah i would definitely get a new one, this one is very bad.

get this. it is $25 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

Alright will do but I still want to upgrade my graphics card what would you recommend for something to run Minecraft but doesn't HAVE TO run games as intense as GTA V. I mostly just want to run Minecraft with no lag or stutters

 

[Darkbreeze]

There is no graphics card for under 100 dollars that will do what you want and play GTA V. Even the GTX 750 TI or R7 260x, which are rather low end for half serious gaming, are more than that. Those are probably your best low end choices though. Might not even BE your graphics card. A failing power supply would be my first suspicion, although it certainly COULD be the card since it's rather old too.

What is the brand and model of your power supply? Is it an OEM unit? This is crucial as any card you decide to go with needs to have a power supply with sufficient capacity anyhow, or you'll be right back where you are now, or worse.

I got this as my power supply --> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007PENNQ2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

yeah i would definitely get a new one, this one is very bad.

get this. it is $25 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

That PSU will not fit. Pay attention Rhezner. It's not even the same form factor. Sheesh.

 

[Darkbreeze]

As you can see here, there are no TFX power supplies available over 350w and they are definitely not compatible with ATX power supplies, which means any card requiring more than 350w cannot be used with that system. You are limited to a low end card unless you replace much of your hardware or start from scratch.

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/power-supply/#t=11&sort=a9&page=1

 

[michael4812]

As you can see here, there are no TFX power supplies available over 350w and they are definitely not compatible with ATX power supplies, which means any card requiring more than 350w cannot be used with that system. You are limited to a low end card unless you replace much of your hardware or start from scratch.

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/power-supply/#t=11&sort=a9&page=1

I was hoping it wouldn't result to this but I knew it probably would.

 

[Rhezner]

what case is your system in. It might support other form factor PSUs.

 

[michael4812]

what case is your system in. It might support other form factor PSUs.

A Dell Studio Slim 540

 

[Darkbreeze]

Other form factors are unlikely to be compatible with that case. I'll check though.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Nope.

 

[michael4812]

So if you guys didn't see the update I posted, I said that the game was crashing but not the computer either way in order to get a better Graphics card I would need a better PSU and since the PSUs I need for a better graphics card wont fit in my current case, I guess Ill just have to build a Gaming PC from the ground up. Oh god.

 

[Rhezner]

Yeah, those specs are pretty weak. What is your budget?

 

[Darkbreeze]

This is the best replacement unit available that will fit your system, but it's still only 300w. However, it's MUCH, MUCH better than what came in it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151090

The problem though is that there aren't really any cards available that can run off a recommended 300w and run minecraft at the level in which you desire. Much less GTA V or other demanding AAA games. This is probably the best option based off this conversation by ko888 whom I trust entirely when it comes to power supplies. This tells me that using that Seasonic power supply I linked to that the GTX 750 SHOULD be able to run fine:

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2061335/300w-18a-run-gtx-750.html


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 1GB Video Card ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $94.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-07 02:26 EDT-0400


And I think that will get you as close to where you want to be as is possible for about a hundred and thirty dollar investment.

 

[michael4812]

Yeah, those specs are pretty weak. What is your budget?

Currently Im just trying to stay under $100 but I have $400

 

[michael4812]

This is the best replacement unit available that will fit your system, but it's still only 300w. However, it's MUCH, MUCH better than what came in it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151090

The problem though is that there aren't really any cards available that can run off a recommended 300w and run minecraft at the level in which you desire. Much less GTA V or other demanding AAA games. This is probably the best option based off this conversation by ko888 whom I trust entirely when it comes to power supplies. This tells me that using that Seasonic power supply I linked to that the GTX 750 SHOULD be able to run fine:

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2061335/300w-18a-run-gtx-750.html


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 1GB Video Card ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $94.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-07 02:26 EDT-0400


And I think that will get you as close to where you want to be as is possible for about a hundred and thirty dollar investment.

So is it possible to JUST buy the GTX 750 and Seasonic PSU and be able to move the motherboard along with its parts to another case that allows the new PSU to fit? If so what do you recommend? I've heard corsair is pretty good

 

[Rhezner]

you could get the nzxt source 210 for a case, but dont buy that PSU if you get a new case. get this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

your motherboard will fit in this case. You can move basically your entire computer to it and buy a new GPU like the 750.

All of this would cost less than 150$ after rebate.

 

[Darkbreeze]

You don't need to. Just get the PSU I outlined, which IS a TFX power supply and WILL fit your current case, and the card I linked to, and problem solved. No other parts needed. No new case necessary, no moving anything except the power supply, out, and the new one IN, and install the new card.

That Seasonic PSU will fit directly in your current case.

 

[Rhezner]

Yeah this PSU has enough juice for a gtx 750 or 750ti. You should consider buying the seasonic PSU

 

[michael4812]

You don't need to. Just get the PSU I outlined, which IS a TFX power supply and WILL fit your current case, and the card I linked to, and problem solved. No other parts needed. No new case necessary, no moving anything except the power supply, out, and the new one IN, and install the new card.

That Seasonic PSU will fit directly in your current case.

Ok, then I have one last question before deciding to go through this route and will keep in my mind the suggestions from both of you for further builds and/or changes. But what games will I be capable of playing with the GTX 750 and at what type of settings?

 

[Rhezner]

you will be able to play any game at a setting, 60fps. you can probably play gta 5 on medium - high with 60fps.

battlefield 4 ultra with this GPU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byJIH3DuoEk

titanfall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiFd-3rJcXY

although your CPU will be a bottleneck in some games.