I think it's time for a new graphic's card

[mackyman]

I don't play many games myself. I prefer video editing, but my son who loves games has been asking me if I could put a new graphic's card in our computer so he could play games like Skyrim, Battlefield 4, "7 days to die" and contagion. I'll be honest with you I went on this website "Rank my computer" and everything was good on our computer except the video card and the operating system. My Computer's CPU IS A AMD Phenom(tm) II X6 1090T Processor. The graphic card is a ATI Radeon HD 4600 Series, 1.0 GB memory. Generation: 11th, DirectX: -10.1.
I also have 12GB of ram and a 500 watt Antec power supply with Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition Service Pack 1 64-bit.

The recommended video card was a 3GB AMD Radeon HD 7870 / NVIDIA Geforce GTX 660 or better. The recommended OS is a Windows 8 64-Bit. To be honest my son wants the Alienware X51. I don't know if I should just upgrade this computer or purchase the Alienware x51 which would cost me around $1500.00.
Does anybody have any advice on what graphic card I should purchase for around $200.00 that can handle some of these games. Also Do I really need to buy windows 8 to play these games? Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Thank You.

 

[esco_sid]

Your computer is a bit dated upgrading could create bottlenecks in the system so i suggest build your own that will be way cheaper and way better than the alienware and would be good project for you and your son.

something like this or you could go cheaper but this would run any game on maximum setting not to mention most parts have 3-6 year warranty on them too as buying premade desktop usually carries 1 yr warranty.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($56.04 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($98.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Superclocked ACX Video Card ($334.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Blackout ATX Mid Tower Case ($110.76 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: XFX XTR 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1252.70

 

[i7Baby]

If you want a new pc, you can do a self-build - and get a parts list from here - or buy a pre-built such as something from Alienware.

I don't think you'd find many people here buying an Alienware or many other pre-builts here.

The best overall performing card under $200 is the Radeon R9 270X at just under $200 (depending on where you're shopping) which runs a bit faster than a GTX660. Next you should choose which 270X is best. Google 'R9 270x review' and see what you come up with. eg http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-r9-270-benchmark-review,3769.html