I'd like to upgrade my Dell XPS 8500 and it's horrible Nvidia GT620.

[Danielle Spargo]

When I purchased my computer at costco, they were nearing closing time and I was getting bad reception on my cellphone, so I didn't quite have time to research all the computers properly, but it turns out I wound up with a bum graphics card. This Nvidia Geforce GT 620 isn't even an upgrade over the 4000 series integrated card the i7 comes with. It's still running DDR3 x_x I have a 460w PSI and I know if possible I can upgrade to a maximum of 750w for a cost of about 70$. Of course that cuts into my budget.
So here is my question to you: For a price of about 300$ total, what would be the best graphics card to upgrade to, taking into account that if it requires more than a 460w psu, I would need to cut up to 70$ out of my budget. I've been looking all over the place, and there are just so many cards, and half of them are just the same card being rebranded, and card lines don't follow any linear pattern whatsoever. I've really tried to UTFSE, and I know that I could do ok and find a decent upgrade, but I want to make sure I'm not making any mistakes, and that I'm getting the best that I can get. Most of the time I just play Starcraft 2, or League of Legends, but I do have a WoW account that I'd like to be able to run at max settings if I renewed it. I have the gpu running two monitors, one of which is in 1080p with the resolution set the same on most games and desktop etc. I've been playing Starcraft 2 with a couple settings on ultra, a couple on high, and a couple on medium, and I have to keep vsync and antialiasing off, and I still get a message saying the computer is slowing down the game, and that I should turn down settings.

MSI afterburner says my GPU usage, FB usage, and VID usage max out every time I play my games or even when my screensaver comes on, but everything else is fine. I have 12g ram, an i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz (8CPUs), and A12 bios. Everything should be in order except that horrible graphics card. Next upgrade will have to be SSD, but one step at a time lol.

Thank you guys!

Update: I'd like to mention that only certain PSUs will fit in this tower, I came across this list:

EVGA SuperNOVA 750B1 $69.99
RAIDMAX RX-1000AE 1000W $119.99
SeaSonic SS-750KM3 750W $139.99
CORSAIR AX series AX760 $159.99
Coolmax 1200W ZPG-1200B $282.35

I prefer the nvidia since I have the drivers and whatnot, but if you have a good case for amd over nvidia for this price range, I am willing to switch. I'd also like to mention that 300$ is pushing it a touch. If I can do it for less, don't hesitate to give suggestions

Edit2: The newegg reviews on Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card are really really terrible. :S

 

[Danielle Spargo]

Come back here or with a new thread if you have any problems with installation !

Sooooo, I'm looking through PSU's again, and newegg has this 600W psu for 19.99 after a 10$ rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817190034&cm_re=600w_power_supply-_-17-190-034-_-Product

Is that one any worse than the XFX 550W for nearly 50$? or the Corsair CX 600W for 60$? I mean, what makes for the nearly 300% price increase of the recommended brands? If you guys don't think I should get the 20$ one, I won't, but if you think it should run the 970 without any hiccups, then I'm ordering it now. Otherwise, it's waiting until after rent lol. I won't have the GPU until april anyway, so the wait won't kill me. I'm just excited to get the parts in my computer as fast as possible.

20$ XION 600W +3.3V@26A, +5V@28A, +12V1@18A, +12V2@22A, -12V@0.5A, +VSB@2.5A
52$ XFX TS 55W +3.3V@20A, +5V@20A, +12V@45A, -12V@0.3A, +5VSB@2.5A
65$ Corsair 600W +3.3V@25A, +5V@25A, +12V@46A, -12V@0.8A, +5VSB@3A

(prices are all newegg after rebate)

So the difference I'm seeing is that the +12V rail is split in two? I don't know if the amps between them are cumulative.

Update:I went changed my search criteria to only look for ones with single 12V rails and found this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139108&cm_re=600w_power_supply-_-17-139-108-_-Product

The same CX600 (minus the M) for only 40$, but it's refurbished. How much do you think its lifespan has been reduced seeing as it's used? Is it worth risking my expensive new card (and 1000$ of other computer parts) for the shorter life? My last computer fried when my stock dell PSU caught on fire.

I'm still completely an utterly sold on the EVGA GTX 970 with exhaust fan. Even though I heard they disabled parts of their circuitry just so they could have a card underneath the 980, and then they lied about a bunch of specs, the 970 is still hands down the best card for the money. I came into the gpu market at exactly the right time

 

[A_Goat]

Don't buy that XION PSU.
The CX600 is not the best (compared to high end PSUs), but it will work just fine (its miles ahead of an OEM PSU or that XION) it will supply plenty power for your GPU.
I have a refurb CX600 in my XPS desktop lol!

For that price it cannot be beat.