Looking for good graphics card

[mrbunnyman]

i love to play skyrim, but my graphics have to be at low to play it, and i despise that. i think the rest of my comp does fine except card. im looking for anything under 100$, i currently have intel hd. any help is much appreciated

 

[4745454b]

5770/6770 is usually the best $100. If you can go a bit higher then that a 6850 should be possible.

Whats the rest of the system like, including PSU?

 

[mrbunnyman]

intel core 13 540
4gb ram
1tb hard drive
i think its a 220 watt psuim pretty sure thats all, if theres anything else u need to know specifically just ask

 

[inzone]

Please list the components of your computer so we can know what will be compatable with your PC. Under $100 isn't much to work with and you may not get much higher in the settings.

XFX HD-685X-ZCFC Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
$139.99 and a $20 rebate makes it $119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150573

For $20 over your budget amount you can get this card which will play most games at med to high settings. If it fits in with your components.

 

[inzone]

220w psu? Forget about the 6850 and most other cards. You need to upgrade your psu.

 

[mrbunnyman]

would 550 work, its the best i can find for it

 

[mrbunnyman]

i was reading up on my comp, and the side of the computer says intel gma hd graphics, but the websites that show the specs all say it has nvidia geforce 315,the intel hd is part of the motherboard while nvidia is its own thing, ive heard its possible to switch between the two, would any one know how?

 

[hesham555]

I suggest you get a better PSU first then get more cash and buy a new video card. For switching between intels and the GPU check your bios settings, it may have something in there, but most likely it is sometimes impossible to switch if its not an actual, but a GPU soldered onto the motherboard.

 

[mrbunnyman]

i hope i can get both, im on a tight budget, what happens if i were to get the card and not psu, or vice versa?

 

[hesham555]

If you got a new videocard the psu may not be enough and it will unusable until you buy a psu, if you buy a psu you can use intel hd untill you buy a new video card. Its your choice

 

[4745454b]

There is no way a 220W will power a 5770 or 6850. 5570 is the best you can do, MAYBE a 5670/6670.

 

[mrbunnyman]

i realize now i need a low prof card, and more than likely a better psu. after 6+ hours pf research i see i can get both for roughly 100$ i found a 350 watt and a sphire 6670 for a total of about 100, so i think this will work quite nicely, thank you

 

[inzone]

I know that it's hard when on a tight budget and you want to get the most for your money but before you get the 6670 try and research a few benchmarks of games using that card to see if you will be able to get to any higher settings. You don't want to go through the trouble of taking the computer apart to replace the psu and video card only to find oput that you can't get to the settings that you want.

 

[mrbunnyman]

thanks i got a little wrapped up and forgot bout that... hopefully it will work better so i can at least play med graphics for skyrim, wich could very well be high graphics on other games

 

[po1nted]

Here is a link to a site that did a benchmark of Skyrim and the 6670:

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1320/pg4/sapphire-hd6670-low-profile-graphics-card-review-skyrim.html

Looks like it would be playable, but is it any better than what you have?

 

[mrbunnyman]

i found one thats better, the radeon hd 6570. i watched about 4 vids, 2 on skyrim 1 on crysis and one on crysis 2, all on high quality , all with 50+ fps. that is much better than what i have and its 60$ on amazon. i found a relatively cheep 350 watt psu, wich is just enough for the graphics card, and its 30$ thanks alot for all of your help, ill purchase them tommorow, feel free to leave more suggestions if you find anything better

 

[4745454b]

Problem is there aren't many good 350W PSUs that are worth buying. And the last thing you want to do is buy a cheap PSU only to have it die on you later. I know you don't like this idea, but spend the money to buy a good ~500W PSU and then upgrade the GPU later when you have funds again.

 

[mrbunnyman]

i was actually thinking about that, but i have a problem, i have a slimline build, so i dont think i can fit a full sized psu in. i have not opened it up yet to measure but im pretty sure it requires a specific type.... a 500 would be nice though

 

[inzone]

Tha's why initially I had aked about your computer style because the slimline does take a specific psu and they generally go uo to 400w which would be good enough if you were planning on a 350w.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817338082

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817338064