Need advice on upgrading my Graphics card

[rossmarc]

Im upgrading my sons pc. Its my old Dell XPS 420 (specs below) I want to get a new graphics card for it so he can play modern games and hopefully it will be good enough to last a few years until I can replace it. Could you please tell me what I should get. I was looking at the gtx 460, 650 ti, 750 ti, or the radeon 7750 but any and all recommendations are welcomed.

Thanx!!

Intel Core2 processor Q8200 (2.33Ghz 1333FSB) w/Quad Core Tech and 4MB cache
Upgraded to a 500W Power Supply
6GB DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 2X2GB+2X1GB
Current GPU: AMD Radeon HD3450 256MB PCI-Express x16 RV620
Specs show The system has PCI Express Gen2 x16
640GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/ DataBurst Cache Also added a 1TB Hard Drive

 

[SkyMembrane]

Of your choices, I would probably recommend the 750ti.

Here are the minimal recommendations from Nvidia concerning the card

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-750-ti/specifications

 

[jerdle]

budget?

 

[rossmarc]

Of your choices, I would probably recommend the 750ti.

I just looked over the 750 Ti specs and its pci 3.0 Will that work in my system?

 

[rossmarc]

budget?

Dont want to spend too much around $100 - $150 or so

 

[SkyMembrane]

What is your Motherboard? The slot for graphics cards hasn't changed in a very long time and I doubt you can find many motherboards without at least 1. I don't mind verifying for your though.

 

[rossmarc]

Trying to keep the upgrade pretty budget since the whole thing is pretty much scrap. Im not hooked on GeForce so any brand gpu is ok. ATI Radeon etc.

 

[SkyMembrane]

You can go for a 750ti or even maybe a 760. If you can get just a bit more money, you could also invest in a 960, even though it isn't the best GPU from Maxwell.

GTX 750ti : https://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-n750ti2gd5oc
GTX 760 : https://pcpartpicker.com/part/zotac-video-card-zt7040110p
GTX 960 : https://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-gtx9602gd5toc

 

[rossmarc]

You can go for a 750ti or even maybe a 760. If you can get just a bit more money, you could also invest in a 960, even though it isn't the best GPU from Maxwell.

GTX 750ti : https://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-n750ti2gd5oc
GTX 760 : https://pcpartpicker.com/part/zotac-video-card-zt7040110p
GTX 960 : https://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-gtx9602gd5toc[/quotemsg

I have PCI Express Gen2 x16 These show they're pci 3 Are you sure they'll work?

 

[SkyMembrane]

Do you have the motherboard model? in any case, if you don't plan on Overclocking the cards, won't find much of a difference.

About 2 to 3% different in performance, not something you can recognize during daily use ( in contrast with overclockers who aim for the best ), so no worry about that.

Link : http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1689846/pci-pci.html

 

[rossmarc]

Do you have the motherboard model? in any case, if you don't plan on Overclocking the cards, won't find much of a difference.

About 2 to 3% different in performance, not something you can recognize during daily use ( in contrast with overclockers who aim for the best ), so no worry about that.

Link : http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1689846/pci-pci.html

Motherboard is Dell XPS 420 Desktop X38 Motherboard System Board Socket LGA 775 TP406 Not sure how to overclock but theres something to look in to

 

[SkyMembrane]

Don't bother with overclock on that motherboard, I wouldn't recommend it. However, the stock GPU will work flawlessly.

Here's an image of what your motherboard should be : http://gincore.com/image.php?id=35388:3d29a67834623b5f7dbc2ec6da669b7d19c73ef1

You can definitely place those GPUs in the black slot with a blue thing at the edge on the left side of the MOBO.

 

[rossmarc]

Don't bother with overclock on that motherboard, I wouldn't recommend it. However, the stock GPU will work flawlessly.

Here's an image of what your motherboard should be : http://gincore.com/image.php?id=35388:3d29a67834623b5f7dbc2ec6da669b7d19c73ef1

You can definitely place those GPUs in the black slot with a blue thing at the edge on the left side of the MOBO.

My stock GPU is ok. It works fine for WOW and Guild Wars. But starts to get really laggy when going to pretty much anything else. #D rendering is really bad and Battlefield 4 is impossible. Thats what Im really trying to fix and figure a new GPU would fix the problem and be good enough for a couple more years

 

[jerdle]

These cards are both better than what you listed in the original post, and are under your max budget.

The R7 370:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131670

The GTX 950:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125809

Both are far better than what you have now. Both are also higher up in the performance spectrum relative to other modern cards, compared to where yours was placed when it was new.

 

[rossmarc]

Thanks for all the help and info. I did find the GTX 760 at a great price and every comparison site I've looked at shows it rocks over every other card I've looked at even the newer 900 series. Is this right? Is the 760 really blowing them away?

 

[SkyMembrane]

Thanks for all the help and info. I did find the GTX 760 at a great price and every comparison site I've looked at shows it rocks over every other card I've looked at even the newer 900 series. Is this right? Is the 760 really blowing them away?

I would say that it's possible the 760 is better than the 950 in some areas, but I'm not sure about real-world performances. Maxwell is a much better architecture than Kepler was. Really, this comes down to you and the prices you can find them at, but both cards will give very similar performances and should fit your needs!

Glad I could help,
-Sky