Which Graphic Card is the best in the range of $200-$250?

[razor2890]

Hi guys...
My old GPU Nvidia Geforce 9600GT 512 MB is giving out after nearly 6 years of faithful service. I used to play all new games using minimum settings. I want to buy a new GPU. My budget is $200-$250.
My Specs:
Processor : Core2Quad Q6600 2.40GHz
Mobo : DL-G41MXE
RAM : 4GB
HDD : Primary 250GB WD 2500AAJS
Secondary 2TB WD 2000AS

Can any one suggest any good cards which will be compatible with my mobo? I am thinking about GTX 650 or GTX 660.. Kindly suggest.
Will new GPU require any cooling systems? Any option to add new fans in my current mobo to cool down the new card? Also suggest new Fans if needed.
PS : I am going to upgrade my Mobo and processor in a few months time. GPU should be compatible to the new one. Is GPU & Mobo compatibility necessary?
My Mobo:

 

[andrewsmc]

Well for your new GPU you could get a refub 660ti for 199.00 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121860

More than anything your cpu/ram combo will be seriously bottle necking your GPU. If your looking at doing an upgrade of your entire system I would just edit the original post and ask for a full system rebuild vs just the gpu for the time being.\


edit: 190 free shipping on amazon. that is a beast card too. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00919CI5Q/?tag=tec06d-20

 

[razor2890]

Complete new system will cost me nearly $300~350. I cannot spend that amount at this time... Will bottlenecking by CPU/RAM affect new card in any way like damage it?

 

[rtwjunkie]

Complete new system will cost me nearly $300~350. I cannot spend that amount at this time... Will bottlenecking by CPU/RAM affect new card in any way like damage it?

No, it won't damage your gpu. Bottlenecking just means that the cpu will be pushing through to its limit to the gpu, but wont be able to give it enough for the gpu to be all it can be. Basically, your cpu may be maxed out on use, but the gpu will be starving for data.

It's kind of a simplified explanation, but i hope I put it in simple enough terms without insulting your intelligence?

 

[Frag_Maniac]

I would suggest something like this until you can afford a complete new build. It's only $70 after rebate and promo (promo ends 5/5).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127687

You need about a 20A, 500W PSU to run it though. What PSU do you have and what is it rated?

9600GT Passmark Score - 752
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=GeForce 9600 GT

HD7770 Passmark Score (non GHz Ed) - 2155
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Radeon HD 7770

 

[MxPhenom 216]

What power supply do you have currently? Thatll be the deciding factor of what you can get.

If you had a better motherboard, something with P45 chipset you could clock that q6600 and so bottlenecking wouldnt be as much of an issue.

 

[v12dock]

I found a R9 280x on ebay for $199

 

[Aquinus]

You know, upgrading to an APU might give you both better GPU and CPU performance and would be a decent step towards improving your graphics performance. Given the price range, your options are rather limited and the platform is a limitation in and of itself. Down the road you could upgrade to a discrete GPU without too much issue but an APU would probably be more performant than what you have now and would consume less power and since price is a big issue, you'll be killing to birds with one stone, even if the GPU improvement might not be as big as it could be during that first upgrade cycle, you're setting yourself up for something even better down the road by having a CPU with more "umfph" than what you have now.

I think an APU will save your money down the road while still accomplishing what you want in the short term. Considering you're using a 9600, almost anything is an upgrade.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

You know, upgrading to an APU might give you both better GPU and CPU performance and would be a decent step towards improving your graphics performance. Given the price range, your options are rather limited and the platform is a limitation in and of itself. Down the road you could upgrade to a discrete GPU without too much issue but an APU would probably be more performant than what you have now and would consume less power and since price is a big issue, you'll be killing to birds with one stone, even if the GPU improvement might not be as big as it could be during that first upgrade cycle, you're setting yourself up for something even better down the road by having a CPU with more "umfph" than what you have now.

I think an APU will save your money down the road while still accomplishing what you want in the short term. Considering you're using a 9600, almost anything is an upgrade.

I agree with this 100%. Those new Kaveri APUs are quite good.

A Trinity A8 APU, A88x or slightly lower FM2/FM2+ board, and 4gb of ddr3 1866-2133 should be within budget.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

This is what I would get:

I know you are planning to upgrade everything in a few months time, but when you do that, instead you can upgrade everything else like the PSU, case, hard drives, add a discrete GPU, maybe add in an after market CPU cooler to overclock.

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113281
Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231654
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132080

$248 total.

 

[Devon68]

Get the GTX 750 (doesn't need any connector from PSU just plug it in the motherboard (TDP of just 55W)) or GTX 750 ti (it requires one 6 pin PSU conector but still has a TDP of only 60W)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487027
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487028

9600GT Passmark Score - 752
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=GeForce 9600 GT

GTX 750 Passmark Score - 3328
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=GeForce GTX 750&id=2825

GTX 750 ti Passmark Score - 3637
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=GeForce GTX 750 Ti&id=2815

 

[redundantslurs]

ummm. right now on slickdeals.net thru newegg, you can get a
PowerColor Radeon HD 7850 2GB for $100 after rebate and its free shipping.

 

[razor2890]

Hey guys... Thanks a lot for all your responses. I went to the store & was told they don't keep 650 series now since 750 series are in the market & 660($300) was out of my league.
So I bought Asus GTX 750 TI OC Edition for $200. Yes every electronic product is around $40-50 expensive in India. The performance of the card is so far very good. It is very quiet even with two fans.

But I have some issues regarding display. When I use 1920X1080p resolution with HDMI cable, some part of desktop screen on all four edges go beyond the screen space. Like I can only see right top half of start menu.
So I had to scale my desktop to 1840X1020 resolution. But the problem gets solved if I use VGA cable & remove it & then put the HDMI cable back on the entire screen is visible.

I do not understand if this has something to do with my monitor(LG E2260V).
@MxPhenom:: Power supply : Corsair CX500 V2

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Hey guys... Thanks a lot for all your responses. I went to the store & was told they don't keep 650 series now since 750 series are in the market & 660($300) was out of my league.
So I bought Asus GTX 750 TI OC Edition for $200. Yes every electronic product is around $40-50 expensive in India. The performance of the card is so far very good. It is very quiet even with two fans.

But I have some issues regarding display. When I use 1920X1080p resolution with HDMI cable, some part of desktop screen on all four edges go beyond the screen space. Like I can only see right top half of start menu.
So I had to scale my desktop to 1840X1020 resolution. But the problem gets solved if I use VGA cable & remove it & then put the HDMI cable back on the entire screen is visible.

I do not understand if this has something to do with my monitor(LG E2260V).
@MxPhenom:: Power supply : Corsair CX500 V2

I think you just got to change the scaling in the driver Control Panel.

 

[razor2890]

I did change the scaling.. but just wanted to know why this issue when my monitor & GPU both supports 1080p HD? Also when i plug & unplug VGA then use HDMI(keeping the system on), screen is fine. Desktop is completely visible. But again on restart, I have to do this process again.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

I don't know if it's changed since my last Nvidia GPU, but I found that Nvidia screen resizing can be finicky. What worked for me was to set it to the desired res, do the screen resize, then after if downsizes the res, go back to the res you first selected (1080p, etc), then it fits the screen.

In others words, don't assume you're still set to 1080p in the Windows resolution selector after the resizing. Nvidia actually forces a new downsized res option to appear in the res tree. So go back in there and reset it to 1080p after you do your resizing. It's a hassle, but I've found it works.

I was also able to get it to work for a neighbor having the same exact problem. He said he never had that problem with XP, and thought it was something new since using W7. I thought it might have been the displays we were using, but I don't have this problem with my 7970.

After learning more about it, I don't buy that it's Windows or the displays used. I think it's Nvidia's quirky scaling and overall detection lately. The MSI 660 Ti I bought wouldn't even recognize my TC-L32U3 Panasonic HDTV as HDCP capable, even though my prior GTS 250 did, as well as my current 7970.