Upgrade Advice for a Dell Precision T3400, mid to upper performance?

[Ziptar]

I haven't owned a desktop computer since 2004 my last card was Radeon 9700, so I am a bit out of touch. Recently I was given a Dell Precision T3400, the basics:
Core 2 Duo 3.0Ghz - E8400
8GB Ram
QuadroFX 1700 512MB
525W PSU with two PCIe connectors
Dell 2007FPW 1680x1050

The Dell documentation tells me this:
Support for two PCI Express® x16 Gen 2 or Gen 3 graphics cards up to 300W (total for graphics)
* Supports NVIDIA SLI®

I started playing Skyrim on it a month or so ago 1024x768 on Medium . I've gotten into it a little and added a few mods but now I'd like things to look pretty. I thought about adding a big expensive card, new PSU, and maybe a quad core and more RAM but, if I am going to do all that, might as well build new.

So in the meantime.. I am looking for something I can do High to Ultra settings with at 1680x1050 and maintain decent FPS in the $50 - $100 range and without sinking money into a new PSU. I was also thinking a 2GB or 4GB card would be good so I can add the HD textures but they are all DDR3 so is that pointless?

These all seem to fit he bill but not sure which way to go... I am open to any suggestion...
GeForce 9800 GT $60 - (Maybe two in SLI) ??
Radeon 6570 2GB DDR3 - $70
Radeon 6670 2GB DDR3 - $70
Radeon 6770 1GB DDR5 - $70
GeForce GT 630 4GB - $70
Radeon 5850 - $90-ish Used

I've been using hwcompare.com to narrow things down and am kind of surprised to see the 5850 beating them all? On that note should I just find a couple of cheap older cards and Crossfire / SLI them?

Thanks!!

 

[Jimzz]

The 2gb DDR3 cards are a waste, the ram is more than the card can really use for games. Heck even new highend cards have a hard time filling up 2gb+ DDR5 ram.


Look for a used GTX460 or something on that line if your budget is limited to $100.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I haven't owned a desktop computer since 2004 my last card was Radeon 9700, so I am a bit out of touch. Recently I was given a Dell Precision T3400, the basics:
Core 2 Duo 3.0Ghz - E8400
8GB Ram
QuadroFX 1700 512MB
525W PSU with two PCIe connectors
Dell 2007FPW 1680x1050

The Dell documentation tells me this:
Support for two PCI Express® x16 Gen 2 or Gen 3 graphics cards up to 300W (total for graphics)
* Supports NVIDIA SLI®

I started playing Skyrim on it a month or so ago 1024x768 on Medium . I've gotten into it a little and added a few mods but now I'd like things to look pretty. I thought about adding a big expensive card, new PSU, and maybe a quad core and more RAM but, if I am going to do all that, might as well build new.

So in the meantime.. I am looking for something I can do High to Ultra settings with at 1680x1050 and maintain decent FPS in the $50 - $100 range and without sinking money into a new PSU. I was also thinking a 2GB or 4GB card would be good so I can add the HD textures but they are all DDR3 so is that pointless?

These all seem to fit he bill but not sure which way to go... I am open to any suggestion...
GeForce 9800 GT $60 - (Maybe two in SLI) ??
Radeon 6570 2GB DDR3 - $70
Radeon 6670 2GB DDR3 - $70
Radeon 6770 1GB DDR5 - $70
GeForce GT 630 4GB - $70
Radeon 5850 - $90-ish Used

I've been using hwcompare.com to narrow things down and am kind of surprised to see the 5850 beating them all? On that note should I just find a couple of cheap older cards and Crossfire / SLI them?

Thanks!!

All those 6 series AMD cards are low end or low mid range cards, despite being a generation newer ( 6xxx series vs 5xxx series). The 5850 is a higher range card from the previous generation, so yes it will be faster. A used card as the previous poster suggested is a viable option. However, if you dont go any higher resolution than 1680 x 1050, a HD7770 would probably be adequate. You can get one for 100.00 or less if you shop carefully. I know it is above you budget, but a HD7850 would be even better. You can probably find one in the 180.00 range. Both these cards are easy on power for the performance they give.

 

[Ziptar]

Awesome card suggestions. I'll look around for a used 5850 or GTX 460 or a new 7770.

Many Thanks!