Need Help Selecting a Graphics Card

[Exp]

    Hey everyone! I’m new to the forums, so please forgive me if I post this in the wrong section! I’m a fan (and subscriber, of course) of Linus, but I’ve come to a point where I need a bit of individualized help.
    I have an HP Compaq 6000 Pro Microtower from (I think) 2009. It has:

• (2) Intel Core 2 Duos (Two actual CPUs) 
• (2) 2Gb DDR3 RAM (It has four total slots, and I think they're capable of 4Gb each)
• 7200 RPM Hard Drive
• A CD/DVD Drive
• 92mm Case Fan
• 320W Power Supply
• The Motherboard has 2 PCIe x1s, a PCI 1 PCIe x16, and a regular PCI port
• OS: Linux Mint 17.1 Rebecca

    I’d like to add a video card, so it can run steam and some games. In terms of budget, I wouldn’t like to spend too much more than $120 for the whole project. I was looking at the Radeon HD 7770 and the Nvidia Geforce GTX 650 ti and 750 ti (although the 750ti may be out of my budget if I need a new power supply). Also, in terms of power supply, I’m not sure what my needs would be, or if it’s even worth upgrading it. I’d like to know if the Linux kernel would have drivers installed or if I’d have to find a driver for any new parts I get, as well.
      This is my first time upgrading/adding parts on a PC. I’d love any and all advice in regards to this project!

 

Thanks,

  Exp

Edited January 14, 2015 by Exp

[zlolslavez]

r7 260(x maybe), slightly weaker than a 750TI, but fits your price range well. I don't believe it requires a 6pin cable, but may have trouble running at 320 watts.

[xvantok]

Man you should have seen my mums 10 year old pc. Parts on it I had never even heard of!

Anyway, I would go with the EVGA 750 ti which will set you back exactly $120

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-02gp43753kr

However If I were you I'd go cheaper on the GPU and upgrade your RAM to 4GB.

(If you can buy another 2GB of the same ram you have already got then get this GPU)

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-1003662l - Radeon R7 260x

(Or buy 4GB of new RAM)

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvr725xoc1gd - Radeon R7 250x

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f310600cl9d4gbns - G.Skill NS (2x2GB)

Then later when you have more money upgrade your CPU.

[Exp]

Thanks for the replies!

 

I noticed I had a typo in the original post, I do already have 4Gb (2x2Gb) of RAM already. Is that enough?

 

Also, I should mention that the PSU is stock, so it's not what I think would be a great brand. Here's a link to the model, from Amazon. The main thing that's preventing me from making a decision, is concern over the PSU's ability to keep up with the GPU. According to this site, the 750 ti would need about 400W, the R7 260 and 260x both need a 6-pin and 450W, and the 250x needs a 6-pin and 430W.

 

From that site, I think the GTX 750 (not the ti) may be the best one that's closest to 320W with reasonable power(The website says it's recommended at 350W). It seems to preform pretty well on the benchmarks. This model looks pretty good, but I'm not sure if it could use the 2Gb, as opposed to 1Gb. Also, would this maybe be too powerful for my existing setup? Is there such thing as too powerful? Would I be able to get away with a GTX 750 with my 320W PSU?

 

Other than that, I think the only one that would be ideal under my PSU would be a GTX 730, which is pretty cheap (around $54) and its recommended PSU wattage would be 300.

 

My only concern with the 750 ti would be its power consumption. If I end up getting it, and it draws too much power, I would need to buy a new power supply, which might blow the budget out of the water.

 

I know this is a lot of questions, and again, I appreciate any and all advice!

 

Thanks again,

  Exp