Help choosing Graphic Card

[snickerstc]

I have a Dell Inspiron 660.
Processor Intel i-5-3340 @3.10 Ghz.
8 GB Ram
Windows 7 64 bit.

I would like to add a graphic card to play some of the newer games.
My budget is between $150 - $200.

Does anyone have any suggestions. TIA

[philquad]

better check to see if that dell mb has a pci express slot 1st
in usa ? sumthin like this badass will sort you out
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202112

[snickerstc]

Thanks, I do have a pci express slot on the mb. This card looks like a real monster. I will check into it.

[gloster]

We've got a load of 660s in our office that I configured, when choosing a card you've got to bear in mind 2 things for this machine space and power consumption.

Firstly I presume you've got the tower chassis which means a 280 or 290w PSU then there's length available which is around 23-25cm ish before it fouls the HDD caddys in the front of the case.

To be honest, we do a lot of CAD work and the highest I would go would be an nvidia 750TI in this machine, check out the review below.

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/Upgrade-Story-Can-GTX-750-Ti-Convert-OEMs-PCs-Gaming-PCs

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487025&cm_re=750ti-_-14-487-025-_-Product

Even if you can fit and afford a more powerful card the PSU might not take it. I haven't looked that hard at the connections on the standard unit, but you might find it has proprietary connections which means that upgrading will be hard as dell used to change some of the pin wiring's.

If this is the case, then you are going to be stuck with a card that takes all of its power from the pci, as such I would then recommend investing in an ssd if you haven't got one, as that will give you the biggest performance boost for your money. The Samsung's are good and come with the Data Migration software which is idiot proof to the clone the machine, if you don't have the media and license access to do a fresh install.

[zerosquared]

I used to stick with AMD but NVidia is just as good these days.

[gloster]

Zerosquared totally agree, always used to put ATI stuff in our machines, but new nvidia cards are more efficent on power consumption.

Snickerstc dont get me wrong Dells are good machines have got several myself, but you must realise they are limited to ram, hdd and graphics cards, psu and mobo upgrades are not really possible, maybe on the XPS and Alienware machine but not at the lower end.

That said am currently looking at a cheap i5 Optiplex on their outlet store but it would be limited to 750ti, dont think a 960 and a 290w psu would play nice. So completely contradicting myself!

[bubjet]

I just bought a AMD 290 that I'm very happy with, but you'll probably have to upgrade your powersupply before you can run a 290. Newegg had a sale recently so the 290 was $220 after a $30 mail in rebate.

[Gamer_155]

For $200, the GTX 960 will handle almost every game you throw at it @ 60fps at almost highest settings.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SD9KZA0/

Here's some benchmarks to help you for reference:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU14/815

Also, Bubjet is right. Before you get a stronger GPU, you need to make sure that you're current power supply can handle the new GPU or else it would damage it. For what you need, I suggest that you get atleast a 500w power supply if not a 750w.
EXAMPLE:
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-80PLUS-Certified-ATX12V-100-W1-0500-KR/dp/B00H33SFJU/

[cheetah33]

You should confirm how many watts the power supply you have is before buying something. the Nvidia 750 TI seems good (lower power requirements).

Another option would be to buy a second hand card.

[userb]

i'd suggest going with a GTX 960. low power requirement. more power efficient. get a shorter card as well since you're using a dell machine, length may be an issue. go for a zotac 960 or asus 960.