Hey guys, I'm currently looking to upgrade my now dead BFG 8800 GT+ Oc (512MB), and was looking for some expert opinions on which card should I get 
! Here's my situation in more detail and my budget.
So around this time last year, I decided to upgrade the graphic card of my Dell XPS 600. This computer originally had a 7800GTX 256MB, and still has a dual core CPU clocked @ 3.00 GHz (it's a Pentium D), with 2 Gigs of RAM (probably DDR2, but not 100% sure). So I finally went with a BFG 8800 GT+ Overclocked for under 100$ under the recommendations of a now defunct message board (this was pretty much the best option price/performance wise with keeping in mind bottle-necking issues).
All was fine for 3 months, until my new card's fan started to vibrate and hit the casing of the card. I immediately called BFG since I knew they had a great life warranty on their cards. But whoops! That was about the time they hit bankruptcy... So I did a few modifications on the card, removed some of the casing that was rubbing on the fan, and accepted that my card was living on borrowed time.
Fast forward to today. My card fried. So for now, I still got my old 7800 in, but want to upgrade it one last time so that my computer may last me for 1 year and a half longer. I use my computer mainly to game, and I understand I might not be able to run Crysis on ultra settings, but I want the best possible experience given my limited CPU. Ideally, I also would like to stick with NVidia, unless ATI's alternative would be much much better.
With the GT8800 (while it worked), I could play all the games I wanted reasonably well, so I guess I'm looking for something in that range. After some research, I'm torn between an EVGA 9800GT (1Gig) for 80$, and a few GTS 250s: One is a MSI GTS 250 (512MB) for 30$, the other is a Zotac GTS 250 (1Gig) at 50$. I'm still a little frustrated with my BFG purchase, so 80$-100$ would be my max to spend.
What are the performance differences between those 3 cards? According to a comparison site, the GTS 250 *would* be more powerful, but with the pricing I feel skeptical. And most importantly, would any of them bottle-neck in my computer? Which would you recommend, including others I didn't list?
Thank you for helping a not-too-tech savvy gamer!!
! Here's my situation in more detail and my budget.So around this time last year, I decided to upgrade the graphic card of my Dell XPS 600. This computer originally had a 7800GTX 256MB, and still has a dual core CPU clocked @ 3.00 GHz (it's a Pentium D), with 2 Gigs of RAM (probably DDR2, but not 100% sure). So I finally went with a BFG 8800 GT+ Overclocked for under 100$ under the recommendations of a now defunct message board (this was pretty much the best option price/performance wise with keeping in mind bottle-necking issues).
All was fine for 3 months, until my new card's fan started to vibrate and hit the casing of the card. I immediately called BFG since I knew they had a great life warranty on their cards. But whoops! That was about the time they hit bankruptcy... So I did a few modifications on the card, removed some of the casing that was rubbing on the fan, and accepted that my card was living on borrowed time.
Fast forward to today. My card fried. So for now, I still got my old 7800 in, but want to upgrade it one last time so that my computer may last me for 1 year and a half longer. I use my computer mainly to game, and I understand I might not be able to run Crysis on ultra settings, but I want the best possible experience given my limited CPU. Ideally, I also would like to stick with NVidia, unless ATI's alternative would be much much better.
With the GT8800 (while it worked), I could play all the games I wanted reasonably well, so I guess I'm looking for something in that range. After some research, I'm torn between an EVGA 9800GT (1Gig) for 80$, and a few GTS 250s: One is a MSI GTS 250 (512MB) for 30$, the other is a Zotac GTS 250 (1Gig) at 50$. I'm still a little frustrated with my BFG purchase, so 80$-100$ would be my max to spend.
What are the performance differences between those 3 cards? According to a comparison site, the GTS 250 *would* be more powerful, but with the pricing I feel skeptical. And most importantly, would any of them bottle-neck in my computer? Which would you recommend, including others I didn't list?
Thank you for helping a not-too-tech savvy gamer!!
