Windows 7: Need Help Choosing a Graphics Card to Buy

I'm planning on upgrading my graphics card to somewhere in the ATI Radeon HD 7000 series. however, this seems to be a more difficult job choosing what graphics card to get since there seems to more to a graphics card.

My current system specs are listed to the left
<---



The max I can pay for it $200.

Can someone help in choosing a good graphics card somewhere in the ATI Radeon HD 7000 series that is less $200 or less and will work with my system specs?

Your generic PSU description means nothing.
Brand?
Certified?

If you can spend a little extra, go with the 7850

Is it compatible with my system specs? I had an issue before where I was only able to upgrade to 5700 but now that everything has been upgraded, I need to know if my new specs can run it.

Again. The psu information you provided means nothing. If it's a crappy brand, not certified at least as bronze, you will be limited to very few cards you can use from the 7000 series, and if you try to without knowing your PSU's power you could kill it, and take the whole system down with it.

So what are your PSU'S specs?

Last time the reason i could only go up to 5700 was because of the motherboard and not the PSU. I don't know any more information about the PSU unless I open the computer up but I'm pretty sure the PSU is fine. It cost over $50.

Is the graphics card compatible with my motherboard?

Yes, but it doesn't matter if you have a cheap PSU.

If you have to open up your computer it means you've never seen your PSU, which means you don't know the brand, this leads us to believe that you have a low powered psu that will most likely prevent the card from firing up. Does it even have the pci express power connectors?

I have opened the computer because I had to upgrade the psu before when upgrading the Processor. My dad was the one who bought the PSU that was recommened by a store when we told them about the plans we were having for future upgrades such as upgrading to the 7000 series. My Dad knows for sure the PSU is fine. It is not a cheap PSU. I just need to know if the graphics card is compatible with the motherboard.

Fine, risk it if you will. Yes, the motherboard is compatible, you can also do a simple check on google, and type the name of your motherboard plus the name of the card you are interested in installing.

Goodluck with the PSU.

Your motherboard has a PCI-E X16 3.0 slot, so it should support any PCI-E X16 graphics card.

The main issues would be whether your power supply has the right PCI-E auxiliary power connectors (can be worked around with adapters, but that's not preferred), whether it has enough current capacity, and whether the card will physically fit in you case. (Some cards are too long for some cases.)

At a hard limit of $200CD, it looks like the highest end card would be a Radeon HD 7850:

Newegg.ca - Computer Hardware, Video Cards & Video Devices, Desktop Graphics Cards, $100 - $200, AMD

There are some 2GB models on the list. Here's one:

SAPPHIRE HD 7850 2GB GDDR5#

Sapphire requires a 500W PSU with two 6 pin PCI-E power connectors. The card is 207 mm (8.15") long, so it's not a long one.

The nearest nVidia based competitor looks like the 660 card (not 660ti), but it'd be a little more expensive.

Ok thanks for the help. I'll go with the graphics card that you suggested in the last link. I'm pretty sure the PSU will be fine but just in case later on before I install the graphics card, I'll take a picture of the details.