I used to have a problem the same as you but with only 2gb of ram, my computer was also old but the motherboard wasnt too bad, I upgraded my graphics card to an nvidia gforce gtx 660 and all my problems were over, unfortunately that cost me around $150 which is well out of your price range, I’m not sure there is much you can do with that amount of money.
If you’re look at that budget, your PSU will most likely do the trick with any GPU within that range. Personally, I would recommend fully investing the budget for decent GPU. I would recommend Nvidia over ATI because of my personal experiences (ATI sucks in terms of their drivers and hardware). If you don’t happen to know how to check your wattage for your PSU, just open your PC tower case and look at the sticker on the PSU.
His current PSU only has a maximum power of 300 watts, which is nothing. The GPU I recommended required at least 350 watts. Even if he decides to upgrade his GPU, a 300 watt PSU will not allow him to run a good GPU.
I’m seeing a huge range of prices from googling it lol, from $60-250. It does require a power supply of at least 400 watts with a 6 pin connector. EVGA is a solid manufacturer in my opinion, so if it fits your budget, go for it.
DVI is the connector on the card that goes to your monitor. In order to use your graphics card, you’ll be plugging the monitor into the card, instead of the port you’re using now.
You have to be careful here, as there’s several different types of DVI. Some are only one way compatible, so it’s important to know which one you got.
Also, make sure you monitor has a DVI input, or be prepared to have a means to convert it to HDMI or VGA (I’d really hope you have something other than VGA for your monitor).
A new GPU will make a world of difference on your machine.
Most importantly, make sure the GPU will fit into your motherboard. Don’t be an idiot like me and get PCI when you have PCI-E x16… A lot of this stuff can look the same at first glance, but it will not fit.
Two recommendations: I would buy a GPU that has HDMI instead because with DVI, I accidentally hit it and it damaged my old GPU and cord. Unless your monitor does not have HDMI, I would not recommend DVI. Secondly, try to get a new GPU over one that’s been used. I typically don’t like getting used parts for any pc. And as ei8htx stated, make sure it fits with your mobo and tower.
Once you figure out whether your ends on your monitor and GPU are DVI-I or DVI-D, then finding the connector cord is downhill.
I wouldn’t sweat the “made for Vista stuff”. A GPU is a GPU. It’ll work on most anything with the correct drivers, and certainly any Windows OS after Vista.
Thanks for the Help guys. I will post if this turns out to be successful. With my current purchases I will be within my original budget.
EDIT: Received gpu in the mail. Looks pretty and the cords are in original un-opened bags.
