Help with a new graphics card?

[Lem0nade Inlay]

Hey guys,

It felt weird asking something as trivial as this in the advice forum so I put it in off topic.

But my computer specs are generally good except for my crappy Nvidia 8600 GTS which isn't that great for gaming.

I've got quite a bit of money saved up at the moment, and I'm thinking of purchasing a new graphics card.

But I'm a noob when it comes to hardware, so I'm not sure of two things:

- Will any graphics card fit my computer?

- What card would you recommend I buy? (Nvidia please, I'm not familiar with ATI so)

Oh and would you suggest I put it in? Or just take it to a computer guy?

Thanks!

EDIT: Ah yes I forgot to include some very important details:

Intel Core2 Quad Q6700 2.66ghz

4gb Ram

And I'm willing to spend about $150-200?

Or alternatively

Should I just upgrade to Windows 7 from Vista? Would that help the performance of any games?

 

[MagicMouse]

We need information about your computer.

What size case do you have
How many watts is your power supply
What is your budget

 

[The Virgo]

How much money do you have exactly?

That right there is the base of the answer you are looking for. If you have $600, buy a videocard. If you have $5,000, buy a new computer and be done with it. See what I mean? The size of your budget determines the answer.

Also, don't feel bad. I have a GeForce 6600 GT and I lack the funds to upgrade ANY part of my computer. What's worse is that Skyrim is just around the corner. Sigh ... :'-(

 

[Medallish]

Most importantly is what CPU you have, I wouldn't go too high since then you might get limited by the CPU, I would say a safe upgrade would be AMD HD6770 or GTX550. just a guess based on the age of 8600GT cards and machines bundled with them.

 

[Lem0nade Inlay]

We need information about your computer.

What size case do you have
How many watts is your power supply
What is your budget

How can I determine my power supply?

 

[Musiclly enhanced]

We need information about your computer.

What size case do you have
How many watts is your power supply
What is your budget

How can I determine my power supply?

either open it up or find the packaging or if you know what volts it has (usually 12 i think) and times it by the amps of your power supply and you get the watts

also a decent upgrade would be a Nvidia GTX460 or more or a ATI radeon HD 6770 or higher
also its easy to add in a new grahpics card its just putting things out and into the same slots

 

[MagicMouse]

We need information about your computer.

What size case do you have
How many watts is your power supply
What is your budget

How can I determine my power supply?

Just get the model number of your computer off the side of the case and Google it. Most manufacturers will have the information on their website.