Upgrading my graphics card.

[Riavan]

Hey guys, I currently have...
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E6550 @ 2.33GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.3GHz.
Memory: 3072MB RAM
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT
I believe my PSU is a Bestec TFX0250D5W (revision X3), and has a total maximum power of 250W

Saw this on another forum "The Vostro 200 Mini Tower can use most generic standard ATX power supply units, with either a 24-pin or 20+4-pin main motherboard power connector, with or without the on/off switch."

Now the only games I run on my PC are WoW and ToR, Wow runs fine mid-high range. I do currently have a problem with ToR though, I have everything on low (this is all textures on low, no shadows, no grass, low quality trees etc) and it runs alright, but I'd prefer if it didn't look as bad as it did.

Now my question is, would upgrading my graphics card be worth it? Would I see a considerable difference? My budget would be around 200 bucks. If I had to upgrade my PSU as well to accomodate a new card I thought it might not be worth it, since I can get a decent new computer for $800AUD. I'd just prefer not to spend the money if I don't have to, since Wow and Tor are the only games I play and my computer seems to run everything else I use it for just dandy.

Also, it gets pretty flippin' hot where I live, would the card run a lot hotter etc? Because I dont know if I can handle my room being any hotter than it currently gets.

Thanks for the help.

[Nellah]

The GPU will almost certainly run hotter, the 8600GT was a midrange card.

For $200, look to the next-gen AMD cards that are releasing soon. If you can hold out a bit longer on your 8600GT, you can probably get some pretty slick performance from the HD 7xxx series. However, you would also certainly need a new PSU, 250 watts is very, very low.

Factoring $60 for a good power supply, you'd have $140 left in the budget. A GTX460 / HD 6850 would be a good card, likely.

Is your Vostro 200 a slim tower or a regular mini tower?

[Riavan]

The GPU will almost certainly run hotter, the 8600GT was a midrange card.

For $200, look to the next-gen AMD cards that are releasing soon. If you can hold out a bit longer on your 8600GT, you can probably get some pretty slick performance from the HD 7xxx series. However, you would also certainly need a new PSU, 250 watts is very, very low.

Factoring $60 for a good power supply, you'd have $140 left in the budget. A GTX460 / HD 6850 would be a good card, likely.

Is your Vostro 200 a slim tower or a regular mini tower?

I'm not really sure, I think it's just a regular mini tower, because its still like 6inches or 15cm thick.
I couldn't find many GTX460's for sale anymore, I'd have to buy one from amazon.
If it runs hotter, will I need more cooling equipment? There dosn't seem to be a hell of a lot of ventalation on the case.

[evilblade]

A gtx550 then perhaps, since a gtx560 is more then $200 ..

[Nellah]

A gtx550 then perhaps, since a gtx560 is more then $200 ..

A GTX460 is much faster.

You likely won't need more case ventilation, the GTX460 vents half its air out through the back of the case. Best to install a temperature monitor for your CPU (CoreTemp is good) and GPU (MSI Afterburner) to watch the temperatures. If it goes past 95C on the GPU or probably 60C on the CPU, you'll need more cooling.

[Ghâzh]

You can get a GTX 560 for under $200. Really no point in buying GTX 460 anymore in my opinion, go for the Radeon 6850. It's energy use and temperatures are slightly less compared to 460 which should technically give you cooler room temps.

Like said, you will need a new power supply to run the card. I'd actually consider buying a new pc altogether as you are running older dual core at the moment, a new graphics card might not give you the results you are looking for.