A decent video card with a modest budget...NEED HELP PLS!!!

[Ebonheart]

So just to put it out I am pretty much bad when it comes to computers. Its basically another language for me.

So now that I've got that out of the way. This is my current hardware set up. Just to let everyone know that I will be investing in a better computer down the road. However, I will be buying one specifically for The Elder Scrolls Online and since they have not even listed the minimum system requirements I ain't going to jump the gun here and buy a new one in advance. So I am mostly just looking to upgrade my video card for the foreseeable future.

This is my current setup:

Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.vistasp2_gdr.130104-1437)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: Inspiron 530
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E4400 @ 2.00GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.0GHz
Memory: 2046MB RAM
Page File: 1540MB used, 2795MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 7.00.6002.18107 32bit Unicode


Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce 8400 GS
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0404&SUBSYS_C7383842&REV_A1
Display Memory: 1266 MB
Dedicated Memory: 499 MB
Shared Memory: 767 MB
Current Mode: 1440 x 900 (32 bit) (60Hz)

So my budget is around anything below $100.00. I would be willing to push it up to $150.00 if required.

I was actually thinking about picking up a GTX 550 Ti. Any recommendations?

Thanks a lot.

[n0cturnal]

Radeon 7770.

For $130 you can get a Geforce GTX 650Ti.
For $150 you could possible get a Radeon 7850.

[chazus]

Pretty much that. Though it seems like a waste of $100 if you plan to upgrade from that soon anyway.

[Ebonheart]

Does anyone else have any suggestions or recommendations?

[Jargan]

As with most MMOs, the game will probably be heavily CPU-dependent. I would recommend you save up for a new motherboard/CPU and a new GPU. TES Online shouldn't be out for a while so with enough time you should be able to get better hardware and play the game with the settings you want.

i5-2500K/3750K + 7850 should be more than enough. If I was looking to upgrade, I'd save up until you know exactly what you need and plan accordingly.

You could get away with less, depending on how much $ you can save up and how demanding the game is. The 7850 is ~$165 right now with ~50% better performance than the 7770 depending on the game and settings. As for ES V:Skyrim, CPU is a bigger factor than GPU although both are important.
(Source: http://www.anandtech.com/show/5625/a...ern-islands/13)

[chazus]

Does anyone else have any suggestions or recommendations?

Not sure what you're expecting. At that budget, there's only a few specific cards that will work, and they've already been listed.