Good graphics card for Windows Vista Business Optiplex 760

[Robert Berry]

I've already posted this on Tom's Hardware and couldn't really find a good response, so here it goes again:

My friend and I are donating a computer I have to a kid who lost his old computer in a house fire. The computer we're giving him is a little older than his old one, but it should suffice until his family can afford a new one. Its an older computer, but it worked fine the last time I used it about a little over a year ago, so hopefully its alright for him for the time being. We want to put in a new graphics card before we give it to him though because he enjoys computer games. I'll give you the specs of the PC and hopefully someone can recommend a good graphics card for the computer that will run well with it. Also, if you could, is there a better processor you would recommend buying as well?

Specs:
Microsoft Windows Vista Business
Version 6.0.6002 Service Pack 2 Build 6002
Manufactured by Dell
System model OptiPlex 760
System type X86-based PC (32 bits)
Processor Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, E8400 @ 3.00GHz, 3000MHz, 2 cores
SMBIOS Version 2.5
RAM = 2.00GB
Total Virtual Memory = 4.14GB
Page File Space = 2.24GB
PSU is assumed to be 300w, I'm not for sure though but I can check if I have to

Thanks for your help! Price range can be anything under $130!

 

[IllogicalGlory]

1050 Ti 4GB $140 It's $10 above your price range, but it's by far the best purchase. It's easily reusable if you do a chipset/CPU upgrade later on. You might be fine with a 1050 2GB, but there don't seem to be many in stock right now and it's not overly suitable if you ever upgrade.

Still, it's going to be hard to breathe life into that system. I'd recommend finding a Core 2 quad and getting another 2GB of RAM, but its performance will still be very limited. If you had a 64-bit system, your situation would be a lot better with 8GB of RAM.

With what you have now (plus another 2GB), you'd have a lot of trouble playing current-gen games, but last-gen ports like Bioshock Infinite, Battlefield 3, Fallout 3, Skyrim vanilla, Tomb Raider 2013, those would all be fine with 4GB, maybe even with the Core 2 Duo that you have right now.

Getting a 1050/Ti and an extra 2GB are essential upgrades. Core 2 Quad would be the cherry on top.

EDIT: With what Spjut said, my advice may not be valid. The fact that it's Vista another serious compatibility concern.

 

[nurturedhate]

Since basically anything is going to be bottlenecked by the rest of that system I'd go with the cheapest Nvidia 750ti or AMD 460 you can find that doesn't require a 6pin. Anything faster than that and it just isn't worth it. Should be able to find either for under $100. Even those two are probably overkill.

 

[nurturedhate]

1050 Ti 4GB $140 It's $10 above your price range, but it's by far the best purchase. It's easily reusable if you do a chipset/CPU upgrade later on. You might be fine with a 1050 2GB, but there don't seem to be many in stock right now and it's not overly suitable if you ever upgrade.

Still, it's going to be hard to breathe life into that system. I'd recommend finding a Core 2 quad and getting another 2GB of RAM, but its performance will still be very limited. If you had a 64-bit system, your situation would be a lot better with 8GB of RAM.

With what you have now, you'd have a lot of trouble playing current-gen games, but last-gen ports like Bioshock Infinite, Battlefield 3, Tomb Raider 2013, those would all be fine with 4GB, maybe even with the Core 2 Duo that you have right now.

Getting a 1050/Ti and an extra 2GB are essential upgrades. Core 2 Quad would be the cherry on top.

Thought about the 1050/1050ti as well, just couldn't find anything close price wise. Honestly, the used market might not be a terrible idea depending on where you live OP. Finding an old 7750 or something would suffice as well.

 

[Spjut]

The GTX 1000 cards don't have Vista drivers. Nvidia supported Vista until the 900 cards and pulled the plug at the release of the 1000 cards, and AMD stopped support back in 2013.