Video cards on a budget

[Dragon]

I'm contemplating what I would need to turn my desktop into a legitimate gaming PC. I built this system for producing music, and as far as I know, I got good hardware, but the video card is very obviously the weak link. It simply wasn't a priority for me, and I just imported the GeForce 9400 GT from my old system. But I've since bought Mass Effect and Fallout 3 from Steam, and I'm now considering getting Skyrim sometime in the near future, so that card's obviously not going to cut it.

Here's what I've got:

Intel i7 930 (2.8 GHz)
6 GB DDR3 1600 MHz
ASUS P61 SE Motherboard
600w PSU
A Playstation 3

Here's the thing - since I already have a current-gen console, I don't want to spend similar money just to play games on my computer, too. But I don't know what kind of video card it would take to put my computer on par with my PS3. I can look at deals on Newegg, but I don't have much concept of what the numbers mean. So my questions are

1. What kind of card would it take to run Skyrim comparably to the PS3?
2. Can I get such a card for about $100-$150?
3. Since I didn't build this system with gaming in mind, am I obviously missing any other pieces?

[Peter McCoy]

Very good processor and the RAM is fine. I recommend maybe a 6850 or a 6870. Jace has a 6870 I believe and he said Skyrim looks awesome. The 6870 would be maybe $15 above your stated price range but would be worth it.

Performance for Skyrim at 1920 x 1080 resolution, 4 x AA, 16 x AF (25 FPS is considered playable)

AMD Radeon HD 6850 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102908):Min FPS: 38, Max FPS: 45

AMD Radeon HD 6870 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948): Min FPS: 46, Max FPS: 55

To get any increase in performance beyond the 6870's capabilities, you'd be looking at the nVidia GTX 560 Ti, which would be $60 beyond your $150 budget. For anybody wanting to turn a PC into a gaming machine with some decent grunt and life expectancy, this is the card I would recommend. If you can afford it, go for it, otherwise, try and stretch your budget to pay for the 6870. While you'll get playable frame rates in Skyrim with the 6850, it's underpowered and won't age nearly as well as the others. Some numbers to compare the GTX 560 Ti with the other two cards in Skyrim, at the same settings:

nVidia GTX 560 Ti (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125401): Min FPS; 48, Max FPS: 56

Not a big improvement over the cheaper 6870, but this card copes far better in other games at 1920 x 1080, namely Battlefield 3, and will likely outlive the 6870. More money now, but much better value.

Though I have no first-hand experience, I dare say all three cards would out-perform a PS3 (if anything, the 6850 may not).

[Dragon]

Hmm, mail-in rebate on the HD 6870 brings it down to $144.99... not bad at all. Thanks, I'm likely going to wait until the end of the quarter before making a purchase, but this does give me some reference points, even if these deals aren't still available then.

One would think the nVidia GTX 550 Ti (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125410) would be just shy of the 560, though it's apparently not given that it's just over half the price...

[Morgan Evanar]

Nope, AMD owns that section of the price spectrum.

[Jedi Master Carr]

After my problems with the last two NVIDIA cards I had. I think I will go with AMD for my next card.

[Dragon]

Just placed an order for an AMD Radeon HD 6870 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150521) with two fans and a mail-in rebate that'll take the price down to $149.99. It'll be a while before I pick up Skyrim, and the only games I have to really test it at the moment are Mass Effect and Fallout 3, but I'm looking forward to the huge upgrade over my current card.