GPU upgrade from Intel HD 3000 Graphics help!

Resolved question

by Yayap7 - 3/2/12 9:12 PM

Hey, I am in the market for a GPU upgrade from the Intel HD 3000 Graphics that are internal in my i5 2500K, to something a bit better. The thing is, I can't figure out what to get.. I have a current max budget on this thing of $180
I want to be able to play things like Bioshock, Borderlands, Portal 2, Mass Effect 3, LA Noir, SuperMNC, and Skyrim on around mid/ moderate settings and not have screen tares, laggy viewing, slow textures or anything below 26FPS in any of those games.
So many varieties, it's hard to choose one within that budget that will work well with a game released 2 or 3 years from now..

Also, a big factor is that I have a 500W power supply in my PC build. I don't want to get a GPU that can short out my computer just because I have a lower power supply; I was looking at the Radeon HD 6870 until I saw that a low(500W, which now that I think of it, IDK why I didn't get a 600W+ PSU..) PSU might not be able to handle it..

So any advice for a new PC gamer that can't get anything that is more than $180, and can't short out his 500W PSU??

Thanks!
Here are my PC build specs::

HAF 912 ATX computer case
Intel i5 2500K @ 4.0GHz
Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UH3H-B3 155LGA Motherboard
Crucial 8GB D3 1600 RAM
Hyper 212+ CPU cooler
OCZ Pro 500W PSU
Hitachi 1TB 7200RPM HardDrive
Samsung 22X Read/Write DVD drive
OEM Win 7