Upgrade path for AMD HD 7450

spdragoo

Splendid
Ambassador
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: at least 1 week out, possibly as long as 2 months

BUDGET RANGE: $150-250 tops, BEFORE rebates; prefer $100-200 if possible

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT (most to least):
-- Gaming: currently Halo CE, Halo 2, SWAT 4, AoE III, FarCry 1, & Starcraft II, but considering Diablo III, Call of Duty: MW2, and/or Battlefield 3/4
-- Video conversion (Nero)
-- Watching movies online
-- General office PC work

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: HD 7450 1GB; not sure of brand of PSU, but it's 750W (not at home right now)

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS:
Motherboard: Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 970 BE
RAM: 8GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3-1333 (2x4GB)
Case: Thermaltake V3 Black; standard CPU cooler, 4x120mm case fans (max for the case)
OS: Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)
Hard Drives: WD Blue (1 TB) primary, WD Green (1 TB) secondary

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: *NONE*. I want something available in retail stores -- the local Micro Center is almost right on my drive from home to work -- so no online-only items.

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA


PARTS PREFERENCES: AMD cards only

OVERCLOCKING: No

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I'm a pretty avid gamer, but I tend to stick with games that I like, even if they tend to be "older", so I don't always rush out to get the newest games when they're available. I'm not looking for absolute top-of-the-line (as seen from the price range), but I like to plan ahead on my hardware so that I'm not buying a new card every 6-12 months.
 

spdragoo

Splendid
Ambassador
Actually, not sure I had the right one on that -- that may have been a *7850*, not a 7950, at Micro Center.

Also, discovered this weekend that I may not have a 550W PSU, but rather a 550W (Cooler Power 550). Will I need to consider upgrading my PSU, then?