Graphics card upgrade for gaming

Can you give us a little more info regarding your system? CPU, RAM, mobo, etc.

It depends on what resolution you plan to game at. Now-a-days kids on their fancy suped up screens usually go for 1920x1080. The crazy ones with fat pockets even go 2560x1600. So, for 1920x1080 resolution $130 is going to get you into 25-30fps on high settings maybe with a HD 7770 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168..., some consider those framerates unplayable. Now for $170, you could step into 35-40 fps on high settings with the HD 7850 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168.... And as for the extra GB of ram its is worth it, it gives you more headroom to process.

I have a 3570k @ 4.2 ghz with a 7950 (stock speeds at 800 mghz core and 1250 mghz memory) on an OCZ agility 3 120 gb SSD and maxed out i only get 47 avg fps on planetside 2 but that was about 3 months ago probably get around 55 avg fps now because driver updates. So idk about getting 35-40 fps avg fps with a 7850. If you want to play all games right now maxed out except for AA settings i would recommend the 7870 ghz edition: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... and as for a power supply to run this bad boy i would personally get this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... I can *almost* guarantee you being able to max out everything out there (except for AA settings like said above) with this setup assuming you have a decent CPU.

i would suggest you get the GTX 650 Ti
great card for the price.small form factor but plenty powerful to run games at 1080p

For planetside 2 you would need my suggested setup to play that on high settings and it also being playable...

Here are my specs as taken by Speccy:
Summary
Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1
CPU AMD Athlon II X4 63 Propus 45nm Technology
RAM 4.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 401MHz (6-6-6-18)
Motherboard PEGATRON CORPORATION NARRA5 (Socket AM2 )
Graphics
HP 2310 (1920x1080@60Hz)
NVIDIA GeForce GT 610 2GB
Hard Drives
596GB Western Digital WDC WD64 00AAKS-65Z7B SCSI Disk Device (ATA)
Optical Drives
hp DVD-RAM GH60L SCSI CdRom Device
Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

Manufacturer: HP, Model:BT456AA-ABA p6627c Pavilion Tower

I realize this is not a good gaming system, and not a decent computer at all, but I am hoping to, with the help of the new graphics card, be able to play Minecraft, FSX, TF@, and PlanetSide 2 at respectable settings. With the gt610, I can play all but the last two at great settings. Also, I am hoping to be able to use AutoDesk Inventor again.

I plan to run at the least 720p, but I wouldprefer 1080p.
And as for the HD7850 you posted...broken link, so is this a fairly good deal? It is the 2gb variation, you have convinced me I need that  .
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... And how does this compare to this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168.... The ZOTAC variation is the same price if it makes a difference. And what aboub compared to the HD 7770 for the value?

So it appears it is down between the 7770 2GB, GTX 650, GTX 650 Ti, and Radeon 7850 Ghz Edition. If it is a readeon card, I will go for the Ghz edtion...but can my PSU support ANY of these cards?

And also, the card must be from Best Buy if I correctly understand their return policy, but if you find a cheaper one somewhere else, I will take them up on the matching-price guarantee!  

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/VisionTek+-+AMD+Radeon+HD+7...;tab=reviews?id=1218637214888&skuId=5390075

could the best one you can buy from best buy... unless you want to spend the extra 100 and get this http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Graphic+Card/1305391...;jsessionid=E0F5BAE2C59366209C9822701611E238.bbolsp-app01-39?id=mp1305391626&skuId=1305391626&st=7850&cp=1&lp=5


which isn't recommended.

newegg is the best to buy from.. so yeah :\

in my opinion i would go with this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

and for your psu if its under 500-600w you will be needing to upgrade it for future upgrades as well  

I agree that the sapphire GPU is best for the value/performance standpoint +1. A PSU i would buy if i would be in your shoes would be this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

So for any of these cards, willI need a new PSU? I am not sure what I have now, but I left my system model...and if you can't tell from that, I will take it apart to find out. And all of you seem to say the 7850, but what about the GTX650 Ti 2GB? Also, I will be (hopefully) filming with DxTory, so will the GPU affect the FPS while recording? And what about for AutoDesk Inventor, the nvidia or radeon?

Go with the 7850 its better than Nvidias 650 ti by a significant margin. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/541?vs=549