Does a upgraded graphics card ONLY increase FPS?

[tom1l1]

Two friends told me if I upgraded from my gt 610 (350 benchmark) to a radeon 7850 (3500 benchmark) that graphics would not change it would only make games run smoother and get a higher fps.

For example Im playing a game on medium settings and it works fine but highest settings tend to skip on occasion, would going from a gt 610 to a rd7850 really look the EXACT same?

 

[shadowwolf43]

Yes. It gives you higher FPS which in turn you can play on higher settings which which will make it look different. But the GFX card does nto DIRECTLY affect the look

 

[IRONBATMAN]

The HD 7850 is WAY better than the GT 610. Of. Use you'll get better performance with the HD 7850

 

[Onus]

Settings would be a lot better, and you could play games on a HD7850 that would completely choke a GT610. With higher settings, what you see would indeed change. What would not change is the resolution of your monitor. Unless you've been playing at 1366x768 on a 1920x1080 monitor to allow your GT610 to play at all, that won't change.

Make sure your PSU is up to the task. The GT610 uses very little power. The HD7850 needs one PCIe power connector. If your PSU doesn't have one, using adapters may not be safe. If that is the case, the HD7750 is the strongest card you can get that does not need a PCIe power connection. Though not as strong as a HD7850, it is much better than the GT610 and would be worthwhile. Otherwise, upgrade your PSU as well. On a budget, the Antec VP-450 is a good choice. Any of their Earthwatts PSUs would be good too.

 

[clonazepam]

A higher end graphics card runs faster and has more memory available to it. That memory is also faster. It enables you to increase the visual quality of games and still maintain playable and smooth framerates. How much you can increase the quality depends on the game. You upgrading to a 7850 would be a huge leap.

Here's a listing of their "best graphics cards for the money" Sept 2013

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html

Find the 7850 on the hierarchy chart at the end, and then try to find the gt 610, I stopped looking after seeing the gt 630 miles below

The 610 doesn't even register, at any price point. Here's a link where they benchmark the 7870/7850

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7870-review-benchmark,3148.html

 

[tom1l1]

Ok thanks for the answers guys!