Should I upgrade my graphics card?

[SteveGorac]

Curious to see if there is any need to update now or in the near future. I currently have and MSI HD7970 AMD graphics card and am just starting to run into a few things that I can't run on ultra. My processor is brand new i7 4790k so that shouldn't be the problem. Just wondering if there's anything significantly better out there or if I should just wait a bit for something better to come out.

 

[Bossyfins]

Ehh, I would wait for amd's 3xx series. The 7970 is pretty much a 290 but the 290 is a little bit better.

My Opinion: Wait for a new AMD line or nVidia line.

 

[LucoTF]

Curious to see if there is any need to update now or in the near future. I currently have and MSI HD7970 AMD graphics card and am just starting to run into a few things that I can't run on ultra. My processor is brand new i7 4790k so that shouldn't be the problem. Just wondering if there's anything significantly better out there or if I should just wait a bit for something better to come out.

A GTX 970 or 980 would be a decent upgrade for you, but there's nothing wrong with a 7970 really.

 

[BenJaD]

Curious to see if there is any need to update now or in the near future. I currently have and MSI HD7970 AMD graphics card and am just starting to run into a few things that I can't run on ultra. My processor is brand new i7 4790k so that shouldn't be the problem. Just wondering if there's anything significantly better out there or if I should just wait a bit for something better to come out.

A GTX 970 or 980 would be a decent upgrade for you, but there's nothing wrong with a 7970 really.

Suggest that you take a look at Best Graphics Cards For The Money, February Updates - GPU Hierarchy here on Tom's. I think I recall a comment somewhere that there should be at a minimum 2 levels above your current graphics card for a replacement card to have a significant impact. In the end however, it is all in your eyes - and what you are using the graphics for.
My issue was Dragon Age Inquisition - I was experiencing smearing and tearing after 30 minutes of play - my GTX 660 was essentially overheating and could no longer handle the demand I was putting on it. The game has a built in benchmark that I had checked early on - and then again when I had problems. I probably could have dialed down the graphics on the game and continued - I chose not to.
I upgraded my system OS drive from a 120G SSD to a 250 SSD. I ran the benchmark again and found that I had gained about 5% increase in frame rate. I had long been lusting after the GTX 970 - when EVGA released a new model - or upgraded model - with backplate, etc. I bought it. That install essentially doubled the frame rate I had been seeing on the DAI bench mark.
My upgrades were not in the economical range - were they worth the investment - absolutely. As in the far too frequent disclaimer - your mileage may vary.