Need Help Finding a GPU Upgrade

[pumanatic]

I build my computer 4 years ago and it's about time for some upgrades, i've upgraded quite a few components already but currently my big bottle neck is my GPU, I've looked into upgrading it before on several occasions but i've been having a really hard time figuring out what is an upgrade as well as what is compatible with my current hardware. (I'm kinda embarrassed to admit it but the letters and numbers after the card name still confuses me) My computers Specs are:


Processor:       AMD FX(tm)-8120 Eight-Core Processor, 3.1GHz
RAM:               16.0 GB DDR3
GPU:               Sapphire 7770
Motherboard:  ASUS M5 A97 R2.0
SSD:               Kingston 240GB

[Ophidio]

Whats your budget?

 

[pumanatic]

A maximum of 250$ CAN. preferably around 150-175$ CAN ish.

[Ophidio]

Honestly, you might want to try and save a bit more money. Nothing you buy in that price range will really increase your performance to justify buying a new card over the 7770. Once you get around 250-300 you could get an R9 380 or GTX 960 but they will only last you so long unless you can find a really good used card somewhere. 

[Moonzy]

3 minutes ago, pumanatic said:

what is an upgrade

an upgrade if when u change something about the system that makes it faster

either by swapping old component for better ones

or by adding new components

3 minutes ago, pumanatic said:

what is compatible with my current hardware.

"compatible" is a big word

will it plug in and work? most probably yes

will it be optimal? depends

4 minutes ago, pumanatic said:

I'm kinda embarrassed to admit it but the letters and numbers after the card name still confuses me

i blame all the companies, they should come out with a universal standard instead of using their own

 

2 minutes ago, pumanatic said:

A maximum of 250$ CAN. preferably around 150-175$ CAN ish.

a 380 or a 960 would be your best card in this budget

a 380 would outperform the 960 in games

but 960 is more power efficient, and have nvidia features

but i recommend the 380 over the 960, unless you need nvidia's features

here's an example

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-r9380p4255

 

side note: please make sure your power supply supports a mid-range gpu

can we know the model of your power supply?