Alright so im really wanting to get a new graphics card. I was looking at the iceQ 7870 but im not sure if it's enough to run next gen games like battlefield 4 or gta 5. Or if it is im not sure if my system will hold back the card. This is my system-
HDD: seagate barracuda 500gb 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb
So should I get the 7870 and hope for the best? Or should i pick up a new motherboard and cpu and maybe like an i3? If the 7870 isnt enough what can I get for around $250 or so that will play next gen game?
7870 will play next gen games quite easily. Anything upwards of a 7770GHz will result in playable performance.
The 7870 is probably about the limit of your system. Your A8 and PSU won't handle anything higher. The A8 will bottleneck the GPU a little. 7850 might be a better match.
You can buy an 8320 for the same price as an i3. The AMD octa-core processors are equal in gaming performance to the Intel i5 range and AMD motherboards are cheap.
Cheapest upgrade I would recommend is a quad Phenom and a 970 mobo. There isn't much on the FM2 socket, unfortunately.