Depends on what you're looking for in a monitor. Do you want a better viewing experience (IPS/PLS panel) or a better gameplay experience (TN panel)? Having said that, IPS panels are not bad at all for gaming, speaking from personal experience.
IPS is not bad for gaming, the response times are high enough that you won't notice a difference compared to TN. Refresh rate in TN panels (120hz)will only be noticeable when your gpus can output frames high enough for everything to run at 120hz. Looking at your gpu 120hz or 1440p is not a wise upgrade option. 6970 doesn't have enough grunt to power either.