Shneiky :
Well my deduction came from the fact that he is still using the G41 chipset - which lead to me believe that he does not want to sink in more than a hundred. Also that means he is still on the Dual Core / Core 2 Duo era. And the review on TH here - "Dragging Core2Duo into 2013" showed that modern Mid-range GPUs don't perform quite to their potential when paired with an older platform like the one we have right now.
That's very true, but he could have a Q9650 which would be fine for gaming mid-high, and with a decent card would be a good machine. I have a similar based system as the OP, and yes, I can't play BF3 at ultra across 3 monitors, but I have a decent, enjoyable gaming experience. play most games on high (not ultra) and with 50-60fps at 1680 x 1050, I don't think it's all that bad!! Don't right off those Core 2 systems so quickly. They still serve well. As I said, if he has a decent PSU, and perhaps a quad, it might be worth sticking something a bit more powerful in there, which will get him another year before having to upgrade more substantially.