Bottle neck situation, or just update the video card?

[ohnoepatrol]

Hi! First time poster, good while lurker. Forums given me lots of answers over time an great for advice, so I figure I'd finally start my own thread.
I wanna know what, if any hardware upgrades I need to make. I'm open to suggestions for future tech, but first I'd like to know if there's one part creating a cripple. I'm hoping it to be just a video-card situation which I was already shopping around for (suggestions are greatly appreciated - more on that later) but I'm also curious if other elements of my setup are dragging others down.

So here's the system:
Win 7 Pro 64bit
MSI K9N2 SLI Platinum
BFG Nvidia 9600 GT OC - (stock)
AMD Phenom II X4 920 - Stock Fan, Stock settings
4x OCZ PC2 8500 RAM - (stock)
WD 320GB - Haven't formatted in a while, but hey.
This mista--- I mean: Creative X-Fi Fatality Titani-champ-whatever.
Far as PSU goes, I donno. It's somewhere between 700w-1000w.
Visible parts of PSU give me no indication. I'll look into it further.

Hopefully thats enough info for a diagnosis, I can easily provide more if need be.
I'm shopping around for a new video card no matter what, GTX 500 series to go with BF3 and other games down the line, or to get better performance outta current ones. I'm open to ATI suggestions though. Price point is: 2-300$.
Heck, tacking on more RAM (have 4 slots, 8gig max per mobo) could appealing too, open to suggestions on that.

thanks in advance!

 

[ervinelim]

Your videocard really sucks lol! No offense. Get a Radeon HD 6790 and above or Nvidia GTX 460 and GTX 560ti. Feel the power!

Don't change the CPU though. BF3 favors the Phenom II.

http://www.techspot.com/review/448-battlefield-3-beta-performance/page7.html

Also, what is your Mobo? Your ram is ddr2, if you are going to buy a new one then you need check if your mobo supports ddr3 which hopefully it does if not, make sure to buy ddr2 because new ram nowadays are ddr3.

 

[ohnoepatrol]

Appreciate the quick reply.
My mobo is the MSI k9N2, linked above. Which supports: DDR2 1066 so guess I'll look into adding s'more of that.

As far as video cards go, I was thinking A GTX 5xx, but not sure bout brands or good suggestions on the market right now.

 

[ilysaml]

what resolution will you be gaming at ? if 1080P i would suggest a GTX 570 or HD 6970 which will be $20 more than your budget.
EDIT: and get an aftermarket CPU cooler to overclock your CPu a little bit high 3.4-3.6

 

[Outlander_04]

4 gig of RAM is fine for gaming . Adding more wont increase frame rates

so just upgrade the graphics card . A 6870 , or GTX 560 wont be limited by your processor on a 1920 x 1080 monitor . If your resolution is less than that you should spend less .

 

[geofelt]

I suspect you would do well with a graphics card upgrade.
GTX560ti or 6950 are comparable cards in your budget class.

To help clarify your options, run these two tests:

a) Run your games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.

b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 70%.
If your FPS drops significantly, it is an indicator that your cpu is the limiting factor, and a cpu upgrade is in order.

It is possible that both tests are positive, indicating that you have a well balanced system, and both cpu and gpu need to be upgraded to get better gaming FPS.

As to brands, they mostly differ in the cooling solutions, not the underlying guts.

For nvidia, I like EVGA, they have good USA support and an active forum.
For amd, I might prefer XFX

Also, check the warranty periods.

 

[ohnoepatrol]

I'll be playing at 1920x1080, hopefully.
Experimented with what geofelt suggested and didn't see much going, least significant. I'll go with a new vidya card since my CPU is, i think, best its gonna get with this mobo and I'm not ready to replace whole system.

so as far as brands go, it's kinda personal opinion? Is there anything else I should 'want' or look for in the series I'm looking for between all teh cards?
Quick run through newegg got me these options

 

[geofelt]

I'll be playing at 1920x1080, hopefully.
Experimented with what geofelt suggested and didn't see much going, least significant. I'll go with a new vidya card since my CPU is, i think, best its gonna get with this mobo and I'm not ready to replace whole system.

so as far as brands go, it's kinda personal opinion? Is there anything else I should 'want' or look for in the series I'm looking for between all teh cards?
Quick run through newegg got me these options

I happen to like the direct exhaust type of coolers you see on the GTX570's. They send the hot air directly out the back of the case. That keeps both the gpu and cpu from heating up so much.
The GTX560's you showed are not bad either.

Some fancy coolers do a good job on an open test bed, but not so good in a case.

Many EVGA cards have a lifetime warranty if you register within 30 days.

 

[ohnoepatrol]

Well alright then. I guess all my answers are there and it's up to me to find an appropriate card.
Thanks everyone!

* guess an mod can close this now.