Advice requsted - GPU upgrade on Alienware ALX Area-51

I have an Alienware ALX Area-51 with an Extreme i7 processor, 800W Power Supply and a GTX OC 295.

I have two questions that I need help with - thanks in advance.

I am wanting to get into DX11 and the Battlefield 3 "Is your computer ready test" of course tells me that while my card is fast it's on DX10 and if I want the best experience I need to upgrade. Well so I am thinking about it. I understand my card is still fairly good in terms of performance but I do want take advantage of DX11 if its going to be a standard tech showing up in all the games - which I assume that will start in earnest this holiday season.

I play a LOT of games and use my Dell 3100FWP 30" Montitor that is native at 2560x1600. I never multi-screen.

Should I upgrade now or wait is one question, and if upgrade to what and if wait for what?

I also have noticed lately that in CERTAIN games (only specific ones) the fans on the 295 will cycle up pretty loud. The temps on the card according to my Aleinware controls say the card is around the 35C range..but it feels alot hotter to touch, I dont know.

I know that the machine didnt really ever do this before or at least I didnt ever notice it. Perhaps the card starting to fail? Once I quit the game and go back to idel the fans quiet down quickly in 10 secs or so.

Do you believe this may be happening because the games I am playing are stressing the card more and its heating up and the fans are just working more?

Not a real problem but concerning.

This issue and the DX11 thing have brought me here hoping to find some real GPU gurus to help a brother out.

I dont have a budget per se other than I want the best value for money option and I prefer a single card solution versus SLI or Crossfire.

My own layman research led me to a Radeon HD 6970 from ASUS, but that's only based on reading reviews.

thanks
Chris