What to upgrade here for gaming?

[thewick]

I've been starting to get a little more choppiness in my frames while playing games and it just doesn't feel as smooth as it used to. I'm looking for some upgrade suggestions based on my current build to improve how my system runs video games. I don't know what parts would be the most important and I have very little knowledge of compatibility of parts w/ the mobo. I'd be looking to spend <$350 on upgrades.

Here is my current build:

CASE: COOLER MASTER ELITE 335 RC-335-KKN1-GP Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119161

MEMORY: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

MOBO: ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402

CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 435 Rana 2.9GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Processor ADX435WFGIBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103724

PSU: OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS 600W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341010

GPU: MSI R5770-PM2D1G-OC Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127484


Appreciate the help

 

[nekulturny]

Sure, heres what I'd be looking to upgrade for your budget range:

6870 Radeon- $170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948

And I'd go ahead and throw a CPU upgrade at it:

Phenom II 965-$120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

Total: $290

If your budget permits, you could go with an even stronger video card in a 7850:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125419

Although that would bring your total to $380

Ideally, I would consider a CPU cooler so that you could overclock the 965, you shouldn't have a problem clocking it up to 4.0GHZ with a cooler like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099