Is my CPU bottlenecking my FPS

[l0t3k]

I recentley Bought the EVGA Nvidia Geforce 550 GTX TI 2GB (Fermi) in hopes of playing GW2 and BF3 on High - Ultra settings. After installing the new card i was pretty psyched to see it in action however the performance i recieved was not at all what i expected. My PC would still not run games on max settings. while running WoW on ultra settings my FPS would drop from 40 to 17 doing very simple tasks such as jumping around. I honestly have no clue as to what is causing this problem i dont think it is the video card so my next assumption is going to be my CPU but just in case here is my system specs

Mobo: Gigabyte M68MT-S2

CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1040T (2.7Ghz)

GPU: EVGA Nvidia Geforce 550 GTX TI 2GB (Fermi)

RAM: 2X 4GB Corsair PC3-10700H (667 MHZ)

PSU: PC Cooling and Sons Silencer 750W (SLI ready)

OS: Window 7 64 bit SP1

Like i said i have no idea what is causing this issue with the frame rates after reading reviews on the video card that i am currently using i want to assume it is not the GPU which is causing the problem seeing as how people have said they are running the games i was listing before with no problems on ultra settings.
Below are two CPU's i am looking into getting however i am unsure as to which one would best suit what i am trying to achieve as far as FPS goes.

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727
(This Processor seems to be a favorite amongst gamers from what i was reading and seems

AMD FX-4170 Zambezi 4.2GHz (4.3GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819106009
(This processor seems nice due to the 4.1Ghz however i am reading alot of mixed reviews about the CPU's performance with gaming)

After all this i guess my questions are

1: Is it CPU that is causing my FPS to drop so drastically in game and would upgrading my CPU show a huge improvement in gaming?

2: Out of the 2 processors i listed which one would be the best for what i am looking to do?

Also pls feel free to link other CPU's that you feel out perform the 2 listed above however i am on a budget and would not like to spend anymore than 120$

 

[jay_nar2012]

I think it might be your GPU, its not the best in the world.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2011/11/10/battlefield-3-technical-analysis/3

Your CPU is fine.

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

Yeah, the 550 Ti just isn't that good. No way it would max out most games (or even come close), unless you were playing at 1024x768 or something stupid low like that.

Set your goals a bit lower and try medium settings. That should be playable for most games.

 

[FinneousPJ]

You have placed too high expectations on the 550. It's not a great card and never was.

You should probably OC your CPU to get the best performance. Its stock clock rate so quite.

 

[l0t3k]

Well to be honest the 550 GTX is on its way back to newegg i ordered the 560 GTX instead people said it is superior to the 550 and it was only a couple dollars more. As far as the OC goes on my CPU i have never OC'ed anything before mainly because i scared of frying it i dont even know where to begin when it comes to overclocking

 

[jay_nar2012]

And a GTX560 will give you like 8-10 more FPS.....