Upgrading PC Hardware need advice

[arpium]

My PC's hardware is 4 years old, it needs some tune ups and new parts . I am having issues running PlanetSide 2 as I get decent fps, but recently even on all low settings except rendering is at 50%, I am getting 12-15 fps in large scale combat. I don't mess with overclocking as I don't think it is smart to do without a proper cooling system and voltage.

Would appreciate some real advice, I've been told just upgrading my GPU would dramatically increase FPS, but I'm looking for more solid opinions from multiple people.

System Information:
OS Name Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
Version 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Build 7601
Other OS Description Not Available
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name NICK-PC
System Manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model EP45-UD3P
System Type x64-based PC
Processor Intel® Core™2 Quad CPU Q9400 @ 2.66GHz, 2667 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date Award Software International, Inc. FB, 5/20/2009
SMBIOS Version 2.4
Windows Directory C:\Windows
System Directory C:\Windows\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "6.1.7601.17514"
User Name Nick-PC\Nick
Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 8.00 GB
Total Physical Memory 8.00 GB
Available Physical Memory 4.05 GB
Total Virtual Memory 16.0 GB
Available Virtual Memory 11.9 GB
Page File Space 8.00 GB

Display: GPU NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX/9800 GTX+ Adapter RAM 512.00 MB (536,870,912 bytes) hooked up to LG HDTV 42''

Power Supply: Cooler Master 550w

Motherboard: Copper Gigabyte Tech. SLI Capable

Cooling System: All fans. Total of 5 fans, 1 aftermarket 50cm copper sync fan for motherboard/processor.

Case/Tower: Medium Cooler Master.

My Budget $250-$350
Even if you think your advice wouldn't be within my budget, feel free to throw in your opinions.

 

[Scott_D_Bowen]

I am getting 12-15 fps in large scale combat.
- It might be that you're CPU bound, not GPU bound during large scale combat.
- If you increase the resolution and use Anti-Aliasing does the frame rate continue to get under 12-15fps?

If it does:
- Upgrade your video card
If it doesn't:
- Upgrade your CPU

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been moved from the section CPU & Components to section Systems by Mousemonkey