Budget Rig Refresh Help?

[floppyfoot]

So I built my first gaming rig around early 2009 for around $850. I use it primarily for gaming and school work with the occasional photoshop editing here and there. I'm currently looking to either upgrade some parts for better performance in games such as battlefield 3. I run dual monitors 1 @ 1280x1024 and the other (primary for gaming) is 1440x900. The specs are as follows:

o GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
o Intel Core 2 Quad 2.83GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor
o GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16
o Patriot Extreme Performance 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
o Lite-On CD/DVD Burner/Reader SATA
o Wireless N (backwards compatible with G) Network PCI Express 2.0 card
o Raidmax Smilodon Extreme Black edition computer case
o OCZ ModstreamX 700W Modular Power Supply

To my knowledge, the CPU shouldn't be causing any problems, and the DDR2 ram isn't that far off from DDR3, so would it be as easy as just upgrading the GPU to something like a NVIDIA 660 ti? At $300 bucks though that is the absolute top of my price bracket without selling parts or the whole rig for a new investment.
And if I was to sell it, how much would it be worth at this day in age?
I'm in the NA East zone for buying parts.

[Dzzope]

GPU would give a fair bit of a bump alright but you don't need a 660Ti for your resolution...
I would look at a second-hand 560Ti for that build...

You should be able to find one pretty cheap these days and it will keep you going for quite some time on those monitors.

[floppyfoot]

I'm pretty close to upgrading to a 1080p monitor I should add. And what sort of performance gain could I get from the upgraded Video card and extra VRAM?

[supaflyx3]

If you do plan on upgrading to a 1080P monitor, go for a 660ti. Otherwise a 560ti will be fine for your needs.

[floppyfoot]

Alright, thanks. I'll start looking for one of them then.
Is there anything in my specs that might cause some form of bottleneck on the system?

[supaflyx3]

Your CPU would be a bottleneck, but it should be fine to run BF3 at around 40FPS.

[Whendex]

Depends on how much you're wanting to spend...

To overhaul the PC and make it a great gaming PC "Not EXTREME great" But good none the less.

Grab a 2500K for around $200, Good solid Asus Mobo P8Z77-V LK for around $130 with MIR
Msi 660ti PE for around $300 with MIR and Borderlands 2 you could sell if you know anybody wanting the game. Then 8GB G. Skill 1866 Ram for around $50 Than you're set for awhile.

I'm hitting over 9000 on 3dmark 11 with a similar build... That totals at $680
I know you're looking at $300 but my expierence with PC builds is that not jump right into it when you don't have the funds.. Wait a little bit and get the extra money and be happy with what you put together.

Xmas is coming up if you're younger and you could possibly get some of that stuff as gifts...

[486]

Get your self videocard (7850 for example), SSD, add 2 more 2GB RAM planks and you will sit golden for another 2 years easily.

[EmptyMellon]

Originally Posted by 486

Get your self videocard (7850 for example), SSD, add 2 more 2GB RAM planks and you will sit golden for another 2 years easily.

Upgrading RAM by 2GB in a 32-bit OS will do nothing for him, as will an SSD if the OP is running anything other than Windows 7 - unless he were to get a non-TRIM supporting drive. And seeing that it is a budget conscience question an SSD would not be a recommendation to suggest for an upgrade.

EDIT: to answer the OP's question, I would not get anything higher than an nVidia's 560Ti, for his build. A 660 is not worth the investment, unless you are building a brand spanking new "budget" rig. A 660Ti is a very good card, but getting one for that machine is a waste of money...my 2 cents.

[Bond007]

I agree with the above. You will be more and more CPU limited as you get a better graphics card. I would go for a used 560/560Ti with your rig (or wait for a good sale). The only way I would recommend a 660Ti to you is if you will be upgrading the rest of your system in the near future.