PS2 Upgrade

[Sentrosi]

So John Smedley's recent reply to a tweet a couple of days ago got me thinking about my system.

I5 2500k,8 GB Ram,nvidia gtx 560...would be ok to play on max settings?
not max but should be fine and good looking

I'm playing in the beta right now but was wondering what I could do to improve my system a bit.
My current system:
Q9650 running stock with Hyper 212+
8GB DDR3 1333 RAM
Gigabyte EP53C-DS3R
Gigabyte Radeon 6850
Playing on a 1680x1050 monitor

So I started to compare the CPU and the video card against Smedley's tweet reply over on Anandtech.com bench. For those who have never heard of Anandtech.com, it's a great resource for PCs. It has a nice little bench for comparing everything hardware related. Here are the results:

CPU

Video Card

Looking down at the comparison between my system and the system spec posted in the Smedley reply leads me to believe that, while my system is definitely showing its age, it's not ready to be put out to pasture just yet. But I would like some validation of my findings and also where to go to next; the video card or the processor. My initial feeling is to target the video card and upgrade it to a 670 or 660Ti around Black Friday.

[Rbstr]

I don't know how beta runs for you but it's probably best not to take much stock in it's performance right now.

I agree about your system, it's not terrible, the graphics card is probably good enough for mediumish settings. A 670 probably puts you as high as anyone can do, probably the 660Ti too.

The CPU might be what gets you...If you go up to a new i5, you'll need a motherboard, obviously, but I think you can keep everything else.

[Goku]

If you are overclocking that processor high enough I would just aim for a new GPU. If it satisfies you performance level you want wait out and get Haswell at release for a new CPU. Ivy really isn't anything special over SB.

For your resolution the 660 Ti likely will be ideal. The limited bandwidth shouldn't be much of an issue for your resolution. With that you should get 670 level performance for $100 less.