Upgrade 660ti but only have i7 920 and dated mobo

[lations]

Hi guys,

Here's what I've got:

1600p monitor
660ti 3GB version
i7 920 @ stock 2.67
Asus P6t deluxe v. 2

Goal: Upgrade for gaming for 1600p max settings. However, possibly upgrade processor / mobo for future proofing those.

Questions:
1. What's your recommendation for graphics: 970, 2x 970, 980?
I looked at: MSI GTX 970 GAMING 4G Graphics Cards GTX 970 GAMING 4G
I've seen claims this is actually better than the 980 stock cards..true?
2. Will my current processor / mobo (only pcie 2.0) bottleneck this much (at all?)
3. Money is not a HUGE concern, but I don't like throwing money away for very marginal gains (I don't brag about my rig or take pride).

Thanks!!

 

[sora]

1) I would get two 970s in SLI as it would definitely outperform the GTX 980.
2) The motherboard and processor would definitely be bottlenecked by two 970s in SLI.
3) What is your budget OP?

 

[lations]

Thanks for reply! I guess budget would be $1500 or so, but would really like not to spend that much. That all depends on what I'm getting. If I'm really upgrading processor and mobo to future proof them, it makes sense to spend more than if I'm just getting better graphics.

A key factor I guess is that I won't upgrade a cpu/mobo myself (not gonna take the time and effort to tear my hair out and possibly break things). I guess I'd be paying $60/hour to get that done for me too.