Upgrade Options For Battlefield 3

[xplicitt]

i can't really run Battlefield 3 very well, and i am looking for my most cost-effective way to squeeze more performance out of the parts i currently have, and to have upgrade plans for the future.

Specs:
Intel E8400 Wolfdale @ 3.00 Ghz
Generic Lenovo OEM Motherboard (No Overclocking.)
2GB DDR2 800 Ram - prOMOS
XFX Geforce GTS 250 512mb @ 738mhz/1102Mhz @ 1.15v, fan set to 75%
Antec Earthwatts 750

so, mainly, i am looking for if i should upgrade CPU, Motherboard, and Ram or my GPU first.
i have noticed that battlefield 3 is very cpu oriented, and my motherboard supports up to a Q9650(?)
any ideas?

 

[celpas]

BF3 single player, which Toms and almost everyone else benched isn't very cpu demanding, online multiplayer is very cpu demanding, nearly unplayable on a dual core. At least most would consider single digit minimums as unplayable.
http://www.sweclockers.com/artikel/14650-prestandaanalys-battlefield-3/5#pagehead

Early beta benchmarks showed a similar trend with dual core struggling to run the game.

Its actually the ONLY game I know which actually stresses my i7 with all its 8 cored glory.But amazingly unlike other titles there simply isnt ANY lag when all smoke effects are taking place.Really amazing.Hats off to DICE for building a truly optimised PC Game

@Xpicitt.If its anything lower than 1920X0180 then even a gtx 460 will play battlefield 3 really well at high setting.The ultra setting is just a luxury IMO.All it does is enable 4XMSAA which nearly every site said was clearly inferior to FXAA and if you enable ultra it will STILL cripple the 560 ti as DICE themselves stated that it takes GTX 580 SLI to completely max bf3.Considering your CPU and low resolution I suggest you go for the 460 and overclock it to hell and play bf3 near max without MSAA.Just note that 560 ti wont offer much improvement over 460 as both cant access the ultra setting

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/battlefield-3-graphics-performance,3063-7.html
"Two GTX 570s should handle Ultra quality with aplomb at 1920x1080"

 

[xplicitt]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125383

this seems to have good reviews, Ti performance at 560 prices?

and anyone ever used this cpu cooler? good/bad?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103057