What to do to increase my computers performance for gaming

[unit451]

Hello, last christmas I bought a new h8-1120 hp desktop pc for gaming. Since then I have updated the weak GTX 530 that was already in the system with a EVGA GTX 550ti 1024mb GPU and a Corsair 500w powersupply. It's been 4 months now and I noticed that my fps has been dropping and cannot play some newer games on medium to high settings without getting over 30fps. I am looking for help from anyone on knowledge on what I can upgrade that will significantly increase performance and or graphics or both . Any and all help will be appreciated thank you!

Here are my specs:

Motherboard IPISB-CU (Carmel 2)
Operating system installed
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64
Processor
Intel® Core™ i7-2600
• 3.4 GHz, DMI 2.5GT/s
Chipset
Intel H61
Memory
8 GB DDR3
Memory slots
2 DIMM
1 TB SATA (7200 rpm)
GTX 550ti
Corsair CX500 power supply

 

[Ohmybad]

you need a new GPU, look into the GTX660 or a 7850/70 both will work with the CX500.

 

[cbrunnem]

update your drivers and shoot the heatsinks with compressed air to clean out the dust. cpu or gpu might be getting hot and throttling.

else get a better gpu.

 

[unit451]

I have about $300 to spend for upgrades. I looked into the 670 and the 660ti GPU's would it boost the graphics and fps that much?

 

[cbrunnem]

you need a new GPU, look into the GTX660 or a 7850/70 both will work with the CX500.

any current gen single gpu can run on that psu...?

 

[Ohmybad]

I have about $300 to spend for upgrades. I looked into the 670 and the 660ti GPU's would it boost the graphics and fps that much?

yes, both of those will blow the 550ti out of the water. id go for the 670 for the bandwidth.

 

[jemm]

The first thing that come to mind is a SSD, for the OS and main games you play. Then you really need a better graphic card. A Corsair CX500 power supply will be able to power a quality card that will improve your frame rate, but will depend upon your budget.

The i7-2600 is a really good CPU for gaming, and 8GB DDR3 is enough to handle the new titles.

Radeon HD 7850 2 GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125419

Radeon HD 7870 2GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102983

If you like Nvidia, then go for a GeForce GTX 660 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127699

Best SSDs For The Money: October 2012 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-recommendation-benchmark,3269.html

 

[unit451]

Alright I will be getting GeForce GTX 670 FTW edition. Minimum power supply is 500w for it though so hopefully it won't bottle neck. Now back to the SSD situation though. This is currently my hard drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148697. Im looking into this SSD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226226 it is recommended on the article you posted and the reviews looks great,just dont know how the capacity will hold up to my regular 1TB hard drive. I looked up videos on how to install a SSD looks pretty simple but no video shows what to do with the hard drive when you intall the SSD into a disk bay.