Build Advice Suggested upgrade - BF3 Preperation

Hey People,

I am currently in the process of decideing what a suitable upgrade
will be for Battlefield 3. I am either going to get a new cpu, mobo & ram
the cpu would most likely be a i5 2500k, or I was thinking of getting a
new graphics card and monitor which would most likely be a hd6970 and a
1080p monitor. Budget: $500 Australian.

I played the beta for BF3 and got decent results, 30-45 fps on ultra settings
1600x900. I think the fps is decent but i really want the best graphics I could
possibly get, because It didn't look all that great even on ultra settings with my
current monitor.

Questions:
What would be the better brand Price/Quality of product?
- HIS 6970: $363 - Powercolor6970: $359 - Gigabyte6970: $389 - Asus6970: $405
(I am limited to these 4 brands because of where I am located)
So, do you think I should upgrade the monitor and graphics card or cpu etc??
- Will the 6970 be bottlenecked by the AMD 955 I currently have?

I am leaning towards the monitor and graphics card.

Thanks!

 

Just so you know, there was no "ultra" in the beta.

 

You'll find a GTX 570 would do better if you lay on the AA, tends to be cheaper as well!

 

My advice would be to wait until its out. Only got a week to go.

I wouldnt make expensive decisions until you actually know how the retail version runs. Just my opinion.

 

Oh, how come in had the option for it though?
What was the max setting then?

 

Thanks for your opinions, ill have a look into the gtx570's aswell... So you guys don't think that it will bottleneck that cpu and the cpu SHOULD be fine for the game?

 

^It was just a BETA, even the BETA was months dated in September when we saw it and so not all the features were available. They did not upload/include the DX11 features or high resolution textures as simply it would be too costly to upload and distribute just for a few weeks and besides, they probably wanted to get people testing the other graphic settings. I heard that max on the beta was pretty much medium/high.

 

The CPU will be fine.

 

the beta was only for back end testing. what you got was a very early build of the game it was not there to test graphic settings.

on high with one 570 everything else maxed with no motion blur i was getting a minimum of 50fps with sli 570 i was getting a minimum of 89fps. and yes that cpu will bottleneck the card a little bit

edit sorry thought you meant the cpu you currently have. the 2500k will be fine