Time to upgrade my custom pc... (need suggestions)

So in May of 2009 I built my first gaming PC:

Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 Intel Motherboard

Western Digital 500GB SATA 3 Gb/s 7200RPM 32MB Cache

Corsair 650W PSU

Antec 300 Gaming Case

Corsair XMS2 $GB (2x2) PC2-8500 1066MHz 240-pin DDR2

BFG NVIDIA Geforce GTX 260 OC MAZCORE 896MB

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz 1333MHZ

Unfortunately my Nvidia card is freezing all the time, and requires me to force shut down my computer. After looking it up I've seen this is a common problem with the card itself. I've tried everything else, drivers etc. are all up to date.

I'm willing to upgrade to a new card, but would rather not spend too much (considering I only spent $180 on the last one, so sub $200 is preferable) or get a card that surpasses the rest of the computer. Does anyone with similar specs have any experience/suggestions? I've always used Nvidia, but would consider ATI.

Thanks all!

A gpu upgrade wouldnt be that beneficial sub 200 dollar budget. The cheapest thing you should get that would give you a good performance boost for your money would be a 6950 for around 250.

A gpu upgrade wouldnt be that beneficial sub 200 dollar budget. The cheapest thing you should get that would give you a good performance boost for your money would be a 6950 for around 250.

deathshand707

not true i mean the 560ti and 6870 CAN be found for cheaper and are an argueable case of improvement both hover around the 200 dollar price point

[QUOTE="deathshand707"]

A gpu upgrade wouldnt be that beneficial sub 200 dollar budget. The cheapest thing you should get that would give you a good performance boost for your money would be a 6950 for around 250.

ionusX

not true i mean the 560ti and 6870 CAN be found for cheaper and are an argueable case of improvement both hover around the 200 dollar price point

"arguably" yes. The way I was thinking tomshardware tier wise.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-6950-1gb-geforce-gtx-560-ti-gaming-graphics-card,2857-7.html

for 50 dollars more, a 6950 would be better bang for your buck.