Graphics Card

All good advice.
Good links by Calilator
I would lean toward nvidia for the physx
I have a Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2 Gb
amd phenom II x4 975 8Gb ram
I think my computer is lower middle third for gaming - 4/10I w

hwinfo64 or hwinfo32 http://www.hwinfo.com/ is also a good freeware program for computer specs
all you need to look at is the 'system summary'

edit - sorry didn't realize this was an old thread - didn't look at the second page of the thread

 

Thanks for all of your suggestions I'm am going to look at everyone an see which one I like the best.

 

im stepping up from the gtx 580 1.5 to a gtx 760 in the next few weeks

 

The only problem with your build is the CPU. Gamers want Intel CPUs, not AMD ones as AMD doesn't get alot of "Single-Thread" power like Intel CPUs do. I swapped my entire build from an AMD one to an intel one about a month ago, and saw across the board FPS increases (up to 40 FPS gain in Planetside for a processor at the exact same speed). Additionally, if you ever want to Emulate PS2/Gamecube games, Intel is your way to go.

IF you are a programmer, Graphics Artist, or otherwise dependent on multi-threaded speed, go AMD though.

At OP, your Graphics ARE your problem. That sandy bridge is MORE than capable of running PS2 @ 3.3 GHz, and you should bump up from Integrated Graphics (Which is just awful) to probably a GeForce GTX 660ti which run for around $250 on newegg.