GeForce GTS 240 issue or gaming server issue?

I'm new to the forum but have a problem that I want make the right decision on. I play Aces High II which is a flight simulation game. It may not be as hard core as Battlefield 3 but they do keep upgrading to high res graphics. My computer is a prebuilt Dell Studio XPS 8000. Intel i7 core 860 processor @ 2.8GHz. Graphics card a Nvidia geforce GTS 240. 8 Mb memory, Windows 7 home premium os. Now that said I am experiencing stutter sometimes while i'm playing. My fps go from 60 which is where it should be to 10 or less. I,m not sure if this is the game card or a lousy connection to the game server as we do get discoed sometimes. The computer is a year and a half old and don't remember experiencing this before that much. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm not against getting a new card and probably need new power supply.
 
What resolution are you playing at? What is your budget for your upgrade?

Its your gpu more than likely
 
I run my monitor at 1920 x 1080 but the game texturing gets changed alot as most guys have to dumb down the detail to keep up fps. I'm not against spending up to $200 for a new card but not sure what to get. I do have $125.00 in Best buy cards to spend too.
 
Try playing offline to see if you still get big fps drops. But your current graphics card is pretty low end so you probably need an upgrade anyway.
 
I figured I did but wanted some experienced input. My previous card was a Geforce FX 5600 in a P4 Dell dimension 4550. I may get Skrim for Pc also as not to chew up my sons time on his PS3. I made an error and went to Sovrangard to early on PS3 and can't get back out. I was at level thirty and now have to start over. That really sucks but it was my fault :( Thanks for great tips yall it was much appreciated.
 
Just got some pricing from Best buy today. How would a PNY geforce GTX 560 ti work for me. The guy at best buy said it's a real good card. It was 279.00 though. A 600w Corsair power supply was 99.00. Any thoughts on this? Just found the same card for 208.00 somewhere else.
 
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