CPU bottlenecking GPU?

Hi blondegamegirl and welcome to TSF. To help you better we need to know the specs of your computer. Mobo, RAM, PSU, etc. Knowing the system specs will help us answer your questions. Also what do you use the system for?

I'm in the process of upgrading my PC, as of right now I have 4GB of DDR2 RAM (some sort if generic brand), Intel Core 2 Quad @ 2.33hz, Western Digital 500 GB HDD, 700 watt Corsair PSU, a generic Dell mobo with two PCI express slots, a nvidia 9800 GT (reference) all in an Antec 900 v3 case

I use my system for gaming, would like a new GPU to play all the latest and greatest games (crysis 2, just cause2, black ops)

The GTX570 is a high-end card that needs a fast CPU to prevent bottlenecking.

Check the 'recommended' (not 'minimum') system requirements of the games you want to play. You'll probably find that most of them need a 3.0GHz dual/quad for best results.

You'll be ok with a 2.3GHz quad, but the card will perform better with a faster CPU.

Have you considered overclocking the CPU?

Brand & Model of your PSU?

An OC is pretty much out of the question as it's a Dell motherboard.

If it was a dual core I'd say yes , but almost any quad above 2ghz can keep up with a high end gpu , providing the tasks your running support the quad.

If your playing older games that do not support quad cores then it could b giving you some trouble.