Computer seems to have bottleneck

I'm starting to get fed up with this problem, it feels like my computer is bottle necking at somewhere but I can't seem to figure it out.

Specs:

2.4ghz Intel Quad Core CPU (Q6600)
4gb ddr2 RAM
GTX 470
ASUS P5N-D motherboard
1000w coolermaster PSU

I've had problems with most newer games, and I'm not sure if my CPU/RAM is becoming outdated, or that something is wrong. My buddy has similar specs but yet his performance is at least 20-30FPS better than mine is.

I've had problems with Bad Company 2 in the past, and at one point I pulled out a stick of RAM (I used to have 6gb) and the game then became playable for me at around 40fps~ on High/Medium settings at 1440x900 on DX11.

When Battlefield 3 came out I saw a number of re-occurring issues come up once more. The biggest problem is that the FPS is always in the 15-30 range no matter what settings. BF3 has a console command that shows the GPU and CPU performance and my CPU did not seem to hold it's weight.

I'm curious if there is a hardware issue somewhere or maybe if it's time to upgrade my CPU/RAM.

 

I'd install the newest nVidia drivers as you have a great machine and shouldn't have any hardware bottleneck issues.

 

My drivers are updated. It's not a problem with my GPU.

 

Put that one stick back in, all alone, and run memtest on it.

Augie already said it, you have a very good gaming system, and there is no reason it shouldn't be able to run current games without breaking a sweat. If you do have a hardware issue it's because something is broken, not because it's not strong enough at current specs.

 

The stick of RAM is no longer in my possession, but I'll run that test.

 

Well here are the results: http://i.imgur.com/V9dVd.jpg

Now what? :/