Honest question about cartridge vs. turntable performance.

Hello, if you compare the turntable to the cartridge, I will agree that the cartridge has a bigger affect on the sound than the turntable does but it is extremely important to understand that everything has an affect on the sound of your vinyl. So if you were looking to improve your sound, different phono cables will dramatically change the sound. Also, platter mats made from various materials will probably make the same cartridge sounds slow and lifeless to exciting and fast. Footers under your turntable affect sound along with arms, turntable plinths etc.  So there is so much more that has a super big affect on the sound other than the turntable.  

Well, I think we’ve successfully run off the OP with brand bashing and endless direct vs belt supremacy debate ...

In case he/she still lurking from a safe distance, the problem is there simply is NO answer the way the question is framed. This is a SYSTEMS issue ... just like the entire audio chain, but let’s just focus on this source piece, which is comprised of 3 or 4 elements (depending if you count the phone pre) ... table, arm, cartridge, phono pre.
At some level of capability and refinement EVERY one of these can be the weak link, and upon upgrading, just shifts the weak link elsewhere.  It is silly to devote a drastically disproportionate share budget or quality so that you have one immensely good element that is then limited by 3 others. 
So if you are building to an ‘ultimate’ or ‘final’ source system one big upgrade to an element one at a time ... or make less dramatic (and expensive) upgrades to individual elements that aren't significantly ‘stranding capital’ for too long.

my $0.02 ...

Different kinds of noise.....turntables provide speed variation, mechanical noise, etc.  Cartridge provides variation in frequency response, clarity, etc.

I meant to say “Unless” rather than “So” in the first sentence of last paragraph.

Thank you everyone for all your responses. My budget is limited to no more than 2k for the upgrade therefore I posed the question. I was wondering if I could just upgrade the cartridge and phone-preamp for best “bang for the buck” upgrade. I guess my main question is this: if there is surface noise when playing back vinyl (even after thorough cleaning) isn’t upgrading the table a nearly useless endeavor beyond a certain point since the noise floor improvement from a better table will never be realized? Am I being accurate in my assessment?