Is my CPU causing lagspikes in games?

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1337rofl

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Hello.
I have a computer which is not at all that good, but it meets the system requirements for a lot of games that I like to play.
There is however one problem, I seem to get lagspikes in probably every game that I play. Both modern games and ultra classic games.
I can play Skyrim on a decent 30fps and it can drop to 12fps for a few seconds.
Same story for grid 2, godfather 2 etc.
Then we have older games like let's say mafia. I can play it at a constant 50+ fps but it would drop to 25-ish for a few seconds.
So shortly said, pretty much anything CPU-intensive kicks my ass with lagspikes.
I think it's my CPU since my video card and ram are good enough for most of the games I play.

Specs:
Intel Pentium 4 3.00ghz
2GB DDR2 ram
MSI Geforce 210 1GB silent
Windows 7 Home Premium

And ofcourse I don't need to play the latest games, but I do want to get rid of the lagspikes in games that run smoothly at 30+fps.
I was thinking it's the CPU since it's pretty ancient and has been in my rig for years.

Any thoughts?
 
Solution
E


The shortest of short answers:

The Pentium 4 architecture ("NetBurst") is a couple generations older than the Core2Duo architecture ("Allendale"?"Conroe"? Don't remember which is which...).
The Core2Duo has two processor cores, while the P4 is a single-core (as in, the C2D has essentially two processors in it)

Essentially, the C2D can execute more operations each clock cycle, and can do two things at once.
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Estix

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As Indy would say "It belongs in a museum".

The whole system's old and weak, and it would make more sense to get a new one than to spend money to upgrade any part of it.

I'm guessing that's an LGA 775 P4?
You /could/ see if you could find a compatible Core2Duo for <$20, but I wouldn't spend any more than that, since it's really not a good option any way you look at it.
 
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1337rofl

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I agree that just getting a new system would do the trick since my rig is outdated, but I don't use it too much. Only in my spare time and I don't want to make a big investment in something that I don't use a lot.
Well now that it's confirmed that it's my CPU I know what I should be doing with it lol.
Thanks for the quick answer.
 
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Estix

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You'll have to find one that's compatible with the motherboard. If you don't know what model your motherboard is, you can try a tool like Pririform's Speccy (don't bother buying the pro version) and see if what it tells you about the mobo and CPU.
 
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Estix

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The shortest of short answers:

The Pentium 4 architecture ("NetBurst") is a couple generations older than the Core2Duo architecture ("Allendale"?"Conroe"? Don't remember which is which...).
The Core2Duo has two processor cores, while the P4 is a single-core (as in, the C2D has essentially two processors in it)

Essentially, the C2D can execute more operations each clock cycle, and can do two things at once.
 
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Solution
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Estix

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The heatsink and fan should both work just fine.

Yes, thermal paste is mandatory.
 
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1337rofl

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Thanks for steering me in the right direction.
Would there be any difference between a slightly overclocked E6300 or E6400 and an E6700? Because I can get my hands on an E6300 or E6400 right away and for almost no money.
If there is a noticeable difference (especially in medium gaming) I'll just go ahead and get the E6700.
 
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Estix

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It's been long enough that I had forgotten you can overclock those :)

You should be perfectly fine with a '6300 or '6400 and overclocking, yes.
 
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1337rofl

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Sorry for reviving the thread!
I have been very busy the last couple of days and couldn't get my hands on a CPU, but I will tomorrow.
I have the opportunity to get an E6600 for a very low price.
Is the E6600 good enough? I assume it's better than the E6300 and E6400?
Also is it overclockable?

Thanks in advance and sorry again :D
 
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MEMOFLEX

MEMOFLEX

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You are probably right about certain games but cpu bound games such as skyrim should see a bit of a benefit but as you say the GPU isn't the best especially for modern titles. If getting the e6600 at a cheap price though it is a no brainer for a cheap upgrade and a GPU upgrade could be considered in the future.
 
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1337rofl

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About the graphics card, I can get a Sapphire HD 5450 1GB to replace my current card, it's a lot better apparently, but will it work with my mobo? My motherboard supports PCI-Express but the card is PCI-E 2.1. I know that 2.0 will work but I have read that a couple of 2.1 cards do not work with 1.0 slots. So how do I found out if it will work with my P5L-MX?
 
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MEMOFLEX

MEMOFLEX

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From what I gather the 2.1 interface is a lottery if it will work with 1.0. Do you have a budget to work with and I couldn't see but what country are you in? I will have a look and see what I can find as the best deal / performance ratio
 
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MEMOFLEX

MEMOFLEX

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There are quite a few PCI-E 2.0 cards going on ebay (in holland).

Probably the best I could find was a Radeon 5770 : http://www.ebay.nl/itm/ATI-Radeon-HD-5770-PCI-Express-Graphics-card-1gb-GDDR5-memory-/171044931235?pt=UK_Computing_Computer_Components_Graphics_Video_TV_Cards_TW&hash=item27d31286a3

There are a few 5450's available but they are a mix between some being 2.0 and some being 2.1 so be careful if you do choose to get one.

The 2.0 ones should work no problem but you might need a bios update.



 
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