What is the role for cpu in gaming

[KILL_NINJA]

hello i havent gotten this question asked for a long time but what is the role for the cpu in gaming.
i usually play games like wow,css,tf2 and garrys modd but tell me if im wrong but iwhen i join games that have like 60 players it lags alot and i have a good computer.
if i got a better cpu would it not lag alot in games that have alot of players at once.
here are y specs if your wondering
AMD Athlon 2 X4 645 3.1 ghz
EVGA GTX 570 SC 1280mb
6 gb ram
i did overclock my gpu to like 900mhz adn a little for memory clock since it does not affect my performance that much.
my performance did not get affected what so ever so the last thing might be my cpu
Please tell me what the problem really is and if it is my cpu

 

[stant1rm]

Heres a thread on another site I frequent that helps explain the role of the CPU. http://www.overclock.net/t/1236158/role-of-cpu-in-gaming

Also, an AMD Athlon II X4 isn't the greatest chip for gaming at all. I would purchase these and overclock a little bit.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

&

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

 

[jdawg424]

Check your computer temperature since you overclocked. Also dust out all the computer vents

 

[Gallarian]

Very briefly..

GPU: Renders the graphical image on the screen

CPU: Works out calculations needed for a game to run, e.g. player movements

So, for a games like First Person Shooters, the CPU takes a back seat role, as most of the demanding work is visual, and therefore done by the GPU.

But, for RTS or MMORPG games that have many players or characters doing different things at once, the CPU plays a more more significant role as it has to work out many different calculations simultaneously.

Therefore, in a game like World of Warcraft, you'll find that you take a noticeable performance hit if you enter a crowded area full of players and NPCs. As a player of that game myself, I had encountered this problem before and found that turning my graphics settings down helped, but not a lot. So, I upgraded my CPU - and though I found that I had no noticeable FPS gain in deserted areas, in crowded areas like cities; my FPS had increased dramatically.

The easiest thing for you to do would be upgrade your CPU, which has become rather outdated. Stant1rm has provided a good suggestion.

 

[theonerm2]

There is no point in overclocking your GPU because with your current CPU you can't take full advantage of it even at stock speeds. Your CPU/GPU combination is not very balanced. You can upgrade to Phenom II X4 if you want but you won't get very noticeable improvements unless you overclock it a good amount.

 

[KILL_NINJA]

Best answer selected by KILL_NINJA.