What's limiting my performance?

[Eternalturnofthewheel]

I've been gaming a lot lately and I'm noticing my frame rate for newer games (arkham city, skyrim, etc.) is stuttering pretty bad. I just built my pc a few months back and it's bugging me.

Specs:
GPU: AMD radeon 6850 1gb
CPU: intel core i3-2120 3.3ghz
Motherboard: msi P67A-G43 (B3)
Ram: 8gb (don't know specifics at the moment.)
I'm assuming that's all I really need to look at.

I really just want to know what the biggest limit on my performance is and what's the best solution. I'd just rather not spend $120 on another 6850 for crossfire, when my CPU is actually the culprit. All suggestions are welcome!

 

[Eternalturnofthewheel]

I guess I should also ask about a sound card while I'm here. I'm big into music and plus better gaming sound effects would be nice. Can anyone say if they're worth the extra cash? And if so, any suggestions for a good budget one?

 

[Sunius]

Why don't you open the task manager and check CPU usage during stuttering?

 

[shanky887614]

what psu have you got?

 

[Eternalturnofthewheel]

I'm not at home so I don't know exactly what psu I have but it's like 750w.

 

[shanky887614]

I'm not at home so I don't know exactly what psu I have but it's like 750w.

if its a generic or not a reliable make it could be causing the stuttering because its not outputting enough power

 

[Gallarian]

Skyrim is a notoriously stuttery game - especially on low end CPU's.

You can find an article on toms that shows just how much your CPU effects performance in Skyrim, and its quite significant.

Compared with a stock clock (3.3ghz) i5-2500k, one that that has been overclocked by even 1.0ghz to 4.3ghz shows an increase in performance by around 20fps. Also most newer games recommend a Quad core CPU.

As others have stated though, your PSU may be the problem.

 

[Eternalturnofthewheel]

How would I know if the psu isnt putting out enough power?

 

[Sunius]

Tell us the brand and model?

 

[Eternalturnofthewheel]

To be honest, I bought it a while ago before I really got into computers because it was cheap and I needed to replace my non-working one. It was listed on eBay as "775w Modular ATX power supply" and that's it. I guess that should have told me something in the first place..
Btw sorry I'm slow to reply, by the time school and work are done I just crash when I get home.

 

[Sunius]

First of all, is 6-pin power connector plugged in from the power supply directly to the graphics card?

Secondly, download MSI afterburner (link below) and check GPU usage during Lag with it.

Thirdly, check CPU usage with Task manager during lag.

http://event.msi.com/vga/afterburner/overview.htm

By the way, it's fine that you're replying slowly, we're here to help you, not to rush you .

 

[simon12]

Does lowering the graphics settings help the problem & what resolution do you play at?

 

[The Stealthinator]

Perhaps your system temperatures begin to increase so the fps drops to stop it overheating