How to determine where is the bottleneck?

It's very clear your video card is terrible.

Only way of getting better performance is to upgrade the video card.

Terrible is a kind description.

I know.  

This is what I think too but do you have any tools to determine the bootleneck ?

Common knowledge of the performance of the various components of the pc and how they interact with one another is probably the best tool available.

Upgrade your graphics.  

Another question: If I buy a good graphics card, during the game do they still need the cpu resources?

I play TQ as well... and have been wondering the same thing about my stuttery framerate.

I've got an A64 3000 and a 6800GT. Still the GPU? or is my A64 3K now the likely culprit?

Yes, but in an entirely different way. The difference will be huge though.

To be honest, it's better to stop beating abuot the bush. We know what game you're playing: list your current system in detail, tell us what you're prepared to spend, and then sit back and listen to the advice / opinions.

My machine spec:
Amd 64 3500 2.2 ghz
Graphics: onboard nvidia 6150 (it might be a gpu too)
1 gig RAM
100 GIG hd (7200 rpm)
Asus mb (mpn-vm if I remember correctly)

Is it I just need to upgrade the graphics card? Any recommendation?

hs

what games do you normally play and at what resolution???

I am playing Titan Quest Immortal Throne. The resolution is 1024x768.

What's the motherboard? AGP or PCI-e?

What's your budget?

PCiI-e.
The budget is below $200.

hs

1) run the windows performance monitor while you are running the game. If the cpu is active over 70% of the time, it is likely a limiting factor. Look at the hard page faults per second. If it is over 5 per second, then you likely need more memory. Using an integrated vga, the lack of vga power is almost certainly the main culprit.
2) How to verify. Buy an add-in vga card and try it. If it helps, problem identified. If not, return it. Ditto for memory & cpu. Buy from a place that allows returns, save the boxes, and be prepared to pay a reestocking fee if you guess wrong. Better, yet. Keep the upgraded parts; they will help the next bottleneck.

Get a 1950 Pro.

And some beer.

Wait a sec. What kind of Power Supply do you have? That's the first thing you need to consider before upgrading your GPU.

I think my power supply is around 380W. Is it good enough?

Wow. I'm surprised you can play that game at all with integrated. I play TQ (@1600x1200 though) and it takes a toll. I never have checked my frames with FRAPS, but I get minor slowdowns once in a while. e6600@2.925, 8800gts320 614/1850,2gb ram, raptor. I just recently went up to 2gb ram and I have not (surprisingly) had a lock up since.

It is why I sent out this post because I am tired of the freezing.
Question: if the card has GPU, does the game still used up the cpu resources?

The cpu sends the info to your gpu to be calculated. So even if you have the best card in world your cpu still has in game tasks to perform.

Also, make sure you have the latest patch for that game. TQ is a little buggy and I heard the expansion is real buggy.

ok I will buy a good graphics card but I don't need to upgrade my CPU right?
Oh really the immortal throne is much more buggy? I already downloaded the
latest patch.

Ooops by the way could you explain to me a little bit about the GDDR4, GDDR3... I saw those on the description of the graphics card but I have no idea what are they.

I realise you all have moved into the help him find a new video card phase but i have to sorry to offend..


The word duh come to mind and is this a serious question?  

DDR3 and DDR4 refer the versions of the memory on the video card. Most new computer systems today have DDR2 memory and the newest are just going to DDR3 memory. Some of the older systems, especially with AMD processors have just DDR memory. But the video cards are always ahead of the motherboards and ususally have a faster version of memory.

Your AMD 3500 should be plenty fast for gaming. You can move up to much faster games and resolutions with a new video card before you will even begin to be constrained by that CPU.

1 MB of memory is not bad, but I would add to that before the CPU, especially at todays cheap prices and especially if you have available slots to add rather than replace.

Moving up from onboard video, you have many options - just depends on what you want to do and budget. Right now you can buy 6600GT on sale after rebate for $30 and it will give you an astounding increase over onboard. For about $80 you can find a 7600GT and it is about 100% faster than the 6600GT. Go to $120 and you can get a 7900GS that is another 50% faster - and is more than ample for what would be considered mainstream gaming - but not the enthusiast level. Actually even the 7600GT I think would be considered mainstream gaming.

I suggest looking at the extensive video card charts on this website for more detailed performance comparisons and options.

http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.html

Also review this article for recommended cards at different budget levels.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/05/01/the_best_gaming_...

Oh thx a lot.

As a gamer if we can buy a better graphics card, why do we need to keep upgrading our CPU?

The CPU and graphics card work together to run your game, and the experience can suffer if either is not fast enough. Having a really fast CPU does no good if the graphics card can't draw the screens as fast as the CPU throws data at it, and a fast graphics card is wasted if it spends all the time waiting for new data from the CPU to tell it what to draw. Typically at low resolutions any decent graphics card can keep up with the CPU and the framerate will depend on the CPU's capability, where at high resolutions the graphics card will be the limit even with a decent CPU. Your AMD 3500 isn't fast enough to get the most out of a really fast GPU like the 8800GTX or the HD2900XT, just as the GF6150 probably can't keep up with your AMD. Some games (Supreme Commander for example) are extremely CPU dependant and can fully stress a quad core, where others like the first-person shooters are more graphics card limited, and some like Oblivion get limited by the CPU and graphics both.

Also, TQ:Immortal Throne is well known for its crappy programming and stuttering. Your computer may be fine. Do this google search:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=titan+quest+stutte...