Strange issue

[vnderachiever]

I'm having a strange issue with my computer. Here are my specs to start off:

Mainboard: Gigabyte GA-N650SLI-DS4
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Rated FSB (Cpu-z) is 1066 Mhz
Memory: Corsair PC2=6400 CM2X2048-6400c5DHX
Graphics: 2x EVGA Ge-Force 8800GTS (I believe they are 320MB each)
Onboard Sound
Acer 22'' widescreen monitor
G15 Gaming Keyboard and G7 Gaming mouse
Arctic 7 cooling fan
WD raptor 74gig Hdd and WD 250gb sata drive
IDE DVD rw drive
Antec Truepower Trio! 550w PSU
Cosmos 1000 case
Windows XP home 32 bit (i know it doesnt recognize all my ram)

So... I mainly play WoW and at first when this computer was built it was playing like a champ. Now i barely reach 30fps stable. im usually at 25 fps. I was having trouble with my processor at one point, it would overheat and shut down, but i replaced my hsf and apparently i had a bad bond on the hsf to the processor. Idk if my processor could be giving out? or if my Power supply is giving out? if I understand correctly, the Power supply is powerful enough for everything, but i think it might have been stressed for the past year and could be dying.
The ram is brand new, as is the case. everything else is around a year old.

I'm thinking of upgrading my PSU and grabbing myself a 9800 gx2 or a gtx 280. not too sure yet. Im not a big fan of ATI so i will be sticking with nvidia for now. any suggestions would be great.

By the way... it run's Crysis on high settings at around 25 fps.

 

[akhilles]

25 fps in crysis on your current pc isn't bad. Is it average or maximum?

Cpu overheating and triggering a shutdown isn't the psu's fault. It's the high temp. First, google speedfan and monitor the voltages. Make sure their fluctuations are within 5%. Load up Vista. Run some orthos x2 or prime.

If your psu voltage fluctuations don't go beyond 5% at idle & load, it's ok. Now monitor the cpu temp in the same way. If it overheats at load, then you may need better cooling for the pc. Is the cpu hsf stock?

 

[homerdog]

Have you updated your drivers recently?

 

[jitpublisher]

Yeah, if it runs Crysis at 25 fps average with a couple of the older 320 meg g80 cards, then seems to me to running about on par. I'd say you are just getting the "it's a year-old I am getting used this thing and doesn't impress me that much anymore" syndrome.

 

[vnderachiever]

The thing is... i've had crysis since the day it came out... but I just installed it last week. I had the "I dont want to be disappointed" idea in my head the whole time. I was mildly impressed, until I realized I wasnt in Dx10 and had no aa/af on. The Hsf is not stock: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134

That is the new one I bought to replace my old one.

My main problem is the 8-15 constant fps i get in WoW...which I should be running at 60 fps constant w/ v-sync. I updated my nvidia drivers to the newest, but then rolled back to the previous ones (175.16 i believe) because people were having issues with their 175.19 drivers. I have tried scaling down the resolution from 1600x1050 to anything lower, and it shows no frame improvement.