My computer is having performance issues. Can you help identify why?

[jaxadeo]

My computer is a monstrous cross between home built and pre-built components. I bought it from Dell years ago and have been upgraded almost everything except the motherboard and cpu.

Anyways, I have been gaming and I have noticed horrible performance in games. Team Fortress 2 now operates usually below 15 frames per second. New games such as Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and APB are unplayable. Every one of those games, I beat the system requirements, yet I still have issues. I know that it is a hardware issue considering that the performance maintains its deplorable state even when I reformat my computer.

I can't seem to wrap my head around what is causing these issues. If you guys could identify what I could do to solve the problem, I would love you forever! Thank you!

Also, I apologize ahead of time if this is not the correct place that I am supposed to be posting.




--------[ Summary ]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer:
Computer Type ACPI x64-based PC
Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate
OS Service Pack -
Internet Explorer 8.0.7600.16385
DirectX DirectX 11.0

Motherboard:
CPU Type DualCore Intel Pentium D 930, 3000 MHz (15 x 200)
Motherboard Name Dell XPS 400 / Dimension 9150 (3 PCI, 1 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x4, 1 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN)
Motherboard Chipset Intel Lakeport i945P
System Memory 3584 MB (DDR2-533 DDR2 SDRAM)
DIMM1: Corsair Value Select VS1GB533D2 1 GB DDR2-533 DDR2 SDRAM (4-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz) (3-3-3-9 @ 200 MHz)
DIMM2: Corsair Value Select VS1GB533D2 1 GB DDR2-533 DDR2 SDRAM (4-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz) (3-3-3-9 @ 200 MHz)
DIMM3: Corsair Value Select VS1GB533D2 1 GB DDR2-533 DDR2 SDRAM (4-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz) (3-3-3-9 @ 200 MHz)
DIMM4: Corsair Value Select VS1GB533D2 1 GB DDR2-533 DDR2 SDRAM (4-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz) (3-3-3-9 @ 200 MHz)
BIOS Type Phoenix (01/08/07)

Display:
Video Adapter ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series (1024 MB)
Video Adapter ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series (1024 MB)
Video Adapter ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series (1024 MB)
3D Accelerator ATI Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress)
Monitor Acer X193W+ [19" LCD] (LBE090263610)
Monitor ViewSonic VG151-2 [15" LCD] (90E023730776)

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter ATI Radeon HDMI @ ATI Cypress - High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Adapter Creative Audigy SE (SB0570) Sound Card
Audio Adapter SigmaTel STAC9220 A1 @ Intel 82801GB ICH7 - High Definition Audio Controller [A-1]

Storage:
IDE Controller Intel(R) ICH7 Family Ultra ATA Storage Controllers - 27DF
IDE Controller Standard AHCI 1.0 Serial ATA Controller
Storage Controller ARTLBNCC IDE Controller
Disk Drive ST3320620AS ATA Device (320 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)
Disk Drive WDC WD10EADS-00M2B0 ATA Device (931 GB, IDE)
Optical Drive MNYXQ 6381UB0L6ZG SCSI CdRom Device
Optical Drive PHILIPS DVD+-RW DVD8801 ATA Device (DVD+R9:8x, DVD+RW:16x/8x, DVD-RW:16x/6x, DVD-ROM:16x, CD:48x/32x/48x DVD+RW/DVD-RW)
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions:
C: (NTFS) 931.4 GB (590.4 GB free)
D: (NTFS) 298.1 GB (65.1 GB free)
Total Size 1229.5 GB (655.6 GB free)

Input:
Keyboard HID Keyboard Device
Mouse HID-compliant mouse
Mouse Wacom Mouse
Mouse Wacom Mouse Monitor

Network Adapter Intel(R) PRO/1000 PL Network Connection


Power Supply: 500w

 

[jaxadeo]

Quick hardware summary for people that don't feel like deciphering it.

Dual Core 3.00 GHz processor

4 GB DDR2 Ram

HD Radeon 5850

Audigy SE

Built in Sigmatel Sound Card

1TB Hard Drive

320 GB Hard Drive

 

[boldor]

Update drivers, check for faulty hardware aka. take every major component out and try it out on another machine; begin with ram, gpu and the psu.

 

[asteldian]

The processor is your killer.
The Pentium D 930 may be a 'dual core' don't be fooled by the speed or claim it is dual core. If a game is talking about a requirement for dual core processor, they are refering to much better dual cores.

That CPU is holding you back - in fact it would probably bottleneck a 3850 nevermind a 5850.

Time to replace, mobo, RAM and CPU for performance in modern games

 

[cmcghee358]

^ +1

He's absolutely right. Your CPU is holding you back.

 

[smile9999]

I would say its a processor problem but you are saying battlefield bad company 2 isnt playable at all, this game doesnt need that hardcore processor, also ram is very bad DDR2 533, I dont think its only the processor problem its the overall computer, it needs replacement, ofc keep the VGA its great

 

[cmcghee358]

Actually thats wrong Smile9999. Battlefield Bad Company 2 is one of the few games to utilize all 4 cores of a Quad Core CPU.

In the case of the Dual Core, yes it most certainly will lag.

 

[smile9999]

well I wont fight in this because its a fight I am gonna lose since yeah it does use all 4 cores but it can make do with a dual core non the less check this article under update
http://www.techspot.com/article/255-battlefield-bad-company2-performance/page7.html

 

[asteldian]

Yes, a good dual core will run it well, however the Pentium D is nothing like core 2 duo or i3/i5 dual cores which are fast and efficient, the Pentium D was one of the early attempts, it's like 2 Pentium 4s (chips already considered too hot and inefficient) stuck together.

Afraid the OP needs to discard the core of his machine - replace the CPU and mobo - and therefore the RAM (assuming he goes with modern technology)

 

[jaxadeo]

Hmmm, this definietly shows how little I know about processors. I was debating if I should rebuild my entire computer or just get a new processor. I think I'll just do a new build (aside from the hard drive and graphics card, of course).

 

[jaxadeo]

Best answer selected by jaxadeo.