Stability and lagging issues- is it heat? PLEASE HELP

[whatdafxup09]

Here's the story. I built this computer a while back and from the start I've had stability issues. I figured it was the overclocking so I reset everything to default. The computer would often crash after just 10 minutes of starcraft 2 or after about 30 min of battlefield 3. I took it apart, made sure all connections were solid, updated all drivers, ran a smart scan of the hard drive and even flashed my bios. As far as stability, I think I've seen some improvement. However, the pc still lags, especially in battlefield 3. I can only get about 17fps average on the lowest settings.

here are my specs:

Gigabyte ga-ma785gmtud2h mobo
athlon II X2 dual core @ 3ghz
500gb WD green hd
500watt earthwatts power supply
6gb of kingston hyperx ram
zotac geforce9800 gt 512mb
20inch acer widescreen monitor, 1600x900 native resolution

I was under the impression that this rig could run BF3 at higher settings, and certainly run the lowest settings without lag. please correct me if i'm wrong.

I ran speed fan after 30min of bf3 (now that stability issues may have been solved)
the temps shown were:
GPU 49
Core 57
HD 33
temp1 34
temp2 69
temp 3 61

If you guys have any input that would be most appreciated, thanks!

 

[whatdafxup09]

forgot to mention the os is windows 7 64bit

 

[Chainzsaw]

Sorry but your 9800 GT 512MB isn't very good for BFBC3.

Your CPU is also quite weak - X2 dual core at 3Ghz.

Try lowering your resolution - 1600x900 would be very taxing on your computer (due to your low specs). Bring your resolution down 1 notch and try again. BF3 is quite the demanding game, especially in the GPU department.

 

[whatdafxup09]

thanks for your reply. im working on overclocking the cpu and gpu right now and performance has improved but stability is an issue again. what resolution should i try?

 

[Chainzsaw]

What resolution is below 1600x900? 1280x720 would be worth a shot - or if you can select a resolution between 1280x720 and 1600x900. Whichever resolution looks best for your screen (besides the 1600x900).

1280x720 is still high definition (HD starts at 720P, i personally don't consider 720i HD).

 

[swifty_morgan]

your hardware isn't worthy enough for that game. over clocking will add to your woes................. before I read you were over clocking my advice would have been to put direct air flow on the NB heat sink. Hottest spot on those boards.

 

[whatdafxup09]

overclocking helped, the game now runs without any lag but of course its just on low settings... i figure i need a new gpu and probably cpu but im not looking to invest right now. thanks for your help guys, ive got it all worked out now.