Could there be a bottleneck problem?

[briansklein]

Comp specs
Intel Dual core Pentium D 3.0 ghz
Nvidia gt 545
2 gigs of ddr3
350 watt psu

Question is this. I play wow. Had to sell my old rig to move out to Colorado and am playing wow and bf3 (downloading it today) WoW on the lowest settings is averaging 28 FPS in the zones and in raids about 10fps. The threads on my cpu run at about 30% load so I'm assuming my CPU is ok. My Video card seems to max out however. I know this is a crazy question but is my cpu or my video card.

 

[ubercake]

You'd know the CPU was the bottleneck if it was hitting 100% and your GPU was doing nothing. But you have the opposite situation. Have you measured the GPU load in GPU-Z? What kind of motherboard do you have?

If your GPU is not reaching close to 100% load, your PCIe 1.0 bandwidth may be maxed out (I'm assuming your mobo has PCIe 1.0?). It may just be the architecture.

Check GPU-z to find out the GPU load and let us know.

 

[briansklein]

Was Using MSI Afterburner but as requested I see 99% load at 100% of the time in GPU-z. My motherboard is out of an Emachines ddr2

 

[Razec69]

Yea seems like you just have too old of a rig.

If you are playing WoW on lowest settings and getting an average of less than 30FPS, than BF3 on low probably won't even run.

My suggestion is quit WoW, sell that PC to someone and save up little by little and you can get yourself a new mid to low range rig in no time.

 

[briansklein]

Overview
User Reviews
Specs

Part Number:827103149364

General

Desktop type Budget desktop system
Product Form Factor Tower
Built-in Devices LED panel
Width 7.2 in
Depth 16.1 in
Height 14.5 in
Weight 21.6 lbs

Processor

Type Intel Celeron 440 / 2.0 GHz
64-bit Computing Yes
Installed Qty 1.0
Max Supported Qty 1.0

Mainboard

Chipset type Intel 945GC Express
Data bus speed 800.0 MHz

Cache Memory

Type L2 cache
Installed Size 512.0 KB
Cache Per Processor 512 KB

RAM

Installed Size 1.0 GB / 2.0 GB (max)
Technology DDR2 SDRAM
Memory Speed 667.0 MHz
Memory Specification Compliance PC2-5300
Form Factor DIMM 240-pin
Configuration Features 1 x 1 GB
Upgrade Rule Max 2 x 1 GB module

Storage Controller

Type Serial ATA - Integrated
Controller Interface Type Serial ATA-300

Storage

Floppy Drive None
Hard Drive 1.0 x 160.0 GB - Standard - Serial ATA-300 - 7200.0 rpm
Hard Drive (2nd) None
Hard Drive (3rd) None

Optical Storage

Type DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM
Read Speed 48x (CD) / 16x (DVD)
Write Speed 48x (CD) / 18x (DVD±R) / 8x (DVD±R DL)
Rewrite Speed 32x (CD) / 6x (DVD-RW) / 8x (DVD+RW) / 12x (DVD-RAM)
Disc Labeling Technology Labelflash Technology

Optical Storage (2nd)

Type None

Storage Removable

Type None

Monitor

Monitor Type none.

Graphics Controller

Type Integrated
Graphics Processor / Vendor Intel GMA 950 Dynamic Video Memory Technology 3.0
Video Memory 224.0 MB (max)
Max Allocated RAM Size 224.0 MB

Audio Output

Type Sound card - Integrated
Audio Adapter Intel High Definition Audio 5.1
Sound Output Mode 5.1 channel surround
Compliant Standards High Definition Audio
Speaker(s) 2.0 x Right / left channel

Input Device

Type Keyboard,
Mouse

Mouse

Mouse interface PS/2
Mouse features Scroll

Audio Input

Type None

Telecom

Modem Fax / modem
Max Transfer Rate 56.0 Kbps
Protocols & Specifications ITU V.92

Networking

Networking Network adapter - Integrated
Data Link Protocol Ethernet,
Fast Ethernet

Printer

Type None

Expansion / Connectivity

Expansion Bays Front accessible - 5.25" x 1/2H,
Internal - 3.5" x 1/3H
Expansion Slot(s) 1.0 (total) / 1.0 (free) x PCI Express - DIMM 240-pin,
2.0 (total) / 0.0 (free) x Memory,
1.0 (total) / 1.0 (free) x Processor
Interfaces 1.0 x Display / video - VGA - 4 pin USB Type A ( 2 in front ),
1.0 x Microphone - Generic - 6 pin mini-DIN (PS/2 style) ( 1 in front ),
1.0 x Mouse - Generic - Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm ( 1 in front ),
2.0 x Audio - IEEE 1284 (EPP/ECP) - 25 pin D-Sub (DB-25),
2.0 x Audio - Input - 9 pin D-Sub (DB-9),
1.0 x Hi-Speed USB - RS-232 - Mini-phone mono 3.5 mm,
1.0 x Serial - Line-out/headphones - 6 pin mini-DIN (PS/2 style),
6.0 x Keyboard - Line-in - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15),
1.0 x Parallel - Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm

Power

Device Type Power supply

Operating System / Software

OS Provided Microsoft Windows Vista,
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic
Software Cyberlink DVD Solution,
AOL Online (90 days trial),
Norton 360 (60 days trial),
Microsoft Internet Explorer,
Adobe Reader,
Microsoft Works 9.0,
Google Desktop,
Napster Digital Music Service (30 days trial),
BigFix,
Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student Edition (60 days trial),
CyberLink Power2Go,
NetZero Internet Access,
Google Toolbar,
WildTangent (10 demo games with 60 minutes of game play)

Manufacturer Warranty

Service & Support 1 year warranty
Service & Support Details Limited warranty - Parts and labor - 1 year

Card Reader

Card reader 15 in 1 card reader
Supported flash memory cards Memory Stick PRO,
Microdrive,
SDHC Memory Card,
SD Memory Card,
SmartMedia Card,
CompactFlash Card type II,
Memory Stick,
Memory Stick Duo,
xD-Picture Card,
MultiMediaCardplus,
Memory Stick PRO Duo,
CompactFlash Card type I,
MultiMediaCard

Where to Buy

Pricing not available

 

[briansklein]

I upgraded the processor to a dual core pentium D 3.0ghz

 

[ubercake]

Was Using MSI Afterburner but as requested I see 99% load at 100% of the time in GPU-z. My motherboard is out of an Emachines ddr2

So you have the throughput since your GPU is hitting the high 90%s usage. You could benefit from a GPU upgrade on more GPU-intensive games.

How much money would you look to spend and what kind of PSU do you have?

The thing that baffles me a little is WoW is supposed to be CPU-intensive and you're not seeing high CPU usage when playing WoW? What about in crowded areas?

 

[briansklein]

My PSU is 350 watts came with the computer. Not sure what the rail voltage is off hand but i have never had the computer shut off on me. In crowded areas the cpu is generally unaffected. My budget is around 150.00 for gpu and 50 for a psu

 

[briansklein]

Chipset type Intel 945GC Express
Data bus speed 800.0 MHz
Mainboard

 

[ubercake]

I'm not so sure you have budget for too much better right now. I would suggest you save for now.

Upgrade the architecture as others have suggested. If you live close enough to Denver, you can get to a microcenter and take advantage of the 1155 processor/ motherboard combos they constantly have. Then leap frog this with a GPU update when you can.

It would be a much better choice than a barely noticeable difference now.

 

[briansklein]

Best answer selected by briansklein.

 

[Deemo13]

I'm thinking your GT545 might not be installed or has the right drivers. The GT545 is pretty slow, but so it the Pentium D. The Pentium D is really old.

Even if it did work, you might as well just have to settle with an upgrade for now as ubercake has said.