Help with bottlenecking and some new parts :)

[Jack_Ashton]

hello,

i need some help... my pc runs terrible at 3DMark11. im thinking it might be my CPU causing my computer to bottleneck, but im not sure. in my system i have.

- i5-2320 (overclocked at 3.6ghz) not sure how it happened how its not a a k edition, i just used EasyTune6.
- XFX 7870 core edition GHZ Edition GPU (may also be the problem, hopefullly not as i just got it. planing on getting another one for Crossfire.) please dont tell me to just buy a beast of a card or something that cost bucket loads as im 14 and had enough trouble scraping the money for this pc.
- XFX Pro 850w Semi Modular
- 16GB G.SKILL ARES 1600mhz Ram
- 1TB Seagate HDD
- 60GB OCZ Agility 3 SSD


and im pretty sure thats all the parts that i need to specify.

Also if i got a new CPU (i5-3570k) and try and squeeze out 4.5Ghz... would that be worth the $238 Australian dollar? thanks

 

[abbadon_34]

you need to be a little more specific than just "terrible". Actually number help. Also while 3dmark is a valuable tool, it's an artificial benchmark, so you should report real world gaming performance too. A game with a build in benchmark is the easiest, but you should test a couple of the games you actually play and report their results with FRAPS or the like.

 

[DarkSable]

It would not be worth it to upgrade your CPU yet, no... Though I might consider it when Haswell releases in a couple months.

That being said, you probably shouldn't be bottlenecking with that CPU. What is your score compared to comperable rigs? That's a pretty impressive computer for a 14 year old to get to play on - when I was 14 (about 4 years ago) I had to make do with a quad core Phenom II and a Nvidia 9800GT.

 

[kingnoobe]

While I'm not sure what the aus. is worth.. I wouldn't for the simple fact you shouldn't be getting terrible scores.

That cpu will bottleneck it a bit @ 3.6, but not enough to make anything terrible. To see if it's your cpu or gpu.

Run a game and see if it's maxing the gpu/cpu out. You can also change video settings if your fps stays some what stable between low-high settings that's also a tell tell sign of your cpu.

Also I would not just use one program. If all your games are running fine and right around where they should be (plenty of bench marks on this site and others as long as you have some of the common benched games).

 

[Jack_Ashton]

im new to these pc forums so sorry if im not giving enough info. Thanks for the answers, i was getting about 10FPS on 3Dmark11. on Basic\Extreme\ Full 3DMark11 Experience\ Stretched.