Nvidia GeForce 550 ti- Extreme lag issues- with a twist

[X_Tubuxis_X]

Okay, here we go.
A couple of days back I received the previously mentioned graphics card. I installed in and tried to connect it up with my computer via a VGA cable. No signal on the monitor. I then found out that it needed to have an auxiliary power supply, which I didn't plug in before because it looked like my computer didn't have any spare cables for this. So I went out and bought a 2 way splitter and hooked that up. Tried connecting the card to the monitor once more- no such luck. So I tried it with a HDMI cable to a small T.V. No surprise, it worked! Installed the driver and gave it a whirl on Borderlands 2. It worked like a charm! Getting around 40- 50 fps, stable, medium settings, it was fantastic! So I tried it again with the VGA cable and still no signal. I then found out again that it needs at least at 500 w power supply, mine being 350 w. So I ordered one of the internet. When it arrived, I opened up the computer again to take out the 350 w PSU- and found out it had axillary cables all along .
So I hooked up the 500 w PSU and removed the old one and used the supplied cables with the card and placing the other wires in their proper slots. Tried it out again on the monitor- No Signal
I took a look at the VGA and found that at least 3 of the pins were bent. I sorted them and tried again and it worked!
This is were everything went wrong.
I tried a little game of Team Fortress 2. Round about 30 fps when I was in spawn. As soon as I walked outside into the battle, my frame rate dropped to about 2-8 fps! This was already on medium graphics setting and turning them down did nothing. Borderlands was about 1-5 fps, even at the lowest graphics settings. I am so stumped and annoyed, I don't know what to do
Please reply soon, I'm getting so annoyed at this lack of fps.
Here are my specs:

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System Information
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Time of this report: 12/30/2012, 17:45:24
Machine name: DAC14094
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_gdr.120821-1629)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
System Model: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E4500 @ 2.20GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 2048MB RAM
Page File: 1540MB used, 2402MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.5512 32bit Unicode


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Display Devices
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Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce GTX 550 Ti
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_1244&SUBSYS_83C21043&REV_A1
Display Memory: 1024.0 MB
Current Mode: 1440 x 900 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200

 

[swifty_morgan]

slow dual core processor, only 2gigs of ram. and even though it's a lower end video card, lack of vram, skyrim sucks that up like candy to ants.