Graphics Low spec pc with high spec graphic card

I have a dell Dimension 9200 and I have upgraded it over the years and now I'm fighting with a mate to find the result for my problem.

The Spec

CPU:
Intel core 2 duo E6400 2.13GHz


RAM:
Kingston 4 x 1GB 533MHz (PC2-4300)

Graphic card:
MSI 560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II 2GD5/OC

Core clock: 880
Shader clock:1760
Memory clock: 2004
Have replaced the PSU as well 600watt if that helps?


The Problem:

I have been playing Battle Field 3 online and been have a frame rate between 8-28
on 32 player maps, playing on 64 player maps just end badly.
I have set the graphics to 1280 x 720 and everything to the lowest or off

the Fight:

My fiend things I have installed something wrong as the graphic card should make up for the low spec of the pc but I believe that the Ram and CPU can't keep up with the graphic card letting everything down.

I know this as my friends pc spec is:

CPU:
q6600 quad core 2.4GHz

Ram:
2 x 2GB 800MHz

Graphic card:

Asus radeon HD 6570 Overclocked (forgot to what)

he can play the game on ultra with frame rate of about 30 ish.

Now can you please give me an answer to this should my graphics card make up for my low spec pc or not?

BTW i'm in the middle of a build and just got the graphic card to replace my old ATI x1300 very old I know lol

 

A graphics card (no matter how good) will not make up for low specs in other places. You could drop a GTX 590 in and it would likely have the same result. CPC have demonstrated this on more than one occasion in their upgrade guides. Normally I would suggest overclocking your CPU but given it is a Dell, which I guess has a cut-down BIOS and stock cooler, that probably isn't an option.

Out of interest, what resolution is your friend playing at? getting 30fps on ultra settings with a 6570 seems unlikely to me.

 

I would say your Processor and Ram is a bottleneck to the 560ti. It's due an overhaul of some critical parts me thinks.

Sam

 

Ok thanks for answering my question.
I know that I can overclock my CPU but I have to tweak the BIOS with some program that I have found in the past.

Not very high he has only a 17" 16:9 lcd display and its same resolution as I play or lower.

 

At the very least you need to overclock that cpu if you want to handle todays games. Whether that would be enough to allow the 560ti to shine or not I don't know. [edit] Oh balls it's a Dell..urgh

 

I'm going to have to agree with the above. Even if the only thing you changed was to get a new motherboard and a Q6600; you'd see double the framerates off any card newer than a GTS250.

Going from a Q6600 to a Nehalem or Sandy Bridge setup would probably net you another 20% frames again, the Core2 series has reached the end of what I would consider it's usable gaming life, especially the Duos.

The processor, and, indeed, the motherboard are limiting the GPU. As your processor simply cannot supply the information fast enough, I doubt the motherboard will be helping matters. The good news is that it wouldn't be hard to get an upgrade that wouldn't break the bank. Even the Sandy Bridge i3 2100 would feel faster than your current E6400, as well as perform better in this kind of a scenario.

 

Thanks Sam that's what I'm in the middle of doing.

I'm build;
I7 2600k cooled by be quiet Dark Rock Pro
Asus P8P67 Pro Rev 3.1 (as was cheaper that Rev.3)
G.skill Ripjaws 2 x 4GB 1600MHz DDR3 CL9 may get more at a later point (photo editing)
Be quiet Straight Power 600w
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB will get a SSD later on this year too (Crucial M4 128/256GB I'm thinking)
MSI 560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II 2GD5/OC

 

Fizzban;

I know lol I was young and didn't know what I was doing wish I never got a dell.


.//Tundra;
I was thinking of getting a Q6600 but not for £160 when you can get a 2500K for that money.
plus the motherboard is a BTX form mat, who would would do such a thing?

 

There's no way your friend playing on ultra with a 6570.

 

It's not so much that it can't keep up with the graphics card, I expect it can't process everything it needs in time before updating the graphics card

 

Agreed. My C2D is currently powering my Minecraft/file server and it's even struggling with that truth be told.

 

THIS

 

You should be able to use a program like SetFSB to mildly overclock your processor, that should definitely make a difference. The truth is though that old C2Ds like yours are terrible and should be given away to charity where they may be of some use for a few more years.

 

The reason it's running so terribly is the Frostbite 2 engine is designed for heavy CPU utilization, since it's also designed for consoles, which have lovely processors but terrible to mediocre graphics processors. Unlike a properly optimized PC game, which will utilize the GPU first and foremost. So yes, for poorly designed games, you will need a much better CPU than the C2D.

 

I was only told by my friend that he play it on ultra with around 30. So he could have put some not all settings on ultra.

I will be giving this to my dad in a week. Without the 560 Ti.
I'm just waiting for the motherboard to come.

 

Tbh the small increase in speed in the processor of your mates shouldnt make a massive difference in itself. If the frostbite engine like multi core thats prob his advantage. (haven't checked)
With a cpu bottle neck you should ne able to increase graphics settings and not see any drop in performance. When a game is gpu limited frames will always go down with graphics setting increasing. If you want more info on cpu bottlenecks this is my go to article