3 i5 2500 questions (OC, turbo boost, and bottlenecking)

[xitsej]

Just to clarify I'm quite an OC noob here.

My Setup:
GPU: 2x AMD Radeon 6970 2GB
CPU: Core i5 2500 (stock cooler, no OC)
MB: Asus P8P67 Pro
8GB RAM

My last question was trying to figure out if my CPU or GPU was bottlenecking bf3.
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/348427-15-could-2500-bottlenecking-6970

Despite the fact that lower graphics settings increases frame rates, I was getting nowhere near the rates described in this review:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7970-benchmark-tahiti-gcn,3104-7.html

Because 2x6970 is better than a 6990, and the only difference between my setup and their test setup is that he has an overclocked CPU, I think my CPU must be the issue.

Assuming that is correct, I should buy an unlocked CPU and better cooler and overclock it to see if I get better results.

Before I do this, I was wondering if there's any way to pull off a slight overclock on the 2500 (again not the 2500k) with the stock cooler that would be visible to me in bf3.

As an aside, I am wondering why turbo boost was disabled for that review http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7970-benchmark-tahiti-gcn,3104-7.html Is there any way that is causing my CPU problems?

Lastly, I am wondering if there is any way I am being bottlenecked by the CPU in battlefield 3 (as most evidence seems to suggest) while my CPU usage graph looks like this (far under 100%):

 

[kalel786]

I doubt your CPU is bottlenecking your GPU.

Overclocking to even 4.5ghz will only give you like 5-10fps increase, or even less then that (If you even could overclock, but I'm fairly certain the normal 2500 is pretty much locked for everything except for turbo.)

What temps do you get with the stock cooler?

 

[amuffin]

Bad drivers, you can overclock to 3.7ghz max though.

 

[13thmonkey]

toms bf3 benchmark method is a little flawed given that it relies on the single player version of the game and the first 1/2 of the section they play has consistent and high fps, and then it becomes lower and variable, there's a graph of fps over time somewhere.

 

[xitsej]

toms bf3 benchmark method is a little flawed given that it relies on the single player version of the game and the first 1/2 of the section they play has consistent and high fps, and then it becomes lower and variable, there's a graph of fps over time somewhere.

My highest fps is lower than his lowest fps in that graph, so I truly believe something is not working as it should.