3570k and 980 Ti fps stuttering in Battlefield 4 at 2k, CPU bottleneck?

[kronpas]

Dont ask me why the mismatching since I got the card for only $500~, couldnt pass the deal (it usually goes for ~$750 here)

The 3570k is sligtly OCed to 4.2Ghz, 980Ti at default clock. Most games so far I played well at max settings at 2k though they are not really demanding (Total war arena, dota2), however BF4 is unplayable. It stutters horribly in most DLC maps when I look at any heavy smoke/lightning effects, dropping from ~100 to 20-25 then spike up.

Is my 3570k insufficient and if there is any solution for this save for replacing the CPU to the current i5 (which I doubt make any difference?). Tried lowering resolution to 1080 and/or droping all settings/effect to low, no help. Before acquiring the 980Ti I I tested the game at 2k with a 760Ti and suffered the same stuttering, but that card got only 2GB of VRAM so I assumed my system aint up to the task. This 980 Ti, however, got like 6GB of VRAM... :\

 

[Tradesman1]

While playing have task manager open to PERFORMANCE and check CPU usage - if maxing might be bottlenecking the GPU some. Also What PSU - may be a power issue

 

[kronpas]

Been 2 weeks since I got the chance to play the game again. Indeed it is my CPU, never thought it is so underpowered at 2k.

https://imgur.com/8Xys9cJ

Screenshot @2k, everything maxed out save for AA (no need at higher res).

 

[kronpas]

updated: bought a 6600k mildly OCed to 4200. Run silky smooth at everything ultra (save for AA, not needed at such res), never once dropped below 60. When vsync is off it shows 120+fps all time, but I prefer vsync to keep my card from overworking itself.

TL;DR: despite what everybody says about 3570k still is capable 3 years after its release, it starts to show its age in a few game like BF4 @1440p. In every other game it serves me just fine.